President Obama to visit Park City
The Western Governors’ Association meeting is being held in Park City this June 14-16. The current WGA chairman, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. extended an invitation to the president during a meeting with Obama’s staff in Washington, D.C.
According to Gov. Huntsman spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley, the governor told White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett “that it would be beneficial if the president and certainly many of his Cabinet members as well were here to hear many of the critical issues facing the Western region.”
While few details are known at this time, typical due to security concerns for the president, Summit County Manager Brian Bellamy said, “We’re getting word that he [the president] may come here.” In addition to the potential presidential visit, between 8 and 12 state governors typically attend the event. Possible attendees include Utah Gov. Jon Hunstman Jr., Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, Jr., California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
The meeting is scheduled to take place at the Stein Ericksen Lodge, a popular Deer Valley lodging location. Conference organizers have made no security requests to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office for the June event at this time. Sheriff Dave Edmunds said, “I know that [requests] are coming in the future, and they will be substantial. If you’ve got 15 governors here, and particularly some of those high-profile people, there needs to be a significant security contingency to make sure they are safe.”
The last time Obama visited Park City, Utah was in August 2007. The then-senator from Illinois planned on attending a fundraiser at a private home but made an impromptu stop at the Park City Visitors Center in Kimball Junction to make an appearance to hundreds of Utahns at a quickly organized Democratic rally.
