Summit County

Our Republican State Convention is only days away, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to get to know many of our great state delegates over the past several weeks. In these closing days, if you have any questions or counsel for me, PLEASE let me know. 

With that in mind and especially for those of you in Summit County, I hope you can join your fellow delegates and me tonight in Park City for dessert and a wide-open discussion of the issues facing our communities and the state. Flier with the details are listed below.

State House District 59 encompasses much of the Wasatch Back – including Park City and the surrounding area of Summit County, and I want to share a few thoughts about the unique challenges and opportunities we face.  

First, too often in recent years, the legislature has attempted to micro-manage Summit County. As Republicans, we believe in local control and limited government. As a member of the County Council in Wasatch County, I have watched as folks in the State Capitol override the hard work of local officials to help us to death. We may not always agree with our local officials, but at least we know who to talk to. What we don’t need is the state legislature telling us how tall a hotel can be or how many apartments a developer can fit on a lot. Those decisions belong at the local level, and as your State Representative, I will work to keep them there. I’m not afraid of that fight.

Like many of us who grew up here, or chose to live here, I want my kids to have the choice to stay close to home and raise their families in the Wasatch Back. As a teacher, I see firsthand the importance of helping young people realize their potential through real world experience, and I hope to see them put down roots here and raise their families as the next generation. That means helping them succeed, build a life here, and continue what makes this place special. But too often, the housing we are building is not going toward the people who want to live and work here. Part of that solution is stopping crony capitalism across the state that is driving demand and pricing people out. Step one is getting state government out of the way of incentivizing unnecessary growth.

When it comes to basic infrastructure like roads and water, the state plays a critical role. Like other parts of the state that are growing, we need the investment to keep up with that growth. For too long, Summit and Wasatch Counties have seen real needs pushed aside in favor of places in the Wasatch Front. Our state benefits from the tax and tourism dollars we provide, but too often those dollars don’t make it back to our communities. That will be a focus of mine as well. 

In short, ours is a unique and vital part of the state, and your representative in the legislature must be a forceful voice for our interests. I’m excited to have the opportunity to be that voice. 

All the best, 

Luke Searle