Tuesday’s municipal elections look to be bringing some big changes to Utah voters.
Although unofficial counts are currently being relied on, the official canvass will be announced Nov. 17; the following changes seem to be accurate.
These results do not include provisional ballots or mail-in votes that were not received by Tuesday.
—
Salt Lake City voters elected Jackie Biskupski as Utah’s first openly gay mayor and only the second female top executive in the capital city.
Those vote tallies had Biskupski with 52.19 percent to two-term Mayor Ralph Becker’s 47.81 percent — less than a 5 percentage-point spread.
—
In Ogden, the only city with a mayor’s race outside of the highly watched contest in Salt Lake City, Caldwell’s bid for a second term was not nearly as tight of a race. He claimed 80 percent of the votes, according to unofficial results released shortly after the polls closed. He defeated Sebastian Benitez.
—
Voters strongly rejected a plan to create a new $7 monthly fee on Herriman households that would be used to buy up the hillside from private land holders.
The plan would have annually raised $84 per family over the next 20 years to ensure that homes don’t dot the land. It had the backing of nearby Camp Williams.
—
Proposition 1 — to raise sales tax for transportation — was passed only in a few counties.
Prop 1 was barely defeated 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent in Salt Lake County, according to the final unofficial tally on election night.
The proposition also fizzled in Utah County by a 57 percent to 43 percent margin.
Prop 1 neither passed in Rich County and nor Box Elder County.
Unofficial results also indicate that the proposition failed by 44 votes in Uintah County and by 101 votes in Juab County.
Propoition 1 passed by a 57-43 percent margin in Weber County, won by a 57-43 percent margin in Davis County and was up in Carbon, Duchesne, San Juan and Tooele counties.
Prop 1 was on the ballot in a total of 17 counties.
—
Provo’s RAP tax — a 0.1 percent sales tax for purposes related to recreation, arts and parks — appears to have been approved with the initial count totaling to 3,966 against 3,162.
—
The city of Spanish Fork proposed issuing up to $32.25 million dollars in bonds for The Life Center to house a Library, Senior Center, and Recreation Center with Indoor Pools. It seems to have been voted against.
Similarly, the City Council of Springville asked to issue general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $11.2 million for the purpose of paying all or a portion of the costs of constructing and furnishing of a new aquatics and activities center. This project looks to have been approved.
—
Wasatch County’s Board of Education also authorized to issue General Obligation Bonds in an amount not to exceed $62 million for the purpose of paying all or a portion of the costs of acquiring, constructing, furnishing and equipping of an elementary school, a middle school, an educational/community aquatics center and all related improvements.
