Park City Mayor Nann Worel on Tuesday evening indicated she will not seek reelection in November, making the unexpected statement toward the end of her annual State of the City address and upending the City Hall election months before it is slated to formally begin.Some people in the crowd at the Sa nty Auditorium were audibly shocked when the first-term mayor announced what was one of the greatest political bombshells in Park City politics in years. Worel, the first woman to become mayor of Park City, said she had served as a member of the Park City Council and the Park City Planning Commission prior to her election as the mayor in 2021 and it is time to “step aside” and pursue other opportunities. Her term ends in early January.The mayor described that she had discussed her political future with her husband, Mike Worel, and she emotionally spoke about the death of her son as she was preparing to take office. Christopher Worel died at 32 from an infection not related to the coronavirus. She said she is forever grateful to the community for the support it gave after the death.Worel said she intends to pursue an aggressive agenda during her remaining time in office.“Over the next nine months, I challenge my colleagues on the City Council to step up, push past divisions and deliver real results,” Worel said. “This is not a farewell tour. It’s a final stretch to drive meaningful progress on the issues that will define Park City’s future.”The announcement, though, overshadowed the rest of her remarks, made to an appreciative crowd, and immediately recast the upcoming campaign. Nobody has announced their intentions to seek the mayor’s office. It is likely some potential candidates had been awaiting a decision from the incumbent before finalizing their own plans. The elected officials recently altered the mechanics of the City Hall election this year, opting for a system called ranked-choice voting. That system delays the filing period for the election, when two seats on the Park City Council are also on the ballot, until August and eliminates the possibility of a primary election.There does not appear to be a clear successor, a different scenario than during some previous mayoral campaigns. Worel herself was a formidable candidate at the outset four years ago in an election when she ousted an incumbent mayor. In the early 2000s and late 1980s, Dana Williams and Brad Olch, respectively, were widely regarded as figures who best represented their eras. Each of them ultimately served three terms as mayor, with Williams succeeding Olch upon his retirement in 2002.The current City Council is inexperienced, with each of the members in their first full term in office. It is not clear whether the members of the Park City Planning Commission, long a springboard to elected office, would command the necessary attention from voters to win the mayor’s office. There has not been a mayor elected since Williams who lacked significant experience at the Marsac Building.Worel after the announcement outlined a work plan for her remaining time in office. She said she wants the municipal government in coming months to make progress on the efforts to build a new senior citizens center as well as on the long-running discussions regarding the future of City Hall land in Bonanza Park, where significant development is envisioned. She also said progress is desired toward a park-and-ride lot along the S.R. 248 entryway.The post Park City mayor will not seek reelection, delivering a political bombshell during State of the City address appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less