Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon enjoys a commanding lead over his Republican challenger, Michael Renckert, and incumbent Councilman-at-large Randy Horiuchi seems poised to pull out another squeaker over his current opponent, Republican Stephen DeBry.
The results were according to the Friday results of a new Deseret News/KSL-TV poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates Oct. 24-30. There were 498 registered voters surveyed in the county, and the margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percent.
The Horiuchi-DeBry race may be the closest among the four County Council contests, and the balance of power on the board, currently a 5-4 Republican advantage, is up for grabs. The three other seats in contention all have Republicans in defensive positions.
Corroon leads Renckert by a margin of 68-22 percent and has gained 11 points since the last Jones poll conducted in September. Corroon seemed pleased to hear the latest numbers on Friday.
"I'm honored that the voters have put their trust in me to carry forth some of the great programs we started the first term," Corroon said.
Poll numbers show Horiuchi ahead of DeBry by a 50-41 percent, though he has gained four points since the September voter survey.
Horiuchi, a Democrat and veteran of county government who first served as a commissioner in 1990, has made single-digit campaign victories a habit. He said that his one "landslide" victory, in 2002, was by five percentage points.
"I've been through this before, and I know better than to get to riled up over the numbers," Horiuchi said.
DeBry feels this very issue — Horiuchi's long-running seat in county government — is exactly why it's time for someone new.
"For a man to be serving there on what will be a fifth term is just wrong," DeBry said. "It's time for new ideas and a reinvigoration."
DeBry said he is ready to tackle the upcoming challenges facing the county, and is committed to fiscal responsibility, managing growth and making public safety a top priority. Horiuchi contends that tough times require an experienced, steady hand, and he's the candidate that best exemplifies that.
Other County Council races on the ballot Tuesday could also be as close as Horiuchi-DeBry. Those include:
• Republican incumbent Mark Crockett faces Jani Iwamoto in the east-side District 4. Both are in support of extending the township law, a relevant topic for their Millcreek constituents, and both favor the plan to re-open Oxbow Jail. A late campaign feud has erupted over Crockett's council attendance and a mailing sent out by Crockett that raised the ire of council Democrats.
• Attendance has been an oft-revisited topic in the District 2 battle between Republican incumbent, and council chairman, Michael Jensen and his west-side opponent, Democrat Paul Pugmire. Jensen touts his experience, board positions on other regional governmental agencies, and ability to function as a "centrist" as the council's chairman. Pugmire has slammed Jensen's attendance — the worst on the council —and said he didn't do enough to resist the Jordan School District split after the state Legislature overturned the council's rejection of the idea.
• The final council seat in contention is the District 6 slot vacated by retiring Republican Marv Hendrickson. Vying for the vacancy are two Sandy men who work in the real estate business, Democrat Roger Harding and Republican Max Burdick. Harding has weighed-in in favor of Corroon's push for a higher level of environmental responsibility and Burdick has had a wealth of planning experience with 12 years on Sandy's planning commission.
E-mail: araymond@desnews.com