Most of the races were close, but newcomers won the day - including a write-in candidate who defeated an incumbent city councilman.
Daniel Snarr defeated Councilman Leon Robertson for Murray mayor after two-term incumbent Mayor Lynn Pett decided not to seek re-election. Prior to the primary last month, eight candidates were vying for the job.But the upset victory clearly belonged to John Ward, a communications specialist who waged a write-in campaign against incumbent Lynn Turner, council chairman for the past five years.
John Rush defeated Rex Olson to claim the council seat in District 4, central Murray. District 2 includes southwest Murray.
Growth was a key issue in the mayoral race. Murray has very little land that has not yet been developed. The candidates agreed that the city's aging business district needs to be revamped. It became a question of how to strengthen existing businesses, encourage new business and maintain the integrity of the town, while diversifying the city's tax base.
"Leon and I basically concurred on most things. I think it was more of (a difference in) the way we wanted to see those things accomplished," Snarr said.
The city has been losing 3 percent of its tax base every year, said Snarr, owner of a landscaping business who promised to build a good economic base to "control the destiny of Murray."
Central to regrowth is the future of the 140-acre American Smelter and Refining Co. just west of State Street. Plans are in the works to clean up the area and build a commercial center.
Snarr said he was "humbled" by the voters' response to his "underdog" campaign. "Nobody gave me a chance to come out of the primary. But as soon as somebody says, `You can't do it,' those four words inspire me, so I just took off," he said.
In the council race, Ward launched a write-in campaign because of his opposition to a proposed annexation of the 11/2-square-mile Millcreek area into the city and the school system. He said the effects on the schools would be "especially disastrous," because it would force already-crowded schools to accept 1,200 new students.
But his campaign almost ran into trouble when he created a slogan to help voters remember him. He ran as "Wardo," then realized that potential voters who planned to write him in would be disqualified unless they got his name right. He and supporters ran a last-minute campaign to distribute ballot stickers with his name on them. Even so, the Murray election judges encountered some ballots with "Wardo" and others with "Weirdo" written in.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Murray trend ends
When Mayor Lynn Pett decided not to run for office again, he ended 20 years of "thump-the-incumbent" elections in Murray.
Loyalty to incumbents hasn't been a particularly strong suit in Murray.
The last time a Murray mayor voluntarily decided not to seek re-election was in 1977, when Vaughn Soffe chose to retire from politics.
LaRell Muir was elected mayor that year and served for two terms before he was defeated in a re-election bid by LaVar McMillan.
McMillan served one term. He was knocked out of office when he was beaten in the voting booth by Pett in 1989.