Utah County elections calm and sedate — mostly
This story was updated at 11 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 5.
The ease of voting by mail appears to be working again this voting season. If all goes as it should, Taylor Williams, deputy clerk auditor said the county could have close to 35% of registered voters participating — a high mark for a municipal election.
“99% of those who voted, voted by mail in the 2020 presidential election and again in the 2021 primaries,” Williams said. He also noted that in 2016 the county has 20 polling locations. That has shrunk to five for this general election as voters continue to use vote by mail.
Williams and his crew provided several links on http://utahcounty.vote for Utah County residents to keep abreast of what was happening throughout the days before the election and Tuesday. A special dashboard of information was available as well as vote tallies, assistance and just about anything connected to voting in Utah County you need to know. That service will continue to be available at least through the official canvass and beyond.
Before the voting, candidates pounded the pavement throughout the county to get folks to vote when their ballots arrived in mailboxes.
One of the more interesting campaigns has been in Orem. With a new mayor and three council members anticipated, the potential for a philosophical shift in the leadership is possible.
The divisiveness has split the city into basically two camps, those who are with mayoral candidate Jim Evans and council candidate/incumbent Tom Macdonald. One council candidate, who appeared to be grouped with them ideologically, Nichelle Jensen, was disqualified after failing to turn in financial disclosures by the 5 p.m. deadline last Tuesday.
In the other camp is Mayoral candidate Dave Young, and council candidates LaNae Millett and David Spencer, also an incumbent.
Discussions have been from on issues on housing, transportation, the State Street Master Plan moratorium to a campaign sign agreement candidates were asked to put their signature to by the Woodbury Corp. Managers and developers of University Place.
On Monday, Taylor Woodbury, COO said the company was sorry for the issues it may have caused and for the future will not allow any campaign signs on their private and very prime viewing property in Orem and throughout the state.
Now mayor-elect Dave Young will prepare to take the reins from outgoing Mayor Richard Brunst. The campaigning is over and come January, Young will work with city staff and the council to make sure the day-to-day operations of the city continue.
“I want to thank my family and enthusiastic supporters who volunteered so much time in this effort,” Young said. “In the last few months, we have worked hard to deliver our message to move Orem forward responsibly into the future to voters. It’s my first venture running for office, and my wife Cathy and I are humbled by the support we have received in this campaign. I’m looking forward to working with residents, businesses, and the city council to make Orem an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.”
Young’s opponent in the mayoral race, Jim Evans, offered his congratulations as the evening tallies showed support was trending toward Young.
“I extend my congratulations to Mr. Young for his election as our next mayor,” Evans said.
“Orem residents are the best people on earth. I’m proud of my campaign as one of focusing on the facts and positive things that are happening in Orem,” Evans said. “Orem has employees second to none and an incredible public safety that protects our community. Our businesses big and small are amazing. I thank all the voters that supported me.”
While Orem had its issues during the campaign, Provo appeared to have a more steady-as-you-go campaign season.
Incumbent Mayor Michelle Kaufusi is seeking a second term. During the primaries, Kaufusi pulled in 68.06% of the vote, while opponent Kenneth Dudley received 15.69% of the vote. All of the other candidates tallies combined were 16.25% of the vote.
“Provo is poised for progress thanks to the collective efforts of all who share a love for this unique city. I am deeply grateful to Provo residents and don’t take this seat for granted,” Kaufusi said Tuesday. “Great things are happening in Provo, and I am thrilled to continue to dedicate myself to this city that I love. And more importantly, I’m surrounded by citizens who are equally dedicated.”
Kaufusi has focused efforts on four key areas of concern for citizens. Labeled as the “Provo Pillars,” each represents an identified area of focus including Safe and Sound (public safety); Welcoming (quality of life); Economically Vibrant (healthy economy); and Forward-Looking (future visioning).
“Provo stands at a time of great opportunity with generational projects underway that will not only solidify our role as the central business district of Utah County, but will also preserve our unique character and high quality of life,” Kaufusi said.
As far as Provo council races there were a few stress points during the campaign. Incumbent George Handley in District 2 ran unopposed. While Citywide 1 candidates Aaron Skabeland and Katrice MacKay, who were close in primary votes, are being challenged by official write-in candidate Tom Sitake Sr. — father to the BYU football head coach Kalani Sitake.
