It was the primary election with a record high number of council candidates - 16 - and when all the dust had cleared Tuesday night, incumbent Lyndia Graham and newcomers Stuart Adams, F. Renny Knowlton and Steve Curtis had all advanced to the general election in the race for two vacant council seats.
Graham had 1,882 votes, while Adams tallied 1,081, Knowlton 763 and Curtis 453."I'll sleep better tonight," -Graham said, following her victory and explaining she has been nervous about the election.
Graham, 47, a free-lance writer, said she has really worked hard during her first four years in office and hopes that hard work is the reason she earned the most votes. She also said she loves politics and hopes she can meet more voters prior to the November election.
"I think it will be a tough race," Adams, 39, a real estate company partner, said, looking ahead to the general election. "I think all the candidates are well-qualified."
Adams said he was especially pleased that his neighborhood - near 3200 East and 1800 North - had the city's highest voter turnout of the day at 27 percent.
Knowlton, 45, is an optometrist, and said managing the city's growth is his highest priority.
Curtis, 38, a public telephone technician, captured fourth place, totaling 70 more votes than Tim Hayman, who finished fifth.
"I think it was a tight one," Curtis said because three other candidates were within 123 votes of him.
He plans on a similar campaign for the general election and stressed that handling the growth of the city is his No. 1 concern.
Hayman, 40, didn't seem too disappointed by finishing fifth and out of the running.
"I'm going to run again." he said, adding that he learned a lot from the campaign, his first.
A number of candidates for Layton City Council were also surprised that the Utah Department of Transportation removed their political signs from state roads in the city.
Most candidates didn't think the signs should have been removed since they don't involve a commercial endeavor.
Candidates also said there seemed to be an unusually high rate of vandalism on campaign signs this month.