With a little over a week to go in municipal races throughout Utah, candidates' tempers are running thin and claims of unfair campaigning abound.

It's nothing new. And there'll be last-minute charges and counter-charges in most cities before the Nov. 7 election.Here are just a few complaints - by no means an all-encompassing list - that have raised candidates' ire:

- In Salt Lake City, Council Chairman Willie Stoler is disgusted that so many of his lawn signs have disappeared. (Almost every candidate in the state can join his complaint.)

But Stoler, a retired police major, isn't satisfied with just complaining. He says if he catches any of the thieves, he's going to take them to federal court under federal civil rights laws.

"That's what we convicted (murderer) Joseph Paul Franklin for - violating the civil rights of the two men he shot. I'll go for the jugular. I'm sick of it. Almost all of my 300 signs have been torn down, and it's not all juveniles playing pranks like some say. If it were, we'd have the worst juvenile crime problem in America."

- Also in Salt Lake City, council candidate Ron Whitehead is upset over being called a carpetbagger. Whitehead served on the original City Council in 1980. He left the council in 1986, sold his house and moved from his Rose Park home to Davis County. He moved back to Rose Park a little over a year ago and decided to run for his old seat.

But it's held by Councilwoman Florence Bittner, who has raised concerns that Whitehead is renting his current home, is not an owner, and could up and leave again.

"I've lived in Rose Park most of my life. Yes, I am renting my current house. I own a home in the area, but it is too small for my family. When my kids are grown, my wife and I will move into the other, two-bedroom, home. Until then I'll rent. I'm not going anywhere."

- Bittner also has a complaint: "I'm tired of hearing about how I hold closed, secret meetings over this or that negotiation. It doesn't happen. It never happened. How do you respond to such things? It's very frustrating for me."

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- The Sandy City mayor's race has turned heated, with police union officials and others accusing Mayor Steve Newton of various misdeeds.

Newton says the "most outrageous" claim against him comes from Larry Smith, who was Sandy's mayor four years ago and now seeks his old post.

"Larry says that the City Council and I have run a $3 million deficit. Ridiculous. Our outside auditors say there is no deficit at all. Period. In fact, the last year of Larry's administration he suggested spending $1.3 million from our surplus fund, a completely legal thing but still spending more money than the city was taking in in taxes. That's deficit spending."

- Smith says the worst thing he's heard is that he's against the arts, especially the Nutcracker ballet. "At a rehearsal for the Nutcracker - put on here in the city by a local arts group - someone stood up in front of all the kids and parents and said if Larry Smith is elected mayor it's the last year for the ballet, that I wouldn't support it. That's crazy. The Nutcracker first got city (funds) under my administration. I've always supported it and the arts in general and I'll continue to do that. Can you imagine someone saying that?"

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