In Payson, Rick Moore pulled off what can only be described as the impossible on Tuesday -- he not only defeated an incumbent mayor, he did it as a write-in candidate.

"It was a lot of work, a lot of campaigning, but it paid off," Moore said. And it almost didn't happen.

He unsuccessfully challenged Mayor Burtis Bills four years ago. He wasn't planning another attempt this year, so he could instead take care of an ailing father. But his father died a week before the filing deadline and he reconsidered. However, with all of the things to get in order after his father's death, Moore ended up in the city offices 15 minutes after the deadline passed on July 15.

Intent on running, he filed as a write-in candidate -- a longshot in any instance -- and that's when the work started. Moore tracked down influential people in the city and asked them to vote for him. He then handed them sheets of stickers with his name on them that can be placed on a ballot in a write-in slot. He asked that those people talk to others and hand the stickers around. The results? 911 votes vs. Bills's 792.

Moore, of Payson, was just one of the Utah County candidates who handed 43 percent of incumbent mayors a loss on Election Day, including mayors in American Fork, Highland and Mapleton. Incumbent council members were hit even harder, with 45 percent failing to get re-elected.

Beating an incumbent is no small feat. In federal elections, the incumbent wins 90 percent of the time.

"The incumbency advantage is strong in [municipal] races, just not as strong," said Kelly Patterson with Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy.

Patterson said the lower turnout in municipal elections compared to national elections allows a smaller group of people to have a major impact.

"Normally, when incumbents lose, it's due to some kind of scandal or real intense opposition to something that candidate stood for."

There wasn't much scandal this time around, but intense opposition is certainly what Cindy Richards faced in Provo in her bid for re-election to the Provo municipal council. She fell after being targeted by a well-funded and high profile campaign against her zoning and iProvo record.

David Lifferth in Eagle Mountain is still trying to figure out what he did to lose his council seat. The city, which has a colorful political history, is "in the best shape it's ever been," he said.

The winners -- John Painter and Nathan Ochsenshirt -- beat Lifferth handily.

"They campaigned really hard. They really worked hard," he said.

Liffereth is trying to look on the bright side. He has two sons playing high school soccer in the spring that he'll get to watch.

"I'll have spare time on my hands," he said.

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