Ralph Severini has, he said, the business acumen, the city government experience and the knowledge of what’s best for Hideout. As the new interim mayor, Severini plans to lay the groundwork to earn a successful full-term as the town’s top official.
Hideout’s recent government shakeup started when Phil Rubin resigned as mayor on April 14, citing health challenges. While Chris Baier, a Hideout town council member, was elected mayor pro tempore, the interim mayor position was open for applications.
By May 12, Baier and Severini had both thrown their hats into the ring, ready to undergo questioning at the special meeting.
Severini came out on top in a 2-1 vote. As interim mayor, Severini said he plans to be the “strong, proactive leader” he believes Hideout needs in the months before the general election in November.
“Every one of us can improve individually and as a town. So, I want to develop that consistency,” Severini said. “And that’s not going to all occur in five months. But, we’re getting on the right trajectory, which is critical for any endeavor.”
This isn’t Severini’s first position as a leader in town. In fact, it isn’t even his second.
When Severini and his wife Suzanne moved to Hideout before the COVID-19 pandemic, it wasn’t long before Severini secured a position on the Hideout Planning Commission. When the couple attended a local party, Severini met Rubin, who invited him to occupy an open planning commission seat.
Since then, Severini has occupied roles as a planning commissioner, city councilor, then planning commission chair and, now, interim mayor.
“But really it started in my life with two other towns in the East Coast in terms of volunteering time,” Severini said about his “extracurricular” roles outside of his position working for Amazon Web Services.
Severini first became a public servant when he lived in a New Jersey borough called Atlantic Highlands. He and Suzanne, Severini said, have always been “view people.” It’s part of why the pair moved to Hideout in 2018. But, in New Jersey, the city-wide view seen from their hilltop house became obstructed by new school district construction.
With the construction obstructing his and his neighborhood’s viewshed, Severini took it upon himself to conduct an analysis of the district’s options. While the development still happened, Severini said he realized he could play a part in efficient city planning.
“At that point in time in my life I said to myself, if you don’t get involved, you know, shame on you,” Severini said.
Severini said his Hideout home reminds him somewhat of his East Coast residence. But in Utah, Severini has a picturesque view of Deer Valley and the Jordanelle Reservoir. Originally, Severini moved out west to be closer to his daughter, who is a teacher in the Park City School District.
Having kept his job for Amazon Web Services through the move, Severini said his business leadership enabled him to use that experience in government work for Hideout. His Master of Business Administration, Severini said, also helped.
Working with global financial services taught Severini to combine “technology with business,” he said. Improving business positions competitively also came with the job.
“I’m kind of a fusion of all those things,” Severini said.
But, some aspects of work on the Planning Commission and City Council surprised him. The first referendum he worked on in 2021— made to allow town members to vote on the Richardson Flat annexation — turned out to be more work and a trickier fix than he anticipated.
That annexation, which Hideout attempted to pass in 2020, turned into a multi-year endeavor where the highest court in the state ended up weighing in. In June 2024, the Utah Supreme Court allowed Hideout to move forward with bringing 350 acres near Richardson Flat into its borders.
Severini said he worked to get more townspeople involved in the annexation because he “is definitely a person who wants more involvement than less involvement.”
“The purpose was to get people to voice their opinion, and that’s a principle that I believe we should continue to have here,” Severini said.
Both Severini and City Councilor Jonathan Gunn emphasized transparency as necessary for any mayoral candidate in town. Gunn was one of the councilmembers that voted in Severini as interim mayor May 12.
“I like the idea of different perspectives. I’m a big believer in everybody expressing their candid opinion,” Gunn said. “Sometimes, a great idea comes out of left field and you’ve got to be open to listening to them. That’s Ralph.”
In his time serving on the Planning Commission and City Council, Severini said he has seen two main issues take center stage for town members: community and wildfire danger. On the former, Severini referenced a Hideout open house in November 2024, where town leaders sought community input on future developments at Ross Creek.
“The town really came out in support of recreational retail, some additional restaurants,” Severini said. “If you look at the town right now, we have nothing.”
While Hideout is home to just under 1,500 people, the town is entirely residential. Commercial amenities nearby are scarce and residents drive to Kamas or Park City for grocery runs. Severini said he has heard townspeople voice their desire for a change.
Aside from Ross Creek developments, which Severini hopes will build on the recreational aspects of the area like the Jordanelle Reservoir and surrounding trails, he said he hopes Hideout can create a “community focus” moving forward.
When it comes to wildfire danger, Severini emphasized that while Hideout is not the only town at risk, the area is perfectly poised for rapid-spreading wildfire. The dense vegetation, closely constructed homes and steeply sloped topography makes the community vulnerable to wildfires.
Severini said it’s a main concern because of the risk, but also because it’s affecting insurance costs for residents. In March, Gunn said he has seen “concerning insurance situations” in his subdivision. Severini hopes to create a symposium with Utah Insurance Commissioner John Pike as interim mayor.
“We’re pulling together experts from our fire departments and Wasatch [County] to understand how insurers and that community interacts with us to keep insurance affordable and accessible,” Severini said, adding that the fire department can assess the area to keep costs down. “I really see this as a regional effort.”
Hideout mayoral candidates in the November election are not required to declare their intent to run until June, but Severini knows he will run for a full-term as mayor. With five months of work ahead of him, Severini said he hopes to spur change leading up to the election this fall.
“Let’s reinvigorate this process. Let’s be proactive about what we want to accomplish,” Severini said.