District 5 with Coy D. Porter and Rachelle Whipple appears to be congenial with little fanfare. Whipple bested Porter in the primaries by 14.33%.
If you really want a lackluster campaign, Utah County Residents can turn to Pleasant Grove and Fairfield cities. Both municipalities canceled their elections because no one had any competition in the end. One candidate in Fairfield withdrew which eliminated any chance of a competitive race there.
Four Utah County cities are also considering PARC, RAP or other arts and recreation taxes, which shows they are hoping to follow the footsteps of cities like Provo and Orem. They use one cent out of every $10 of their sales tax revenues for recreation, arts and parks. The use of those sales tax revenues have been noticeable with Orem’s CARE Tax and Provo’s RAP tax going to build parks, trails, arts and recreation programs.
In the past year, even during COVID-19, both cities received over $1.2 million from sales tax revenue for their parks and arts programs.
Cities seeking a parks, arts and recreation tax this year include: American Fork, Highland, Lehi and Springville. Lehi and Springville chose to do ranked choice voting this year but their propositions are as follows:
Lehi: Proposition 7 asks residents if they would like a parks, arts and recreation tax. The first, and unofficial numbers are:
Yes 6,604
No 3,743
Springville: Proposition 15 asks resident if they would like a parks, arts and recreation tax. The first and unofficial numbers are:
Yes 4,235
No 1,842
Cities by the numbers from Tuesday night counts, these numbers are considered unofficial until the canvass two in two weeks:
Alpine
Mayor:
Carla Merrill 2,329
Gary Cooper 1,061
Council — 2- years:
Jessica Smuin 2,129
Ethan Allen 1,227
Council — 4- years:
Kelli B. Law 2,333
Jason Thelin 2,290
Ed Bush 1,2o7
American Fork
Mayor:
Brad Frost 4,764
Tim Holley 1,261
Council: 3-4 year seats
Staci Carroll 4,745
Ryan Hunter 4,692
Carissa George 1,368
Proposition 5: Proposal to enact a sales and use tax for cultural arts and recreation purposes:
Yes 4,620
No 1,460
Cedar Fort
Mayor:
Wyatt Cook 119
(Write – in) Maria Fernandez 43
(Write – in) Not Assigned 1
Council seat A:
Brad Norris 145
Council Seat B:
Rett Messersmith 113
Greg Cutburth 51
Council Seat C: 2 years
Jed Berry 105
Scott Christensen (not election report)
Cedar Hills
Mayor:
Denise Andersen 1,642
Council:
Laura Ellison 1,392
Alexandra McEwen 864
Bob Morgan 565
Britney Lindsey 526
Eagle Mountain
Mayor:
Tom Westmoreland 2,642
Melissa Clark 2,126
City Council:
Brett Wright 2,580
Donna Rivera Burham 2,159
Rich Wood 2,127
Jason Allen 1,524
Fairfield
Canceled due to candidate withdrawal no competing races
Highland
Mayor:
Kurt Ostler 3,807
Council:
Sarah D. Petersen 2,362
Scott L. Smith 2,264
Jerry Abbott 2,226
Colby Gibson 1,703
Proposition 1: Approval of land sale of 5.77 acres of public open space and 5, 992 lineal feet of paved public trails at the Wimbleton Subdivision at 10030 North to 10250 North and from 6690 West to 6580 West:
Yes 1,555
No 3,035
Proposition 11: Proposal for the city to have a PARC tax for parks, arts and recreation.
