Handful of Utah voters turn out: Some incumbents eliminated; rain blamed as most residents stay home

On a drizzly, gloomy day when voter turnout was extremely low, many incumbents didn't fare well in Tuesday's primary municipal elections.

For instance, mayors in West Jordan and Pleasant Grove were kicked out of office, while the incumbent mayor in Clearfield's race was too close to call. And while those losses surprised some, the day's biggest shocker might have been the tight race Mayor Tom Dolan survived in Sandy.

Dolan — probably the best known politician up for re-election this year — won, but not by the huge margin many predicted. The Sandy mayor, who has been called the one of the most powerful mayors in Utah and has a huge campaign war chest (20 times greater than his nearest challenger), gained 54 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, anti-gravel-pit development candidate Gary Forbush secured 40 percent, giving the three-term incumbent the stiffest challenge he's ever faced.

Forbush said the results show there is some discontent with the way Sandy leaders respond to residents. Forbush opposes big box development plans at a former gravel pit near 9400 South and 1000 East.

It's a development being pushed by Dolan and the Boyer Co., which is a contributor to the incumbent mayor's campaign.

Dolan, however, remained confident Tuesday.

"I believe that my opponents gathered up as many votes as they could gather," Dolan said. "I think they've worked hard to get what they had, but if the closest you can get is 14 points that's not real close."

Up the road in Salt Lake City, Mayor Rocky Anderson recorded telephone messages that were sent to several homes in City Council District 3, which is dominated by the Avenues neighborhood. Anderson encouraged people to vote for 23-year-old Janneke House, instead of incumbent Eric Jergensen. While House survived the primary, she has an uphill climb. Jergensen secured 64 percent of the vote in the primary.

"He can do whatever he wants," Jergensen said about the mayor. "But the record is still the record, and experience is still experience."

In Sugar House's District 7, Soren Simonsen moved on but will have to wait to discover who he will face. Gordon Poulson and Danny Walz were separated by only six votes for second.

Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen said the race is too close to call since there remain some outstanding provisional and absentee ballots. The final numbers will be available next Tuesday. If the race remains within 28 votes, the trailing candidate can call for a recall, Swensen said.

Close calls aside, Swensen bemoaned the low turnout seen in many cities.

"You can't get people excited about these races, and they're so important," she said.