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SALT LAKE CITY — The east and west sides of Utah's capital city will have new representation on the City Council next year.
Charlie Luke and Kyle LaMalfa both ousted incumbents Tuesday night, shaking up the seven-member Salt Lake City Council.
Luke, a public relations and government affairs consultant, pushed JT Martin out of office after a single term, collecting 61 percent of the vote to Martin's 38.5 percent in east-side District 6.
Luke said he believes his call for Salt Lake City government to get back to the "nuts and bolts" — infrastructure and municipal services — really resonated with voters.
"I think those things have been neglected," he said after the votes were counted Tuesday night. "I look forward to redirecting the council's focus back toward those things."
On the west side, LaMalfa received 57 percent of the vote to defeat longtime Councilman Van Turner, who finished with 42.4 percent.
LaMalfa said voters "clearly heard our message about education, public safety and infrastructure." And, he said, they also appreciated his personal touch.
"I knocked on 4,000 doors. I tried to meet every voter," LaMalfa said. "People on the west side are going to be represented by a person they can connect with on a personal level, and that's important."
Turner, who has represented District 2 for nearly 12 years, said he was disappointed in the low voter turnout, which in Salt Lake City was about 21 percent. But he also praised LaMalfa's campaign for its hard work and wished his successor well.
"I'm grateful for all the support I've had for the last three terms," Turner said. "It's been a real pleasure to serve the community. My congratulations go out to Kyle, and I hope he can continue to carry the community forward."
Luke Garrott was the lone Salt Lake City Council incumbent to hold onto his seat, earning an easy 77.5 percent to 21.1 percent victory over Jack Gray. Garrott essentially ran unopposed, as Gray was mostly absent from the race.
In the race for Salt Lake City mayor, Ralph Becker earned a landslide victory in his bid for a second term, as expected, garnering 75 percent of the vote.
A little more than 24 percent voted for J. Allen Kimball, a 79-year-old Avenues resident and political newcomer who said he ran against Becker because nobody else did.
Becker called his re-election a "nice affirmation of what we've been doing in the city."
"It's a wonderful vote of confidence from our Salt Lake City residents, and it certainly gives me an extra boost going into the next four years," he said.
Elsewhere in Salt Lake County, Taylorsville has had a high profile during the election season because of a discussion among city officials over whether to dissolve the city's police department and join Unified Police.
The proposal wasn't successful, though most candidates said they would consider it again in the future.
An open race in District 1 went to Israel M. Grossman, who edged out Ernest Glen Burgess by only nine votes. District 2 incumbent Morris K. Pratt lost to Kristie Steadman Overson by a much larger 61 percent to 39 percent margin. Overson has said she supports the Unified Police Department switch.
District 3 incumbent Jerry W. Rechtenbach retained his post over Dave Ballou, claiming 63 percent of the vote to Ballou's 36 percent.
In Midvale, the contest for City Council District 3 went to the top primary election vote-getter, Paul Hunt. Questions about Hunt's recent misdemeanor conviction for wrongful appropriation over his use of a company credit card did not keep him from getting 58 percent of the vote, compared with Alan C. Anderson's 42 percent.
Both candidates said it was likely voters would be choosing whether they were bothered less by Hunt's conviction or the fact Anderson is gay.
Cottonwood Heights District 1 incumbent Gordon Thomas did not run and will be replaced by Mike Shelton, who claimed 52 percent of the vote to Janet Janke's 48 percent; District 2 incumbent Scott Bracken will serve another term, claiming 70 percent of the vote over challenger James H. Thuet's 30 percent.
The City Council one week ago turned down developer Terry Diehl's petition to disconnect land in his Tavaci development from the city. The results of the election are not expected to change that position.
Davis County
Voters in Syracuse sent a clear message for change to their city leaders, voting out all three incumbents up for re-election and shooting down a $3 million bond measure for road improvements.
According to unofficial results, Douglas J. Peterson fell four votes shy of being re-elected. With three at- large council seats available, Peterson finished fourth with 974 votes behind Karianne Lisonbee (1,498), Craig A. Johnson (1,438) and Daniel Schuler (978). Incumbents Alan L. Clark (912) and Matthew D. Ocana (803) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
The city bond measure failed by a 67 percent to 33 percent margin.
In Layton, incumbents Scott Freitag and Joyce Forbes Brown were re-elected, but Councilman F. Renny Knowlton was ousted by Jory Francis.
Richard L. Higginson will join incumbents Beth Holbrook and John Marc Knight on the Bountiful City Council. Councilman Scott C. Myers finished fourth in the voting.
In Fruit Heights, Kris Christensen's re-election bid fell short, as did Cheryl Budge's run in Sunset. All other Davis County incumbents were re-elected.
Utah County
In Provo, no incumbents were involved in the four City Council races, with the District 1 and District 4 races in almost a dead heat from the time early returns started coming in.
The city-wide District 2 seat, open since the recent resignation of incumbent Steve Turley, had Gary Garrett ahead with 70 percent of the vote over Yancee M. Hardy with 78 percent of precincts reporting.
The city plans next week to appoint a temporary replacement for Turley, filling a statutory requirement that would fill the vacancy until his term expires in January. Projections are the City Council will appoint Tuesday's winner.
The District 1 race finished with Gary Winterton winning with 51 percent of the vote over Bonnie Morrow's 49 percent. The race for District 3 was just as close, with Richard Wood claiming 51 percent of the vote over Hal Miller's 49 percent with 80 percent of precincts reporting.
In District 4, Kay Van Buren was leading with 66 percent of the vote to Jim Pettersson's 34 percent with 67 percent of precincts reporting.
In Orem, incumbent City Council members Margaret Black and Mark Seastrand were re-elected and will be joined by Hans V. Andersen Jr.
Weber County
In Ogden, Mike Caldwell collected 61 percent of the vote to defeat Brandon S. Stephenson in the race to replace three-term Mayor Matthew Godfrey, who opted not to seek a fourth term.
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Written by Jared Page and Steve Fidel.
