Mayor J. Donald Poul-sen fell victim to a challenge by City Councilwoman JoAnn B. Seghini in complete but unofficial results of Tuesday's election.
Seghini, 60, said in the campaign that she would be a firm but non-confrontational negotiator for Midvale residents and the City Council, in disputes with agencies such as the Utah Department of Transportation.Poulsen, 74, a former councilman himself, sounded more confrontational in an interview shortly before the election, saying he wanted to stand up to the big bureaucracies of state and county government. Both candidates were especially concerned about road projects that have created bottlenecks and funneled much freeway traffic through the city.
"Midvale faces many crucial problems," Seghini said after her 875 to 647 victory. "We've got two Superfund sites. We've got a major annexation. We've got a lot of problems and issues that require Midvale to deal with a variety of agencies."
Like the two mayors before her, she said she would respect the city ordinance that places the mayor's salary on a part-time basis. And like them, "I will commit myself to giving it (the job) as much time as required to represent the people of our community."
Wayne Sharp and Colleen E. Costello won election to the City Council's four-year seats, with 1,057 and 861 votes, respectively. Losing that race was Bill Brinton, 842.
Kent King was elected to the City Council two-year position, defeating David J. May, 804 to 679.