ALAN CHOATE - Daily Herald | Posted: Monday, March 6, 2006 11:00 pm
State Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, has decided not to seek the 3rd District Congressional seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon.
Bramble made the announcement Monday, one day before candidate filing began for the Nov. 7 general elections.
"I was elected to be a senator first and foremost, and one of the areas I've taken on is tax reform," he said. "We're in the middle of that, and we didn't bring closure to it."
Reforms to the state income tax, an area in which Bramble worked extensively, stalled in the state House of Representatives in the waning hours of this year's legislative session, which ended March 1.
"There's lots of good people who could pick up the torch and run with it," said Bramble, "but it's something that I have been intimately involved in."
He also said he hasn't ruled out a run for Congress in the future.
For those who do plan to run, filing starts today.
Several local, state and federal offices will be on the ballot this year, including two Utah County commissioner slots and a number of seats in the state Legislature.
Some candidacy announcements have already been made. Others will come between now and March 17, which is the filing deadline.
Primary elections, in which members of political parties determine who their candidates will be, will take place June 27.
At the county level, commissioners Steve White and Jerry Grover, both Republicans, are up for re-election. Both will seek to retain their seats.
Joseph Brierley, a financial adviser and insurance agent from Spanish Fork, has announced that he will run against White as a Democrat.
The only Utah County state Senate seat up this year is District 15, and incumbent Sen. Parley Hellewell, R-Orem, is not running again. State Rep. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, has said she intends to run for the spot.
That leaves Dayton's seat -- District 61 -- open, and so far Republicans Garr Judd, executive director of the American Red Cross Mountain Valley Chapter, and John Tinsley have said they will seek to fill it. All state House of Representative seats are up for election this year, as they are every two years.
Utah County has 12 representatives in its delegation, and it appears that only in Dayton's case is the incumbent not seeking to retain the seat, said county GOP chairwoman Marian Monnahan.
In addition to the county commission offices, county positions on November's ballot will include sheriff, county attorney, assessor, clerk/auditor, treasurer and recorder/surveyor.
In the county attorney race, deputy county attorney Jeff Buhman has already announced his intention to oppose incumbent Kay Bryson.
Other races on the ballot include state school board District 3 and slots on the boards of the Alpine, Nebo and Provo school districts. At the federal level, Cannon and U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, are up for re-election, as is U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
Candidates for these offices must file with the Lieutenant Governor's Office
Filing Fee: U.S. Senator $1,239 U.S. Representative $413
(Districts 2 and 3)
Candidates for these offices can file with the Lieutenant Governor's Office or the County Clerk's Office
Filing Fee: State Senate $32.40 State House of Rep. $16.20 State school board $15
Candidates for these offices file with the county clerk
Filing fee: County commissioner $407.94County attorney $502.84Sheriff $437.58Assessor $380.64Clerk/Auditor $380.64Recorder/Surveyor $380.64Treasurer $380.64Local school board $25
Alpine: Districts 1, 2, 3, 5 Nebo: Districts 2, 4, 5 Provo: Districts 1, 2, 4.
The deadline for filing is 5 p.m. March 17. For residency requirements and other information, contact the Utah County Clerk at (801) 851-8128 or the elections division of the Lieutenant Governor's office at (800) 995-VOTE.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.