The filing window closed Thursday, revealing two contested Summit County Council races and new faces likely for three of area’s Statehouse positions

Jay Hamburger/Park Record
Despite the turmoil of recent weeks, the Summit County Clerk’s Office kept the filing window open as usual, allowing candidates for federal, state, county and school board races to declare at the County Courthouse until Thursday at 5 p.m.
Three of the men who represent Summit County at the Statehouse will not run again, with House District 28 Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, the lone incumbent whose seat is up for election to seek another term.
District 53 Rep. Logan Wilde filed for another term but on Friday afternoon was announced as Gov. Gary Herbert’s pick to become the next commissioner of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. District 54 Rep. Tim Quinn and Sen. Allen Christensen, District 19, are not running again.
There will be two contested Summit County Council seats, with two Democratic members of the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission vying for the seat currently held by Kim Carson, and Democrat and Basin resident Jill Fellow challenging incumbent Roger Armstrong, also a Democrat.
The school board races in Summit County’s three districts, meanwhile, are mostly mellow, except in the South Summit School District, where two failed bonds in a row have apparently roiled the waters and prompted contested races. The board president, Suni Woolstenhulme, is not seeking reelection, and neither is former president Jim Snyder.
State
Summit County will be represented by some new faces in the new year after three officials decided not to seek another term.
In Senate District 19, Christensen announced his intention to step down at the end of 2020 months ago, and four are seeking the seat, including two Summit County residents.
Republicans Johnny Ferry, John D. Johnson and Denver M. Lough have filed, the latter being a Silver Summit resident.
Democrat Katy Owens, a Snyderville Basin resident, also declared her candidacy.
District 19 covers portions of Summit, Morgan and Weber counties.
Wilde filed for another term in House District 53 on Monday but said he was contacted on Wednesday about the possibility of becoming the commissioner of the department of agriculture and food. As a rancher, Wilde said it’s a move he’s excited about but that he will miss elected office. The appointment is subject to state Senate confirmation.
Republicans Tal Adair and Kera Birkeland have filed for the seat, as has Democrat Cheryl Butler. Adair and Butler formerly led their respective parties in Summit County, and Adair is a former county councilor.
Quinn gained statewide prominence for taking the lead on a failed tax reform effort. He said he would absolutely do it again, as it was in his view the right policy, but that he had started to become cynical and decided it was time to step away from politics.
Republicans Mike Kohler and Randy Favero have filed to replace him in House District 54, as has Democrat Meaghan Miller, who narrowly lost to Quinn in 2018.
King will be challenged by Republican Carol Hunter in District 28.
Summit County
The majority of the seats on the Summit County Council are up for election, as are three department head positions.
Contestants in the latter races are all running unopposed, so it appears Assessor Stephanie Larsen, Recorder Rhonda Francis and Treasurer Corrie Forsling will retain their positions.
In a repeat of the 2018 elections, the Republican party did not field any candidates for county seats.
Carson, a current county councilor, announced she would not be seeking another term, and two Snyderville Basin planning commissioners have declared to run for her position, seat C: Canice Harte and Malena Stevens. Both are Democrats.
Basin resident Jill Fellow declared for seat A and will run against two-term Councilor Roger Armstrong.
Council Chair Doug Clyde will run unopposed.
School board
There’s only one contested race among the six seats up for election in the Park City and North Summit school district races, but all three of the South Summit school board races will feature more than one candidate.
In Park City, incumbents Anne Peters, President Andrew Caplan and Wendy Davis Crossland are all running unopposed.
In North Summit, incumbents Susan F. Richins and Waylon Bond do not have challengers, but Shane Robertson and Clark O. Staley will vie for the District 3 seat currently held by Heather Staley.
A nearly $90 million school bond failed in November in the South Summit School District, the second time a bond failed in three years.
Now, seven people are vying for three seats on the school board. The seats are geographically bound and represent Oakley, Kamas and Francis, respectively.
Woolstenhulme, the board president, is not seeking reelection, and two Oakley residents are poised to take her place: Wendy Radke and Oakley Mayor and South Summit High School Principal Wade Woolstenhulme. The latter is the board president’s cousin.
In Kamas, incumbent Dan Eckert is being challenged by Mark Mataya and David Darcey.
Former Board President Jim Snyder is opting not to defend his Francis seat, and Lynda Whitmore and Dustin Hatch have declared their candidacies.
Kouri Richins’ defense files conditions for her release
Defense attorneys representing the Kamas mother charged with the murder of her husband have filed a motion to set conditions for her release ahead of a detention hearing scheduled on Monday, but Summit County prosecutors argue Kouri Richins should be held without bail until the trial.

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