- Tuesday was a "hard day for incumbents" across the state of Utah.
- Mayors in Provo, Cottonwood Heights targeted on big spending projects.
- Orem saw battle between two political groups that created negative race.
Utah voters ousted mayors across the state on Tuesday, including in Provo and St. George, highlighting concerns over rapid growth and expensive city projects, which made all the difference in low-turnout elections.
Challengers defeated Cottonwood Heights Mayor Mike Weichers, Orem Mayor Dave Young, Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi and St. George Mayor Michele Randall — all running for a second term, except Kaufusi who was seeking a third.
Incumbent mayors also lost in the cities of Clinton, Farr West, Harrisville, Hurricane, Mapleton, Monticello and Tremonton, marking a surprising number of upsets statewide in what had been dubbed “the mayoral year” by local politicos.
“It’s a common denominator. I do think there was a push against incumbency in general in this election cycle,” said state Sen. Mike McKell, who represents southern Utah County. “It was a difficult time to be an incumbent, there’s no doubt.”
The common denominator included persistent frustration with a lack of affordability amid inflation and a federal government shutdown, according to McKell. But each losing incumbent also faced unique controversies that motivated opponents to get out the vote.
What drove out incumbents?
Mayors in Provo and Cottonwood Heights both faced former lawmakers. Former Republican state Rep. Marsha Judkins defeated Kaufusi by 2 percentage points, and former Democratic state Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion beat Weichers by 5 percentage points, according to preliminary results.
Bennion’s four years representing Cottonwood Heights and Judkins’ six-year stint representing Provo appeared to contribute to relatively high name ID, reflected by the fact that Judkins did much better among her former constituents on Provo’s west side.
Both candidates were able to target the unpopularity of city projects among a segment of the population, according to former Cottonwood Heights mayor Kelvyn Cullimore, who said Kaufusi and Weichers both expended “political capital” in a way that may have hurt them electorally.
In Cottonwood Heights, Weichers took a risk passing a bond measure to fund a new city center, instead of approving a high density development, which angered some city residents, and became a focus of Bennion’s campaign effort, Cullimore said.
Likewise, in Provo, Kaufusi had prioritized big public projects that resulted in a growing city budget. In her campaign messaging, Judkins highlighted the need to avoid future deficits and criticized zoning decisions that allowed for warehouses to be built.
Kaufusi and Weichers have been successful and popular mayors in many respects, according to Cullimore. However, in municipal elections, decided by less than 1,500 votes, a small group of angry voters is all it takes to elect a replacement.
“Anytime an incumbent gets beat, there’s always an underlying issue that was driving the dissatisfaction with the incumbent because it’s rare,” Cullimore said. “I think turnout was a big thing.”
What do voters want?
In St. George, an election rematch yielded a defeat for Randall, who lost by more than 10 percentage points to St. George city council member Jimmie Hughes, who ran on increasing accessibility and transparency in the mayor’s office.
Brandan Morgan, a local business leader and Republican volunteer, said Randall did a “great job” during her first term, especially when she pushed for the creation of the annual “Dixie Days” event to celebrate St. George history.
But there had been times in the past four years when the city did not allow for public comment and citizens felt ignored on questions of growth and quality of life, including on issues of water supply, Morgan said.
“It did boil down to just being heard as a voter,” Morgan said. “That’s really the distinguishing factor, in my opinion, where that 10% of the votes swayed over to Jimmie, just the concern to be heard.”
Voters also want nonpartisan local races to remain nonpartisan, according to McKell. While Bennion benefited from get out the vote efforts aided by the Salt Lake County Democratic Party, both Orem’s and Provo’s mayors lost despite an endorsement from the local GOP, McKell pointed out.
Partisanship in municipal races can distract from the practical problems cities are meant to solve, McKell said. He disapproved of the Utah County Republican Party funding mailers and weighing in by other means because it can take the focus from local issues.
“In the mayoral races, those that were not endorsed by the Republican Party won,” McKell said. “And I think the takeaway is voters want ... local officials focused on issues that have local impact rather than partisan impact.”
In Orem, where Young lost to former city council member Karen McCandless by less than two points, campaign negativity was exacerbated by two groups, according to McKell, Stand for Orem, which backed Young, and Stronger Orem, which backed McCandless.
Debates over the city’s top issues, including traffic and high density housing, often veered into personal attacks, McKell said, including mentions of a 2022 fraud lawsuit brought against Young and his son in Alabama.
Across the state municipal campaigns focused on housing costs, infrastructure improvements and property taxes as cities try to manage growth at the same time state leadership has called for approving more developments.