The new Salt Lake County Council will be dominated by Republicans, but it will also include three outspoken Democrats.
The nine-member body draws from a variety of backgrounds: There are the expected lawyers, plus a paramedic and the lobbyist-businessman who likes to appear as the Terminator.
That's Democrat Randy Horiuchi, of the dozens of billboards proclaiming "He's back. Experience counts" across Salt Lake County. Horiuchi won the council's two-year at-large seat A, having defeated Republican Richard Snelgrove and Libertarian Cabot Nelson. With the precincts fully counted at 4:05 a.m. Wednesday, Horiuchi had claimed 48 percent of the votes to Snelgrove's 46 percent, according to final but unofficial results.
"Being a non-Mormon, minority Democrat in Utah, nothing is ever easy," said Horiuchi, a former Salt Lake County commissioner and state Democratic Party chairman.
This time around Horiuchi spent $50,362 on his campaign for county council, dwarfing Snelgrove's investment of $1,788. The Democrat admitted that he'll be busy fund raising now, in order to pay back the $40,000 he loaned himself.
Between now and January when the new council members are sworn in, "they're going to have to spend a lot of time boning up," Horiuchi said. "And for those of us who don't need County 101, the problems are still massive."
Facing those problems, which range from budget shortfalls to possible double taxation, will be a handful of Democrats and a slightly larger group of Republicans. The latter includes Steve Harmsen, who won the at-large seat B after losing a series of races, including last year's Salt Lake mayoral primary.
Democrat Jim Bradley has the longest first term on the new council: the six-year at-large C seat. Bradley, 54, was chairman of the Salt Lake County Commission from 1991-94 but lost subsequent bids for office. Tuesday night he won 2,335 more votes than Republican opponent James Kennard.
In District 1, which lies entirely within the Salt Lake City limits, Democrat Joe Hatch won 59 percent of the vote, to beat Republican Genevieve Atwood. The attorney and Salt Lake County Democratic Party chairman won the two-year seat by one of the council race's widest margins — 8,077 votes.
Paramedic and firefighter Michael Jensen will serve a four-year term as District 2's councilman. The 34-year-old Republican defeated West Valley Junior High schoolteacher Jim Brusatto, to represent Magna, Copperton and much of Salt Lake County's west side.
Another Republican, Murray attorney David Wilde, won the two-year District 3 seat. He defeated Democrat Mark Walsh, and will represent parts of West Valley City, Taylorsville and Murray on the county council.
The race for District 4, a four-year seat, came down to a 106-vote difference between Republican Russell Skousen and Democrat Michael Duncan. Skousen, the winner, has said he'll advocate an 18-month moratorium on all annexations and incorporations within Salt Lake County.
In District 5, which includes much of West Jordan, South Jordan, Sandy and a little Taylorsville, Democrat Paulina Flint lost to Winston Wilkinson. Wilkinson, president of the Sandy Republican Club, collected 60 percent of the vote to Flint's 35 percent.
Treasure Valley Real Estate and Construction owner Marvin Hendrickson won the District 6 seat that represents much of Holladay, Alta and unincorporated land in eastern Salt Lake County. Hendrickson, a 60-year-old Republican, has promised to bring a private-sector perspective to the new county government.