Throw those rascals out? Not in Salt Lake County's newest city.
Taylorsville voters returned all five incumbent council members to public office Tuesday, and turned out two-year Mayor LaVelle Prince in the process.Councilwoman Janice Auger, riding a solid wave of support from the other council members, collected a surprising 60 percent of the vote to defeat Prince by a margin of 3,106 votes to 2,069.
In the council races, incumbents Keith Sorenson and Jim Dunnigan easily outdistanced their opponents to capture the two four-year seats that were up for grabs.
Two of the three two-year posts also went to incumbents.
Bruce L. Wasden, the current council chairman, finished tops among the six candidates while Ken Cook, who was appointed to fill the unexpired term of former Councilman Kent Winder, won a full term of his own.
The fifth two-year seat went to D.L. "Bud" Catlin, a retired Utah Highway Patrol trooper who spent a 32-year career in law enforcement.
It was an unusual election because all five of the council seats and the mayor's post were up for election despite the fact the city had only been incorporated for two years.
The mix of two- and four-year seats will stagger council terms so that, in the future, three posts will be up for election every two years.
But the centerpiece of the municipal election was a mayoral campaign that had been billed as a "nail biter" by both candidates.
It started out close but quickly turned into a runaway as the final 10 districts were counted to give Auger a margin of victory of more than 1,000 votes.
The loss was a particularly tough one for Prince, who originally thought he had been elected to a four-year term but was advised last summer by the Utah Attorney General's Office he needed to stand for re-election to ensure that municipal terms of office would be properly staggered.
"I appreciate the opportunity I've had to serve the people of Taylorsville," Prince said Tuesday. "We got things up and running."
A former real estate appraiser, Prince said he does not plan to return to that business and isn't sure what he will do for after January.
However, the mayor said he was "a little disappointed by the low voter turnout," which was under 19 percent for the election.
An elated Auger, flanked by the other four council members, attributed her victory to the ability of campaign workers who were able to convince voters "that Taylorsville needs to listen to its citizens."
The mayor-elect said she plans to close down a successful accounting business by January "to devote full time to the city and work with the council to plan which direction we should go."
Sorenson said he thinks shifting Auger to the mayor's office "lays the groundwork to continue what we started" in developing a fully operational and cost-efficient city.
He also said Catlin will be a good addition to the council because of his law enforcement expertise, adding "It's good to have somebody there who has been on the front lines."
Dunnigan said city officials need to put the election behind and move ahead with such important issues as forming a new justice court and acquiring land for recreation and open space.
"We've been a good team," he said. "We've got a good leader, and we can accelerate our work now."
Cook said the election signals "a new era of cooperation" for the city's staff and elected officials, while Wasden said he's "looking forward to a chance to talk together and work together for the good of the city."