Now more than ever, Summit County needs Council Members with tenure in the community, and highly applicable and diverse experience to tackle the increasing array of complex issues our county and its citizens face. Our quality of life has never been at greater risk due to the unprecedented growth in both Summit County and Wasatch County, as well as the entire state, all exacerbated by the profound changes in the ski industry. Canice Harte is the right candidate for these times.

The citizens of greater Park City are facing an unusually complex situation, requiring us to balance the need to protect the character and quality of life of the community with a wide array of competing needs including the need for more moderate-income, workforce, and senior housing; durable parking and transit solutions; and the increasing strain on our infrastructure and natural resources — roads, parks, trails, recreation centers, emergency services, schools, water, and open lands. To tackle these complicated, intertwined challenges, we need bold leaders with a track record of serving their community, who are not afraid to roll up their sleeves, get dirty, and challenge the status quo. We need leaders who are going to demand and ensure the regional coordination needed to handle and control the unprecedented growth in the Wasatch Back and make sure that all the major stakeholders are engaged in a process to develop viable solutions and contribute their fair share financially — this means Park City, Summit County, Wasatch County, and our two, soon-to-be three local ski resorts (Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort, and Mayflower).

In particular, we need council members who are willing to stand up to developers and large businesses, which often are driven purely by greed, without regard to the impact of their actions on our community. Our local economy desperately needs diversity and more high-paying jobs. Businesses that do not offer good value, and that don’t treat their employees well and pay them a living wage, do not necessarily deserve to stay in business, and must make way for those that do. Hard choices need to be made, and we cannot continue to encourage or look the other way at unfettered growth.

Canice Harte and his family have long tenure in our community. He and his wife Katy have served in leadership roles in prominent local government and not-for-profit organizations. This includes Canice serving as president of the Rotary Club, as a member of Summit County Search & Rescue, and most notably as a two-term member of the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission. As a planning commissioner, Canice wisely voted against Dakota Pacific’s high-density, mixed-use development at Kimball Junction because it failed to provide an overwhelming, countervailing community benefit that justified the developer’s requested land use change. Katy currently serves as executive director of Park City Films and previously was a board member of Summit County Library. Canice’s business experience ranges from being a successful entrepreneur to a corporate executive. Lastly, Canice served our country as an officer in the Marines. The couple has two children who attend Park City’s public schools.

Canice has the passion and experience necessary for the rigors of being a County Council Member, the fortitude to fight all the hard battles ahead, and the strength of character to not be beholden to past conventions and special-interest groups. Your vote is critical to the future of our community and all that has made it such a special place to live.  I encourage you to cast it for Canice Harte.

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