In a packed ceremony last week, lifelong Tooele resident Debbie Winn took the oath of office to become the city’s first female mayor — a historic victory earned alongside at least five other women in cities across the state.
Previously, Winn served as the executive director of the Tooele County Chamber of Commerce for seven years and as a city councilwoman since 2013. She ran her campaign for mayor on the promise that she was not a politician but a public servant, and said it’s the prospect of helping others that drew her into city government.
In the coming years, Winn said she hopes to see Tooele’s “bedroom community,” where there are many residential areas and fewer commercial ones, evolve to include more retail options that would increase revenue for the city and business opportunities for residents.