In a race that initially pitted nine candidates to occupy three City Council seats, the incumbent, an attorney and a utility company manager won in the final tally Tuesday.
According to unofficial results, Thomas L. Christensen received the most votes, capturing 24 percent of the electorate, while Jack M. Peck and incumbent Merlynn Newbold each received 23 percent.Christensen, a 34-year-old civil attorney with the Salt Lake County attorney's office and a city Planning and Zoning commissioner, said he hopes his background will help the city plan for future quality growth.
While Peck, a Utah Power area manager, may be new to the Council he has been involved in the area's economic development as a member of South Jordan's Economic Development Committee, the Jordan Valley Tourism Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce.
"I am convinced that while growth is good, it must be managed to ensure that it is orderly," he said, noting the city must balance the interests of young and old residents as well as commercial developers.
Easily surviving the final cut - but receiving the fewest votes of the three winners - was Newbold. Appointed to the Council in 1987, the 41-year-old image consultant and homemaker said she hopes to continue implementing a program of preserving South Jordan's semirural lifestyle and encouraging complimentary economic development.
Five candidates were on the final ballot, as two were eliminated in the primary and two others withdrew from the race.