WEST VALLEY CITY — Regardless of the outcome of November's municipal election, politics in this city are headed for a sea change.
Beyond getting a new mayor, residents in Utah's second-largest city will get two new City Council members. That number could jump to three if the race's lone incumbent, Councilman Steve Vincent, is voted out.
Vincent, a 53-year-old electrical consultant, said he's running again because he wants to see several economic development projects through to completion.
Like most of the other candidates, Vincent also wants to put a more "human touch" on code enforcement to ensure officers aren't too heavy-handed.
In 2008, the city changed the makeup of its community department and reorganized the districts in which enforcement officers work. Since then, according to several candidates, many residents have been blindsided when receiving fines and letters about problems with their property.
But most candidates also agree that cleaning up West Valley's image is vital to the long-term success of the municipality.
Vincent is up against small-business manager Matthew Harris and write-in candidate Lisa Perkins.
Harris, 29, has built his campaign on crime reduction through increased neighborhood watch programs. He also wants to examine each city department for fiscal efficiency and to build more parks in residential neighborhoods.
Perkins, 40, is a data-entry clerk for the U.S. Postal Service and a part-time massage therapist. She said she wants to see more change in District 4 than Vincent has offered and would like her neighbors to get to know one another better.
In District 2, candidates Steve Buhler and David Musselman ousted incumbent Councilman Joel Coleman in September's primary elections.
Buhler, a 45-year-old private-practice attorney, is focused on improving code enforcement and fiscal responsibility. He has disagreed with management of the city-owned E Center and with the city's involvement in UTOPIA, the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency.
Musselman, 41, works as a mediator and arbitrator for legal disputes. He wants the city's image to be improved, possibly with professional help, so families feel comfortable moving into his neighborhood.
Musselman suggests tightening code-enforcement rules while providing a liaison between city officers and the public.
Don Christensen, 64, and Bill Barton, 76, are competing for the city's at-large City Council seat.
Barton is semi-retired from a lumber and hardware business. He spent 12 years in the Utah Senate. Barton advocates strict enforcement of SB81, which targets illegal immigration on a local level. The candidate also wants to decrease city property taxes through the sale or lease of facilities such as the Utah Cultural Celebration Center and the E Center.
Christensen, a recently retired elementary school administrator, said he wants to punish the businesses who hire illegal immigrants rather than the immigrants themselves. He also wants to add more officers to the neighborhood policing division.
Full candidate biographies and campaign finance disclosures are available online at wvc-ut.gov. Candidate telephone numbers and campaign Web site links are also listed.
e-mail: rpalmer@desnews.com