Good day for incumbents

Voters on Tuesday sent controversial incumbents back to office in Provo and Sandy, approved a recreational, arts and parks tax in Orem and opted to allow big box zoning on the site of a former gravel pit. Provo residents also voted for a $6 million road bond.

Lewis Billings handily defeated Dave Bailey in Provo, while Tom Dolan survived a horse-race style win in Sandy over challenger Gary Forbush.

To the north in Davis County, voters opted for change, tossing mayoral incumbents in several cities.

The elections brought surprises, where in Utah County's Cedar Fort, voters filled the mayor's seat with a man who wasn't even on the ballot. Former mayor Howard Anderson outpolled incumbent Jeanine Cook by 22 votes in the unofficial count to take back the seat he lost to her in 1997.

Anderson, who said he was out of town when the filing deadline passed, gave the go-ahead for a write-in campaign after being approached by a number of residents in the small town that sits just west of Utah Lake.

Despite losing the job she has held for the past eight years, Cook was in good spirits, saying, "Change is always good; you have new energy and new ideas."

Good feelings weren't in play in Mapleton, however. Mayoral hopeful Stan Sorenson was not happy about a polling location mix-up that may have kept some of his supporters away from the polls.

Eight out of the 10 mayors up for re-election in Salt Lake County will now face another term as residents voted for the status quo in cities including West Valley City, Sandy, Draper and Murray. Mayor Wayne Mortimer of Bluffdale, however, lost his seat to challenger Claudia Anderson and South Salt Lake Mayor Wes Losser was defeated by Bob Gray.

In Davis County, however, four — maybe five — of the mayors seeking another term were defeated, bringing new mayors to Sunset, Clearfield, Farmington and West Bountiful. Kaysville Mayor Bryan Cook was trailing opponent Neka Roundy as of press time. Seven of the 15 cities in Davis County will have new mayors next year, including the three cities where mayors did not seek re-election — Layton, Centerville and Fruit Heights.

Sandy's Dolan narrowly held on to his seat for a fourth term, defeating Forbush by roughly 1,100 votes. Dolan's 53 percent win was the closest margin he has faced in any election.

"I've been saying all along a win is a win. If you don't win, no one will remember but the candidates themselves, so I'm just pleased with any victory" said Dolan, who flip-flopped the lead with Forbush many times Tuesday evening as election results streamed in.