Misinformation and negative campaigning may have played a role in deciding Lindon's City Council race, according to an incumbent council member who saw a fellow member go down to defeat.
An unofficial but complete vote tally shows the three available four-year seats will be filled by incumbent Dean Blackhurst and newcomers Jerald Hatch and Jim Dain. Fifty-two percent of eligible voters cast ballots.The big shock, however, was the defeat of Scott Cullimore, an eight-year council veteran.
Blackhurst blamed Cullimore's loss on a nasty campaign that painted him as an opponent of the greenway, a proposed trail through the city.
"I can't understand that, because Scott's and my philosophies are so much alike," Blackhurst said. "He was perceived to be against the greenway proposal and he got the black eye for that."
Blackhurst was bothered by the misinformation and the negative campaign it spawned. He called the race one of the Lindon's toughest in a long time.
"That's something a small community doesn't need," he said.
Blackhurst, Hatch and Dain are all in favor of the greenway concept. They also agree that managing growth and updating Lindon's master plan are the biggest tasks facing the city.
"It's going to take a lot of study and work on all parts of the city," Hatch said.