Brighton voter guide 2023

Town Council

At large

Voters will select up to two candidates.

Adrienne Aldous

Occupation: Registered dietitian.

If elected, what would you do to provide more affordable housing options to your residents? Would you support higher-density housing?

We do have a problem with affordable housing for employees of the ski resorts. To that end, we are working on ways to incentivize homeowners to rent a room or their house as a long-term rental for the two resorts located in our town.

We have little land available for development due to our restricted water rights, so while I am not opposed to high-density housing, I don’t see it happening up here.

What is your city’s responsibility in addressing homelessness, and what would you do within the boundaries of your community to help unhoused Utahns?

I live at a ski resort in Brighton, so we are not poised to house the homeless. We live up a canyon with a dead end. There are no resources such as grocery stores or medical facilities.

Besides affordable housing or homelessness, what is the biggest challenge your city faces, and how would you address it?

Our biggest challenge today is our over 2 million visitors we see annually. We have little parking for these visitors, so they end up parking on the road. This creates public safety issues. I would propose some kind of tolling for our canyon to limit the number of people traveling in the canyon, especially in the winter months. This is a long-term solution. A short-term solution is increased buses, incentivizing shared ridership and allowing homeowners to offer parking on their properties for a fee to visiting skiers.

What is a fun or unique fact about yourself?

I am a dog whisperer. For some reason, dogs really like me and they are attracted to me. Luckily for me, I love dogs almost more than people, so I welcome the visits.

Jeffery S. Bossard

Occupation: Dean of students and facilities at an early-college high school.

If elected, what would you do to provide more affordable housing options to your residents? Would you support higher-density housing?

I have introduced and won approval for a grant program called “Lease to Locals” to incentivize current short-term rental owners to convert their properties to long-term rentals for employee housing. I will be introducing another program tentatively called “Turns for Tenants” to monetarily incentivize property owners to long-term rent to people employed within the town of Brighton. Both of these programs are a form of affordable housing. Due to water restrictions related to Brighton being in a watershed area, higher-density housing is not allowed except in the Solitude Village area.

What is your city’s responsibility in addressing homelessness, and what would you do within the boundaries of your community to help unhoused Utahns?

I strongly support the efforts that Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County and most recently, West Valley City, have made to address the issue of the unhoused. Due to the high-elevation topography and most of the land area within our town being owned by the U.S. Forest Service, we are limited in what services we can offer the unhoused. However, we can treat them with respect, communicate what resources are available, and, in a few instances, I have given them a ride down the canyon to get them the services they need.

Besides affordable housing or homelessness, what is the biggest challenge your city faces, and how would you address it?

Traffic and related environmental conditions caused by 2 million visitors per year is our biggest challenge. I instigated the town of Brighton hiring an environmental consultant to prepare a climate and environmental sustainability plan that was presented on Aug. 8. I have appeared before the state Legislature on behalf of Brighton to try and secure funding to address the traffic issue. Thanks to the efforts of our mayor, Town Council, CWC (Central Wasatch Commission) and many others, this is now coming to fruition. An EIS (environmental impact statement) will be conducted in Big Cottonwood Canyon, which is the first step in getting funding. This funding could be used to run buses more often, including during the summer, along with adequate places to park at valley transit hubs, use of apps to encourage carpooling, on-demand van service within the canyon, and the possible use of existing parking lots off Wasatch Boulevard.

What is a fun or unique fact about yourself?

People say I have a voice that should be on the radio.

Lise Sorensen Brunhart

Occupation: Retired research scientist, musician.

If elected, what would you do to provide more affordable housing options to your residents? Would you support higher-density housing?

In the town of Brighton, we need affordable housing options for ski resort and restaurant employees. If elected, I would provide financial/tax incentives to rental property owners to turn their short-term rentals into long-term rentals. This would go far in solving traffic issues and disjointed neighborhoods.

What is your city’s responsibility in addressing homelessness, and what would you do within the boundaries of your community to help unhoused Utahns?

The town of Brighton is lucky to not have a homeless problem, as living homeless here is next to impossible due to simple logistics.

Besides affordable housing or homelessness, what is the biggest challenge your city faces, and how would you address it?

The biggest challenge for the town of Brighton is funding fire and police services, followed by excessive traffic and noise. The biggest challenge is yet to come: providing enough water for visitors and residents in the future.

What is a fun or unique fact about yourself?

I have two monikers: “DarkFiddle,” as I play jazz viola in a couple of bands, and “The Beaver Lady.” I am driving a project to restore beaver habitat in Big Cottonwood Canyon, as well as ameliorate beaver problems (flooding potential) at Brighton.

Gavan Ganung

No responses.

Heidi Westfall

Occupation: Wealth adviser.

If elected, what would you do to provide more affordable housing options to your residents? Would you support higher-density housing?

Affordable housing is an issue in all communities. For the town of Brighton, I would support a program that works with current property owners to provide long-term leasing options to those who work directly in our community, as well as working with both ski resorts to provide employee housing.

What is your city’s responsibility in addressing homelessness, and what would you do within the boundaries of your community to help unhoused Utahns?

The town of Brighton’s geographic location and watershed management largely spares it from a significant homelessness issue. However, this does not absolve Brighton from its responsibility to assist the county in tackling the larger homelessness problem. The town should promote collaboration with the resorts and local businesses to create initiatives aiding families in getting back on their feet through job opportunities and training programs.

Besides affordable housing or homelessness, what is the biggest challenge your city faces, and how would you address it?

The biggest challenge faced by the town of Brighton is effectively managing traffic flow in the canyon and to mitigate noise from recreational users of the canyon. To address this issue, continued collaborative efforts are required along the U.S. Forest Service, county, Utah Department of Transportation and the Utah Transit Authority. Expanding park-and-ride facilities near the canyon’s base and increasing the frequency of buses can help alleviate the traffic burden. Another solution involves promoting casual car pools, where solo skiers or snowboarders can wait for rides with solo drivers, enhancing safety by providing designated waiting areas and pull-over spots. Presently, informal hitchhiking occurs, but establishing a dedicated waiting zone will further ease traffic congestion and improve overall transportation in the area. By implementing these measures, the town of Brighton can help enhance the canyon’s traffic management and create a smoother experience for both residents and visitors alike.

What is a fun or unique fact about yourself?

Being part of Burning Man brings me so much joy through meeting incredible people, the inspiring creativity and literally building a community together.