Summit County voters pick new attorney, sheriff and give big thumbs up to Basin bond
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that the outcome of the auditor’s race will be unknown until the official tally.
For the most part, Summit County voters supported their incumbent elected officials on Election Day with a notable exception in the county attorney’s office. Former Judge Robert Hilder, running on the Democratic ticket, ousted David Brickey, a Republican who was hoping for a second term. Campaign issues focused on the balance of attention paid to the prosecution versus the civil sides of the department.
Tuesday’s tally is unofficial until the results are formally approved by the county council in about a week, giving candidates time to contest them if needed.
Less than half of the county’s registered voters turned out for this election cycle, casting 10,681 ballots, or 44.39 percent of the electorate.
Voters gave incumbent council members David Ure (R) and Chris Robinson (D) a vote of confidence, awarding each another four-year term.
Citizens also returned incumbents Steve Martin (Assessor), Kent Jones (Clerk), MaryAnn Trussell (Recorder) and Corrie Forsling (Treasurer) to their jobs.
In the two positions where the incumbents declined to run again, Michael Howard (D) will take over from Blake Frazier as Auditor, should his narrow lead be maintained after the canvass, and Justin Martinez (D) will replace David Edmunds as sheriff.
Howard, who previously worked in the Treasurer’s office, led Gary Shumway, who in a previous election had made a run for a council seat, after the election-night counting.
Martinez, currently a captain in the sheriff’s department, gained a comfortable margin over his challenger, winning with 67 percent of the vote.
In her second attempt to win the Congressional race for District 1, Park City resident Donna McAleer once again earned support from the majority of residents in Summit County, leading incumbent Rep. Rob Bishop with 55 percent of the local vote. However, when the rest of the district which includes a large swath of northern Utah, McAleer lost by a margin of 29 percent to Bishop’s 64 percent.
In another closely watched Congressional race for the District 4 seat (that did not tap Summit County voters), Republican Mia Love pulled out a victory over Democrat Doug Owens in a close race. Love logged 50.04 percent of the vote to Owen’s 46.75 percent.
In the state legislative races covering Park City and Summit County, Utah Sen. Kevin VanTassell (R-Vernal) kept his seat. Kraig Powell (R-Heber) will return to the state House of Representatives after defeating Democrat Glenn Wright of Park City, even though Wright was the choice in Summit County by a wide margin (63 to 27 percent).
Incumbent state Rep. Mel Brown (R- Coalville) also bested his challenger Ray Worthen of Morgan by a significant number 67 to 32 percent).
Summit County was also out of step with the rest of the state in the Attorney General’s contest where local voters picked Democrat Charles Stormont while the overall vote went to the current appointee Sean Reyes.
ELECTION NIGHT UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Jay Hamburger and Angelique McNaughton contributed to this report
Six cocktails in the running for Canyons Village winter contest
For its first year, and smaller-scale eligibility, there are six participating restaurants and bars: KITA at Pendry, Kutchu Shabu, Escala Provisions Co. at Hyatt Centric, Red Tail Grill, Edge Steakhouse and The Farm.
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