LEHI -- Councilman Mark Johnson has created a Web site featuring the 10 politicians running for city mayoral and council offices to help Lehi voters know more about their candidates and their platforms before they go to the polls.

The site is popular, with more than 3,000 independent hits in the 10 days since it was built. Johnson said he has been surprised at the response because he hasn't advertised the site at all.

"I didn't know of one and nobody was talking about one, so I decided to create one," Johnson said. "I just decided to purchase the domain name and do a public service."

The site is not associated with the city, and Johnson is not facing re-election this year. There will not be a link from the city Web site to VoteLehi.info and no one who works for the city should be referring people to the site, according to Connie Ashton, Lehi City recorder.

Johnson said his work is in response to requests that constituents have made that there be one Web site they could visit to learn about each candidate during municipal campaigns and elections.

"I've been scouring the Internet for weeks trying to find a good resource for information on the candidates running for office in Lehi," said Connor Boyack, of Lehi. "I believe that all voters should be as informed as possible, and yet I was unable to come up with much of anything. This basic Web site has fit that need perfectly and is a great starting point for me to study each candidate's stance on the issues, and contact them for more information."

With early voting beginning on Monday, Lehi voters can go to www.VoteLehi.info or www.VoteLehi.com and see one-page submissions posted by each one of the candidates to help them decide who they want to vote for.

There are three candidates running for the office of mayor: incumbent Howard Johnson, former mayor Ken Greenwood and Bert Wilson. Incumbent Johnny Barnes, Justin Collings, Kaye Collins, James Green, incumbent Steve Holbrook, Gordon Miner, former councilman Rod Olsen and Kerry Schwartz are the eight candidates competing for two council seats.

Johnson initially created the Web site when he was running to retain his council seat and invited the 2007 candidates to participate. They were told they must play nice, or as Johnson states in his introductory e-mail to the 2009 candidates, "No criticism of other candidates. That is not going to happen here."

The sites provide a hub for each candidate's own Web site link if they have one. As a central hub for Lehi candidate information, each candidate can have approximately 600 words and two photos for their "page."

"I got a good response from most everybody and got their stuff," Johnson said. "I think it looks pretty good. It's been a little bit more work than I anticipated but that's OK."

The not-for-profit project turned out costing more than the few dollars he expected, he said. Two years ago he was able to purchase one domain for a three month period, but now he had to purchase for a 12-month increment.

"There is really not a format anywhere available that will post the candidate's blurbs based on their own input," said Johnson. "Not that I know of anyway."

• Cathy Allred can be reached at heraldextra@digis.net.