Midvale’s new mayor, Dustin Gettel, grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania and went to college near Philadelphia. In 2015, he moved to Utah and has lived in Midvale for 10 years this spring. He never dreamed of moving anywhere else.

“They say once you hit 10 years in Utah, you’re a lifer,” Gettel said. “Moving here from 1,900 miles away, Midvale was incredibly convenient for everything. The area of Midvale where I live, near Top Golf and the Overstock building, seemed like it had the best of everything. It just has this vibrant kind of small town feel yet up-and-coming urban area as well.”

Gettel, who has represented District 5 on the Midvale City Council, was appointed to serve as the city’s mayor after the council held a special meeting on Dec. 10 to select a new mayor for the city. The former mayor, Marcus Stevenson, resigned from the position in November, following allegations of an affair with a subordinate. 

Eleven candidates submitted applications and letters of interest for the mayoral position including Gettel and Paul Glover, both current city councilmembers. When no candidate secured a three-vote majority, Gettel won the position based on a coin flip. 

First elected to the city council in 2017, Gettel got involved with the community as a way to create safer pedestrian access in more urban areas of Midvale. Since then, he’s worked on several initiatives including creating a paid parental and caregiver leave program for city employees, citywide curbside glass recycling, keeping property tax stable and revitalizing Midvale’s
Main Street. 

“For me, personally, and for the council in general, revitalizing Main Street is our goal and now we’re starting to see the actual results of the work that we put in to attract businesses and have people take a chance on Midvale Main Street,” Gettel said. “We saw the potential. Everyone knew what Main Street used to be and we wanted to restore that to its former glory. We’re starting to see the first of our labor coming to fruition.”

Gettel supports the Midvale Arts District on Main Street that features more than 40 murals and a thriving tattoo industry. Recently, new businesses have added to the area including 

The Bambino pizzeria and Cactus & Tropicals, a locally-owned business providing horticultural services. 

Along with his city council duties, Gettel volunteers on the Harvest Days Committee, the Jordan River Commission, the Association of Municipal Governments and works as the chair of the Animal Services Advisory Board. 

He also wants to reinstate the Midvale Community Council, an organization he volunteered with when he first moved to the city. During COVID, the community council program went on a temporary hiatus.

“We had a pretty vibrant, well-attended community council,” Gettel said, “and we’ve been talking about how to reorganize and re-energize our community council. I want to take that project on as mayor and see what we can do about actually getting that process in place and start a new Midvale Community Council.”

Gettel is an avid outdoor enthusiast who plans to walk the entire Jordan River Trail over the course of the next year. He has two dogs, a mini Schnauzer and a Shih Tzu/mini poodle rescue dog.

While Gettel will complete Stevenson’s mayoral term that ends on Jan. 5, 2026, he plans on running for election this fall to continue his service as Midvale’s mayor while his vacant council seat will be filled at the beginning of the 2025 year. He said the circumstances surrounding his appointment have been difficult but he’s ready to get started. 

“It was a rough time for Midvale,” he said. “It was a rough time for city staff, and it was a rough time for us councilmembers. It was not a place that any of us wanted to be in. I just want people to know that our city is continuing to move forward. We went through this process that no one wanted to go through, but it’s done now. We’ve turned the page, and we’re moving forward.” λ