Stephen Osguthorpe's family has been farming and ranching in the Snyderville Basin for as long as anyone can remember. Sally Elliott moved to Park City in 1986 when her husband retired from the military.

Osguthorpe loves ranching. Elliott loves skiing.

The two are vying for the seat that will be vacated by Democrat Shauna Kerr in January.

As a rancher and resident of the greater Park City area, Osguthorpe insists he can bring unity to the county divided by the tourist economy on the west side and the agricultural communities in the east.

"I understand the needs and wants of the people on the east side and the west side," he said.

But Elliott says she is the one with a proven track record of working with disparate entities in Summit County. In addition to involvement with numerous organizations in the Park City area, she participated in the Summit County Historical Society and the Summit County Centennial Committee.

"I have the skill to be able to bring everybody to the table," Elliott said.

The east-west schism notwithstanding, the biggest differences between the candidates are their stands on the county's master plan and zoning criteria. Elliott says the county is on the right track. Osguthorpe disagrees.

Osguthorpe maintains the master plan makes little sense. "The code is too subjective. People need to know what they can do with their property. It lends itself to litigation."

Summit County's master plan came under intense scrutiny recently when property owner Nadine Gillmor sought to develop 300 acres near the Trailside neighborhood. At the same time, the LDS Church wanted to build a meetinghouse in the same western area of the county.

After heated debate on both issues, the County Commission gave a thumbs down to Gillmor but approved the meetinghouse over objections from many in the neighborhood.

"There was no need for bickering and fighting over the church," Osguthorpe said. "Schools, churches and parks belong in neighborhoods."

As for Gillmor's proposal, she was left holding the bag, Osguthorpe said. "If the code said she couldn't do it, then maybe the code should be changed. They either ought to buy it as open space or let her do something with it."

Elliott disagrees. Even though her land is bounded on two sides by suburban development, Gillmor's acreage is zoned to have only one housing unit per 20 acres, Elliott said.

"That would have been voting for sprawl," she said.

The LDS proposal is more complicated, Elliott explained. In the end, she said she may have voted for it. But she said the county did not do enough to bring neighbors into the process.

"The neighbors felt they had not been listened to."

csmart@sltrib.com