Tori Broughton, candidate for Wasatch County Council Seat D. Photo: Tori for Utah

WASATCH COUNTY, Utah – In the months leading up to Wasatch County’s general elections on November 5th, Tori Broughton, a candidate for Wasatch County Council Seat D, spoke with the TownLift to discuss her campaign.

Broughton, originally from Colorado, relocated to Wasatch County two years ago. She made the move to join Trek Bicycles on Main Street in Heber City, where she currently serves as the general manager of the store.

Running for County Council under the United Utah Party, Broughton chose to steer clear of traditional parties due to the divisiveness she believes they create.

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“I haven’t really affiliated with a party in probably four, maybe even close to eight years. I just really didn’t feel at home in any of the major parties,” Broughton said. “They weren’t focusing on issues that I thought were important to me or to my peers.”

The United Utah party, which only operates in the state of Utah, mainly focuses on local politics and identifies itself as politically centrist and moderate.

United Utah mainly focuses on establishing a more efficient tax system, increasing spending on public education, reform healthcare to reduce costs and increase efficiency, and advocate for responsible stewardship over Utah’s natural resources.

As someone who felt disenchanted from both the Republican and Democrat parties while still wanting to be involved in local politics, Broughton found the United Utah party online and realized it would be a perfect fit.

“So I was Googling, literally googling parties, and I came across the United Utah party. I read their platform, and it’s just logical and pragmatic. It’s very focused on local level of government, and there wasn’t anything really that I disagreed with. It just talks about things like term limits, fair taxes, eliminating loopholes. I mean it’s all of the things that I feel like most people are talking about regularly that can help clean up our system,” Broughton said.

Seeking election to County Council Seat D, which covers a significant portion of Heber City’s downtown district, Broughton aims to prioritize the revitalization of Main Street. Her goal is to contribute to the enhancement and growth of downtown Heber City, catering to the expanding needs of the county’s residents.

Broughton hopes to help plan and lay the groundwork for Heber City’s main street, which she envisions as much more than a highway.

“Downtown Heber, our Main Street, and our Old Town are things that are super important to me, and I want to make sure that we can maintain a downtown and a Main Street that really serves the growing population here, and that we aren’t just a highway on the way to somewhere else,” said Broughton.

As Broughton works on Main Street and lives in Old Town, she is invested in seeing it reach its full potential.

“Living here and working on Main Street, I just realized that a lot of the conversations that I was having with people every day at the store didn’t match what I was hearing at County Council meetings,” Broughton said.

“Main Street has really become kind of my soapbox that I’m on all the time. I’ve lived in so many small towns that have a main street that you can ride to the coffee shop, or ride your bike to work, or go to a cafe meet friends. I see that potential here, and I know that that’s what so many of the residents want.”

As part of her vision for Main Street, Broughton would seek to immediately lower the speed limits through Heber City’s city limits. Broughton would also seek to narrow the lanes, implement angled parking, add more parking spots, plant flowers and trees, as well as add more bike lanes.

In addition to reinvigorating Heber City’s downtown, part of Broughton’s vision for Main Street includes reducing traffic, emphasizing the fact that she would be a strong advocate for the long-anticipated bypass project.

Broughton mentioned that she is still waiting for UDOT’s environmental impact statement (EIS) to be released before she advocates for a specific route.

If the bypass is routed through Wasatch County’s north fields, Broughton would refuse to allow any development near the bypass in the fields.

“If they did decide that one of the routes through the north fields was the best choice, I would never advocate for any development around the bypass. I think that it actually brings us opportunity to conserve the open space that would surround that road.”

“For me, that road should be a high speed, no stopping, no exits, point A to point B, to get the traffic around our town as quickly as possible so that the rest of us can enjoy our Main Street.”