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Utah County elections calm and sedate — mostly

By Genelle Pugmire and Ashtyn Asay - | Nov 2, 2021

Isaac Hale, Daily Herald file photo

A collection of empty ballot envelops are zip-tied together to ensure there’s not a ballot in any of them at the Utah County Administrative Building in Provo on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020.

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.

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