In the News
Get informed and read up on local press releases involving JK and his already positive impact on Park City.
Park City Candidate John 'JK' Kenworthy: 'Corporate Ski Giants Put Profits Over Community—Locals Are Paying the Price'
PARK CITY, UT, UNITED STATES, September 3, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Park City Council candidate John Kenworthy today called on Vail Resorts (Park City Mountain) and Alterra Mountain Company (Deer Valley) to take responsibility for the growing strain their business models place on Park City. Kenworthy argues that while the corporations enjoy record revenues, their focus on volume and profits has led to worsening traffic congestion, unaffordable housing, and childcare shortages that burden local taxpayers. As a Park City Planning Commissioner, Kenworthy fought Vail Resorts' “secret” resort-capacity calculations that would have increased traffic and parking impacts.
“Vail and Alterra have built billion-dollar enterprises on the backs of our roads, our housing, and our families—without investing proportionally in the costs they create,” Kenworthy said. “We’re not against skiing. We’re against subsidizing corporate profits at the expense of residents.”
The Impact on Park City
• Traffic gridlock: Ski season brings gridlock on Highways 224 and 248 and surrounding neighborhoods, hurting residents, small businesses, and emergency response times.
• Housing crisis: Resort-driven demand escalates home and rental prices, forcing seasonal and permanent employees to commute long distances or leave the workforce.
• Childcare shortages: Local facilities cannot meet demand, leaving working families without reliable childcare during the busiest months.
“Vail’s ‘all-you-can-eat’ Epic Pass and Alterra’s Ikon Pass pump visitors into town at unsustainable levels, with little accountability for the fallout,” Kenworthy added.
A “Ski Lift Tax” Proposal
Kenworthy proposes a Ski Lift Tax, modeled after hotel lodging taxes, to create a dedicated funding source for city services directly impacted by ski resort operations. Ski resort towns such as the Town of Vail and Breckenridge already levy these same ticket taxes that Vail Resorts pays to those communities. Revenue in Park City would be restricted to:
• Expanding traffic mitigation and public transit
• Funding workforce and affordable housing programs
• Supporting childcare services essential to the local workforce
• Organizations like Save People Save Wildlife to protect nature and wildlife
“Visitors already help fund cities through hotel taxes. A modest lift surcharge ensures that day skiers and passholders contribute fairly as well,” Kenworthy said. “If you use the mountain, you should help sustain the town that makes it possible.”
A Call for Corporate Responsibility
Kenworthy emphasized that the proposal invites partnership rather than conflict. “Vail and Alterra can be part of the solution. If we align incentives and fund what matters—mobility, housing, childcare—we protect the on-mountain experience and the soul of this town.”
JK Kenworthy for Park City Council 2025
+1 435-709-2894
contact@jkparkcity.com
Dear Friends,
We did it! I feel truly blessed to be part of this incredible community, and I am more committed than ever to making positive contributions to our town. Change is coming. I am it!
I am deeply grateful to every single person who voted for any candidate, and to everyone who reached out with words of encouragement and support. Your belief in Park City and its future inspires me every day.
I believe the key to our town’s continued success is to focus on the positive we can achieve and to be prepared to make critical decisions from day one. I know in my heart that I am capable of both, and I am ready to get to work.
Thank you for trusting me to represent you and for standing with me through this first step. The road ahead is exciting, and together, we can keep Park City the special place we all love.
With gratitude and commitment,
JK
www.jkparkcity.com
P.S. We are now accepting donations to help fuel the next stage of this campaign. Every contribution makes a difference!
Letters to the Editor: Runaway truck
August 30, 2025 - A letter from Clive BushKatie to the Park Record Editor.
Letters to the Editor: Do it right
August 27, 2025 - A letter from David Houck to the Park Record Editor
Letters to the Editor: We can do better
August 27, 2025 - A letter from Brian A. Sidman to the Park Record Editor
Park Record - Buyer of Town Lift base holdings worries ‘Park City is building L.A.’
August 21, 2025 - “Old Town resident wants a vibrant Main Street to become the center of community”
Park Record - Would be Park City Mountain buyer: Activist investors ‘circling around Vail’
August 22, 2025 - “Matthew Prince remains interested in acquiring ski resort”
Park Record - Park City Council updated primary results show widening gap for critical fourth-place spot
Aug 13, 2025 - “The order of the candidates competing in the Park City Council primary election did not change as a result of updated numbers that were released on Wednesday afternoon.”
KPCW - Kenworthy holds on to final spot in Park City Council primary
Aug 13, 2025 - “The Summit County Clerk’s Office has released additional voting results for five municipal primaries in the county. The four candidates for Park City Council advancing to the general election will be Tana Toly, Diego Zegarra, Jeremy Rubell and John Kenworthy, according to unofficial results from the clerk’s office Wednesday.”
Park Record - John Kenworthy enters City Council contest on platform of preservation and progress
June 7, 2025 - “Park City belongs to its people,” he said. “Let’s rally together. Let’s ensure Bonanza Park becomes a vibrant neighborhood, not another broken promise. Let’s honor our elders and the legacy of those who preserved our open space and colored this town. Let’s demand our resorts become true community partners. Let’s take it back with vision, integrity and courage.”
KPCW - Council candidate John Kenworthy seeks to improve Park City’s trajectory!
Jun 12, 2025 - “From childcare to seniors, from affordable housing to transit as well as everything in between, our city needs problem solvers who are committed to getting things done,” Kenworthy’s press release said. “If elected, I pledge to protect our historic Old Town, expanding its vibrancy by creating better ingress and egress, as well as having the ability to turn on a car lite option for our peak and festival seasons.”
Park Record - Guest Editorial: It's time to move City Hall to center of Park City!
April 18, 2024 - “Let’s be clear and current in our thinking. The time for City Hall to start packing up is now.
Park Record - Letter to the Editor: Local Love Fest
Nov 9, 2024 - ‘A letter from John “JK” Kenworthy to the Park Record Editor
Park Record - Letters to the Editor: Beyond all Bounds
January 10, 2024 - A letter from Don Rogers to the Park Record Editor
Park Record - Letters to the Editor: Not all of City Hall
November 25, 2023 - A letter from Katie Hatzfeld to the Park Record Editor