PROVO — A Provo judge decided Friday that seven candidates for city council posts in Lehi and Eagle Mountain can remain on the ballot for Tuesday's general election.
Earlier in the week, they had been tossed from their cities' ballots for missing a deadline to disclose their campaign contributions and expenditures.
As a result of the judge's ruling, Linn Strouse is back in the Eagle Mountain City Council race; and in Lehi, Russell Daly, Mark I. Johnson, Marilyn Schiess, Gordon Miner, James Dixon and Johnny Revill will remain candidates.
"I guess I'll go put my signs back up," Revill said, joking.
Fourth District Court Judge Gary Stott's ruling basically serves as the legal support for an agreement forged by candidates and the city election chiefs. Both camps agreed the candidates "substantially complied" with the campaign finance disclosure law.
Stott issued a temporary restraining order that, in effect, prohibits Lehi and Eagle Mountain clerks from striking the candidates' names from the ballots.
Spanish Fork officials — who on Thursday disqualified five of the city's six candidates for failure to meet the deadline — are seeking a similar hearing. They didn't file papers in time for a Friday hearing and hope a judge will rule on the city's are-they-or-aren't-they candidates issues on Monday.
Until then, Seth V. Sorensen is the only eligible candidate for the three open seats on Spanish Fork's council.
In a smattering of cities across Utah, candidates missed the new deadline for filing statements about campaign finances. Some candidates, such as Strouse, were only 30 minutes late, while others were a day or more tardy.
The new rule took effect in May.
"The citizens of Lehi, they win," said Johnson, who is running for re-election to Lehi's City Council. "The judge made a good decision. The democratic process is back in place."
Lehi candidate Miner touched off a firestorm when he drew attention to other candidates who missed the deadline. Miner said he's pleased the judge will let the people decide who they want in office — but he's aggravated at the upheaval.
Lehi city recorder Connie Ashton issued a statement Thursday that said all six council candidates were disqualified because they had failed to file statements 14 days prior to the general election — as a Lehi law requires.
Under state law the financial disclosures are due seven days before the election. Failure to meet the deadline results in removal of the offender's name from the ballots, and even write-in votes cannot be counted for them.
Officials with Lt. Gov. Olene Walker's office say the city recorders must be strict about the deadline. In Utah, the lieutenant governor is the state's election chief.
However, others, including David Church, the attorney for the Utah League of Cities and Towns, said the new law is unclear on several points.
For instance, does the seven days include weekends? Does Election Day count as one of the seven?
What about candidates who spent or received less than $750? Do they still need to file a document that informs the city recorder how much they've spend?
Strouse is very pleased to be back on the ballot. "The will of the people has prevailed," she said.
"It's a good lesson in responsibility," said Lehi Mayor Ken Greenwood. "And I think we'll all pay closer attention (to the details) in the future."
Dixon said Lehi's City Council needs to go back now and revisit the municipal ordinance so that it matches the state ordinance.
"The code's not the problem," Johnson said. "I think notification is the problem."
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