Despite being far outspent, three-term councilman Steve Curtis won a tight race Tuesday to become Layton's new mayor — a position left open by mayor Jerry Stevenson, who announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election.

Curtis was surprised by the win but said hard work paid off. He was outspent by his opponent, two-term councilman Steve Handy, by about 55 percent, according to recent financial disclosures.

Unofficial election results show that Curtis won by a 4 percent margin: 3,435 votes to Handy's 3,201 votes.

Voter turnout in the city was 22 percent.

"I'm pumped," said Curtis. "I really am. I'm totally excited. It was my family and friends and neighbors and hard work, and they worked hard for me and in my behalf, and because of that hard work, I believed we could do this."

As mayor, Curtis will take the helm of Davis County's largest city, which has about 60,000 residents. Over the next 20 years, population in this city is expected to more than double. The new mayor will need a plan to accommodate that growth; to deal with growing traffic congestion and commercial development, according to Stevenson.

A good relationship with Hill Air Force Base, one of Utah's largest employers, is also critical. HAFB is northwest of Layton.

Curtis, 50, says he has the personality to develop needed relationships. He says he is easy to talk with and touts his ability to reach out to the public and hear their opinions.

Curtis is a supervisor for Qwest Communications.

"It's important to keep the ball rolling," said Curtis. "We've hit the ground running, and now we've got to keep running."

By winning Layton's mayoral race, Curtis leaves a vacant seat on the five-member City Council. At the beginning of next year, council members will appoint someone to fill that seat through 2007, but the selection process could prove interesting in that two council members will be new to office.

Tuesday, newcomers Michael Bouwhuis and Kathy Hyde were voted onto the City Council, winning over Scott Freitag, public information officer for the Salt Lake City Fire Department, and educator Ryan C. Jenkins.

Bouwhuis received 3,377 votes; Hyde received 3,737 votes. In contrast, Freitag picked up 3,066 votes and Jenkins garnered 2,302.

While disappointed at losing, Handy pledges to use his experience on the City Council to assist the new members and develop a working relationship with Curtis.

"We did the best we could, we ran a good campaign," said Handy. "I think now we'll just be a well-oiled machine and keep the great traditions of government in our city."

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com