Close calls, fresh faces win majority of battles on S.L. County's west side

By Amelia Nielson-Stowell and Amy Choate-Nielsen
Deseret Morning News
Published: Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007 12:56 a.m. MST
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East-side voters in Salt Lake County kept a majority of their city councils intact in Tuesday's election, but turnover was high in west-side cities.

Election results
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In Draper, the race involved a controversial TRAX route, tax increases and a potential new school district.

Alan Summerhays, Troy Walker and Bill Colbert ended up filling the spots.

"I'm happy obviously that the people still have faith in me after all these years," said Colbert, the incumbent who has won his third term on the council. Colbert, who was picking up campaign signs Tuesday night, said the election was turned into a TRAX issue, with residents for or against a right-of-way that cuts through low-density neighborhoods where the rail line will run. Colbert, Walker and Summerhays were all for using the right-of-way.

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On the other hand, Sandy had relatively quiet elections. Despite a year filled with controversy over the Real soccer stadium and construction on the gravel pit, only two of the four council seats were contested.

Five-term incumbent Dennis Tenney beat challenger Reed Haslam by 74 votes for the District 2 seat. Incumbent Chris McCandless also beat competitor David Kingsbury for the District 4 seat.

Incumbents generally ruled on the east side of Salt Lake County, where council members in Murray, Cottonwood Heights and Alta all ran uncontested.

East-side incumbents that lost included Holladay Councilman Steven Peterson, who was beat out for the District 4 seat by Barry Topham by 286 votes. South Salt Lake Councilman Bill Anderson was ousted by a mere 35 votes by newcomer Roy Turner for District 4. And in Midvale, incumbent Kelly Bennett lost in District 1 by 47 votes to Robert Hale.

Close calls and a crop of fresh faces won a majority of the battles against Salt Lake County's west-side incumbents.

Initial results in Riverton show that Galen Mills received just three votes more than Randy Brinkerhoff. With such a close race, either candidate could call for a recount, or absentee and provisional ballots could change the results.

In West Jordan, unofficial results show that Jim Lems and Ben Southworth overthrew incumbents Rob Bennett and Mike Kellermeyer. Councilman Lyle Summers narrowly held onto his seat with 129 votes.

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There were 3 seats up for grabs in West Valley City, which is the...

Forgotten? | Nov. 7, 2007 at 6:13 a.m.

Helloooo! Isn't West Valley the second largest city in this...

voter | Nov. 7, 2007 at 4:28 a.m.