Thanks to Dick Peek, Roger Armstrong, and Dave Ure

We have an abundance of things in Park City. Great mountains. Wonderful trails. World class skiing…

One thing that is often missing, though, is DISSENT.

Take, as a prime example, that nobody has voted NO on the school board for over a year. They aren’t alone in local government. I haven’t specifically calculated the other groups’ voting records but from my experience many votes, if not most, are unanimous.

This is unfortunate because that’s not representative of our populace. You can take almost any topic and I guarantee there are sizable number of citizens on both sides of issues. For example, consider affordable housing. If you listen to our government leaders, the talk is almost all for affordable housing. If you listen to other circles, there is a strong contingent that thinks affordable housing has very negative impacts like decreasing property values. These same sorts of arguments exist for trails, open space, schools, etc. I’m not saying they are the majority opinion but you’d think they’d be represented in some way during local government voting.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t differing opinions among our elected officials. Often times these differences are hashed out in exchanges that lead to consensus. That can be a good thing. Yet, it seems incomprehensible that consensus can be found on every issue.

With that in mind, I want to thank City Council Member Dick Peek, County Council Member Roger Armstrong, and County Council Member Dave Ure. On the topic of their respective local governments sticking with the Mountain Accord, they dissented. They each voted against the interlocal agreement tying our governments to the Accord process. I don’t say that because of the specific subject matter, but I say it because it shows a willingness to stand against the herd. It shows confidence and determination to chart their own course, when it would likely be easier to just agree with everyone else.

I as a citizen appreciate that.

I know Mr. Peek is not running for reelection, but I hope, until his last vote, he maintains the confidence he showed here and that his successor is willing to stand with his or her convictions, even when it is diametrically opposed to the majority. Likewise, I hope Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Ure keep doing what they’re doing. Finally, I hope our other leaders may look at these examples and become a little more of a brumby themselves.