Ex-commissioner tops Draper Council vote
6 candidates to vie for 3 at-large seats on November ballot
Results from Draper's Utah County mail-in ballots were tallied Wednesday — the city straddles the Salt Lake and Utah County border. Thirteen individuals were running for three at-large seats, all four-year terms. Six now move on to compete in the Nov. 6 general elections.
Fifty-two-year-old Barker began his political career at 25, when he was elected to the commission. He served there for 10 years and wants to jump back into politics on Draper's City Council.
"I think people understand that Draper has outgrown the luxury of thinking small town. Draper's grown so fast and it's kind of outgrown the traditional way of doing things, where we need more experience," he said.
His experience is what he believes appealed to voters. Also of interest could be his five-year budgeting plan, particularly after the current council raised taxes in August.
Barker earned 974 votes. Not far behind, however, was Alan Summerhays with 967 votes.
"The guys that coached me in baseball, they did not have a kid on the team. Not one of the coaches. They did it for the love of the kids and the love of the sport. I feel that I have to pay back a little bit," he said. "I think it's a shame, with all the kids we have here, that we don't have more fields for them."
The other candidates who will move on include:
• Troy Walker, 40, an attorney who received 788 votes.
• Bill Colbert, 52, an incumbent council member who received 763 votes.
• Scott Tanner, 41, a real estate broker who received 696 votes.
• Paul Tonks, 38, an attorney and business owner who received 651 votes.
Colbert — the only incumbent running for re-election — said he was impressed with the turnout, at 7,888 voters. Of those, 254 are from Utah County — which totals a little over 50 percent of the residents living in the area.
"I'm very pleased with election results that I think, even if I don't get elected, there will be some good people leading the city, even if I'm not there," said Colbert, who cites Draper's economic development gains, like IKEA and Draper Peaks, as some of his accomplishments while on council.
A last-minute surprise, however, was candidate Nick Ramond being pushed out of a general election spot as Tonks squeezed ahead after the Utah County votes were counted Wednesday. Tonks, who lives on the Utah County end of the SunCrest development, garnered the most votes from Utah County, 86.
Recent comments
TRAX coming through town is only a "highly charged issue"...
Winter | Sept. 13, 2007 at 1:33 p.m.
