Nann Worel sworn in as Park City’s first female mayor

Nann Worel was sworn in as Park City Mayor on Tuesday afternoon on the steps of the Marsac Building. Photo: TownLift

PARK CITY, Utah — Former city councilmember Nann Worel was sworn in as Park City Mayor on Tuesday afternoon, in a ceremony on the steps of the Marsac Building in Bob Wells Plaza.

Worel is the first female mayor in a city that was founded in 1884.

“I am so humbled and so honored to have just been sworn in as the first female mayor,” Worel said.

“I wouldn’t be standing here today if I hadn’t had a huge village around me during the campaign,” she added. “And I still have that village, I still feel the support of that village around me today.”

Worel said after a long deliberation with her husband Mike, they decided that the appropriate title for him is First Dude.

The Worel’s only child Christopher passed away at the age of 32 with a non-Covid related infection on December 30. “Today we feel a little incomplete and dazed,” she said. “But I’m so grateful that Christopher was with me on November 2nd to celebrate this victory.”

The new mayor said she wants to strike an appropriate balance between economic success and maintaining a sense of community. She also encouraged residents who have “phenomenal expertise” to lean into local government to “help us make the important decisions that we need to make to help shape our community.”

Jeremy Rubell and Tana Toly were also sworn in on Tuesday, joining Max Toilney and Becca Gerber on Park City Council. The four will vote on who will take Worel’s open seat later this month (applications for the open city council position are due Wednesday). Worel would break 2-2 tie.

Toly, a member of the family that owns Red Banjo Pizza on Main Street, said traffic, affordable housing, and labor shortages “must be addressed with every resource and every tool we have as a community.”

“What has worked in the past is not going to work in the future. We must collaborate and lead ourselves in new ways,” Toly said.

“We as a community have the innate ability to all be creators in the legacy of our community. We must inspire and encourage one another to find our spark and build a collaborative fire to reignite Park City’s charm and ensure that we don’t fall victim to greed, dishonesty, egotistical ideologies, and hate,” she added.

“Some will say we’ve lost some of the magic, I don’t think it’s true,” Rubell said. “I think this is though our last chance to kind of keep it alive, and really keep our direction where we want it to go as a community.”

“We need to address our historic issues, and be proactive about the ones we know are coming,” he said.

“We need to curb some of the commercialization that’s happening in our neighborhoods, really protect our future. People are stressed out, we’re behind the curve a little bit. And we need to show measurable results through action.”

Rubell echoed Worel and Toly in stressing the importance of working with other regional governing bodies, “be it transit, housing, infrastructure, or whatever else.”

Watch the full ceremony:

Some history…

Today, Nann Worel will take office as the first woman to be Mayor of @ParkCityGovt!
Three other mayors have been inaugurated on Jan. 4th in Park City’s history: (see next tweet)
Pictured is John F. Welsh (third from right) inside the Welsh, Driscoll, & Buck store on upper Main pic.twitter.com/OgJlmXR967

— Park City Museum (@PChistoryMuseum) January 4, 2022