Voters in western Summit County will choose their next County Council representatives in June after all four candidates gathered enough signatures to trigger a primary election. “It was a great opportunity to meet with the community and hear their concerns early on,” said John Kucera, who is running for District 4. “We want the residents to be able to choose and to have a wide pool of people to make that decision, so I think it made sense, and all the candidates agreed that was a good way to go about it.” County Council candidates still participated in the Summit County Democratic Convention on Tuesday, though, giving speeches and courting potential delegates to garner support for their campaigns. In District 4, Kucera received “strong support” from delegates, earning 87% of the vote compared to his opponent Christie Babalis’ 13%, according to a press release from the Summit County Democratic Party. However, Babalis said she isn’t discouraged by Tuesday night’s results, saying she opted to focus on gathering signatures for a primary election instead of working to earn delegates’ support. “I came out of the convention clearer than ever about why I’m running, and I’m focused on connecting directly with as many people as I can in District 4 and building support around what I think I can do for Summit County,” Babalis said. “I understand that I need to get out there and talk to people, and I need to be really clear on my message.” Attendees applaud speakers and candidates at the Summit County Democratic Convention. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record County Council Chair Canice Harte, who is running for reelection in District 5 against challenger and Park City school board president Meredith Reed, said he also centralized his efforts on gathering signatures for a primary election. He said that, while the results of the County Convention — with 55% of delegates favoring Reed compared to Harte’s 45% — may seemingly indicate an advantage for Reed, the gap is likely much smaller than it appears. “We’re talking 15 delegates in a district, so these margin splits are like seven or eight people on one side,” Harte said. “It’s such a small number, so going to the primary is actually great because now people get to vote. It’ll be a totally different experience because we’ll get out, we’ll talk to voters and we’ll get everything out in front of them.” Reed said it was exciting to see support for her platform at the County Convention, especially because she’s competing against an incumbent. However, she said she’s also looking ahead to the primary and earning support from voters through traditional campaign events, like meet and greets and debates. “I have a broad base of support and a lot of connections to people who I know through different ways I’ve been involved during my time in the community here, so I feel like that’s a good place to be going into the primary,” Reed said. This year’s caucus and County Convention experience is unique because it is the first year that Summit County Council seats are confined to specific districts, as required by a new law the state Legislature passed in 2025. Under the caucus system, County Council candidates could have been eliminated after the local convention, as chosen delegates voted to nominate one candidate in each district. Doing so would have prevented the general public from choosing their next representative because no Republican candidates are vying for County Council positions. Without the four Democratic County Council candidates intentionally gathering signatures, a primary election would only have been held if neither candidate obtained 60% of the delegation’s support at the County Convention. Based on the results from Tuesday night, Harte and Reed would have progressed to the primary stage regardless, while Kucera would have eliminated Babalis from the race. The Democrats have an open primary, which means anyone can request a ballot, even if they aren’t a registered Democrat. Harte said he hopes unaffiliated voters and Republicans request a Democratic ballot to be able to participate in the County Council race. The primary election is scheduled for June 23. Voters may request a ballot until 5 p.m. on June 12 by visiting the Summit County Clerk’s website and filling out the necessary forms. The post Voters to decide Summit County Council seats in June’s primary election appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less