For 2,883
Against 1,712
Lindon
Mayor:
Carolyn Lundberg 1,666
Shawn D. Moon 1,396
Council:
Jake Hoyt 2,011
Van Broderick 1,573
Cole D. Hooley 1,202
Jennifer Price 905
Mapleton
Mayor:
Dallas Hakes 1,790
Council:
Kasey Beck 1,534
E. Reid Carlson 1,120
A.J. Rounds 1,029
Jim Lundberg 1,008
Orem
Mayor:
Dave Young 8,808
Jim Evans 6,183
Council:
LaNae Millett 10,548
David M. Spencer 9,630
Tom Macdonald 7,034
Quinn Mecham 5,430
Shaunte Ruiz Zundel 4,844
Pleasant Grove
Canceled due to no competing races
Provo
Mayor:
Michelle Kaufusi 10,029
Kenneth Dudley 3,422
Council Citywide 1:
Katrice MacKay 7,019
Aaron Skabelund 5,737
Write-in Tom Sitake Sr. 561
Write-in Undeclared 88
Council District 2:
George Handley 1,052
Council District 5:
Rachelle Whipple 813
Coy D. Porter 672
Salem
Mayor:
Kurt L. Christensen 1,695
Council:
Cristy Simons 1,225
Kelly Peterson 1,023
Jeff Long 945
Jason B. Stewart 766
Santaquin
Mayor:
Daniel M. Olson 1,876
Jody Reid 568
Council:
Arthur (Art) Adcock 1,264
Jeff Siddoway 1,206
Betsy Montoya 1,085
Micheal Weight 996
Saratoga Springs
Mayor:
Jim Miller 2,701
Council:
Stephen L. Willden 2,407
Michael D. S. McOmber 2,036
Nic Laughter 544
Ricky Felix 463
Spanish Fork
Mayor:
Mike Mendenhall 4,689
Derek Geslison 1,302
Council:
Kevin Oyler 3,628
Shane Marshall 3,226
Mike Clayson 2,264
Brett Bills 2,083
Ranked-Choice voting
This year, eight cities and towns within Utah County have opted to use ranked-choice voting in their elections, including Elk Ridge, Lehi, Springville, Woodland Hills, Goshen, Genola, Payson, and Vineyard.
During the ranked-choice voting process, voters rank candidates first to last in their order of preference.
If no candidate receives more than half of the first-place votes after they have been tabulated, the candidate with the fewest votes is then eliminated and the voters who have ranked him/her first will have their votes deferred to their second choice. The process then repeats until a candidate has a majority of the votes.
The process of counting ranked-choice ballots is similar to the counting of typical ballots, with one added caveat, ranked-choice votes are exported to a digital data file and undergo an automated process.
After tabulation election officials take the results, tabulate the votes, then compile the results into a visual chart. The chart for the 2021 ranked-choice election results can be found here.
For citizens of both Payson and Vineyard, this is the second election with ranked-choice voting ballots.
“In 2019, we surveyed voters who used ranked-choice voting. Over 84% of the respondents wanted to continue or expand that process,” said Josh Daniels, Utah County Clerk/Auditor. “They (Payson and Vineyard citizens) really liked it, and candidates seemed to like it too. That is why they are doing it again.”
Results for the Lehi, Payson, and Goshen elections were unavailable at the time of publication. Results for the ranked-choice voting elections are as follows:
Elk Ridge
Mayor: Robert Haddock was leading on Tuesday with 369 votes after two rounds of voting.
City Council Seat 1: Tanya Willis was leading on Tuesday with 347 votes after one round of voting. Willis on Friday had 669 votes.
City Council Seat 2: Unavailable at the time of publication.
Genola
Mayor: Marty Larson was leading on Tuesday with 145 votes. Larson on Friday had 270 votes.
City Council Seat 1: Hale Robison was leading on Tuesday for the first seat with 93 votes after one round of voting.
City Council Seat 2: Grant Lundberg was leading on Tuesday to fill the second seat with 92 votes after one round of voting.
Lehi
Mayor: Mark Johnson was leading on Tuesday with 3,894 votes. Johnson on Friday had 6,566 votes.
Springville
Mayor: Matt Packard was leading on Tuesday with 3,381 votes after one round of voting.
City Council 4-year Seat 1: Michael Snelson was leading on Tuesday with 2,581 votes after six rounds of voting.
City Council 4-year Seat 2: Craig Jensen was leading on Tuesday with 2,292 votes after five rounds of voting.
City Council 2-year Seat 1: Chris Sorensen was leading on Tuesday with 2,380 votes after two rounds of voting.
Vineyard
Mayor: Julie Fullmer was leading on Tuesday with 597 votes after one round of voting.
City Council Seat 1: Mardi Sifuentes was leading on Tuesday with 359 votes after two rounds of voting.
City Council Seat 2: Amber Rasmussen was leading on Tuesday with 397 votes after three rounds of voting.
Woodland Hills
Mayor: Brent Winder was leading on Tuesday with 174 votes after two rounds of voting.
City Council Seat 1: Janet Lunt was leading on Tuesday with 196 votes after three rounds of voting.
City Council Seat 2: Dorel B. Kynaston was leading on Tuesday with 171 votes after two rounds of voting.