The 2023 election season officially kicked off Thursday as the filing period opened for municipal offices throughout Utah and across Utah County. As of Saturday, online listings showed 48 candidates seeking office in 13 cities.

Provo: With four council seats on the ballot, eight candidates have already completed their paperwork to run. For the District 3 seat, currently held by Shannon Ellsworth, the only candidate is former neighborhood chair and police department advisory board member Becky Bogdin. The only person, as of Friday, running for the District 4 seat is incumbent Travis Hoban. Seeking the District 1 seat are Craig Christensen, a self-described entrepreneur, and Stan Jensen, neighborhood executive board chair for the district.

Four candidates have also declared their intent to fill the citywide seat currently held by David Shipley. They are: Joseph Penrose, entrepreneur; Gary Garrett, former member of the Provo Municipal Council; McKay Jensen, former Provo City School District Board of Education member; Nathan Smith Jones, author and former Utah House of Representatives candidate.

Orem: Five candidates filed their intent to run for three seats on the City Council in the first days of the filing period. Incumbent Jeff Lambson and challenger Jenn Gale are both officially running after previously announcing their intent to do so. Seeking seats for the first time in the group are Crystal Muhlstein, a parent suing the Alpine School District to prevent school closures in Orem; Greg Duerden, who most recently ran for governor with the Independent American Party; and Spencer Rands, member of the Orem Public Safety Commission and Orem C.A.R.E. Tax Commission.

American Fork: Three council seats will be up for grabs on the November ballot. The seats are currently held by Clark Taylor, Rob Shelton and Kevin Barnes. Taylor, the city’s mayor pro-tem, has filed for reelection along with Austin Duke and Elizabeth Gray.

Lehi: With three seats open on the City Council, four candidates turned in their paperwork to run by the end of the day on Friday. Corey Astill, Jason Hill, Heather Newall and Jeremy Baker — all newcomers — are seeking the seats.

Pleasant Grove: Five candidates are running for three seats on the council, the second-most candidates of any city in Utah County over the first two days. Incumbent council members Brent Bullock and Eric Jensen are seeking reelection while Denise Trickler, Steve Rogers and Greg Sorensen are seeking election for the first time.

Saratoga Springs: Three seats are up for election to the City Council and only two candidates have, thus far, turned in their paperwork to run. Chris Carn is running for reelection and Lance Wadman is seeking the seat for the first time.

Spanish Fork: In the first two days of the filing period, four residents filed for three seat on the Spanish Fork City Council. Landon Tooke and Jackie Larson are seeking election for the first time, Stacy Beck is running for reelection and Jesse Cardon is running for his first full term. Cardon was appointed to the council in December 2022, replacing Brandon Gordon after his election to the Utah County Commission.

Springville: With three seats open on the council, four candidates turned in their paperwork to run by the end of the day on Friday. Hunter Huffman, John Harvey Wells, Mindi Wright and Jacob Gregg Smith — all newcomers — are seeking the seats.

Highland: Three people have filed for three open City Council seats in Highland. Council members Brittney Bills and Kim Rodela have filed to seek reelection. Doug Cortney, who unsuccessfully sought a council seat in 2019, has also filed to run. Sitting council member Timothy Ball has not yet made public his decision regarding reelection.

Lindon: As of Friday, three people — Steve Stewart, Lincoln Jacobs and Bret Frampton — have filed to run for the three council seats in Lindon. None of the three currently hold elected office.

Santaquin: With three City Council seats on the ballot, three candidates have filed to run including incumbent Lynn Mecham. Bryan Mecham, the city’s parks supervisor, and Brian Del Rosario are also running for the council seats.

Cedar Hills: Kelly Smith and Bob Morgan have filed to run for council seats in Cedar Hills, both of whom are incumbents.

Fairfield: In Fairfield, one of the smallest towns in Utah by population, two candidates have filed to run for office. Town Council member Hollie McKinney is running for mayor and Richard Cameron, Seat D council member, is seeking the same seat.

Mapleton: Sitting city council members Jessica Egbert, Therin Garrett and Leslie Jones have all filed to run for reelection. They are joined by newcomer Teresa Brunson in seeking seats.

Eagle Mountain City Recorder Fionnuala Kofoed told the Daily Herald that, as of Saturday, no candidates have filed to run for office in the city.

A list of candidates running for office was not immediately available for Alpine, Goshen, Elk Ridge and Salem, and the filing period for several cities using ranked-choice voting — Genola, Payson, Vineyard and Woodland Hills — will be Aug. 8-15.

Those interested in running for municipal office can do so by filing the necessary paperwork with their respective city recorder’s office. A primary election, if necessary, will be held Aug. 15 and the general election will be held Nov. 7.

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