GOP keeps control of Salt Lake County Council

The Republicans maintained their grip on the Salt Lake County Council on Tuesday, with key wins in Districts 3 and 5.

Incumbent David Wilde survived a major push by Democrat Diane Turner for another four years on the council representing District 3, which includes Murray, Taylorsville, West Jordan and the central unincorporated county. Wilde eked out a 4 percentage point win with all of the precincts reporting.

The Democrats heavily targeted the race, and the four current Democrats on the council sent a letter to all county party members asking them to support Turner.

Wilde said said he wants to keep pushing open-space efforts and expand the county's recycling program.

The Republicans also maintained control of the District 5 seat currently held by Cort Ashton. In that race, Jeff Allen beat Democrat Nate Hendricks with 63 percent of the vote, compared to Hendricks' 33 percent, with all precincts reporting. District 5 includes Sandy and Draper.

The Democrats kept control of two seats on the council: the open at-large spot and District 1, which includes downtown Salt Lake City and South Salt Lake.

Incumbent Jim Bradley beat out former Taylorsville Mayor Janice Auger to win another term as an at-large representative on the council. With 99.5 percent of the precincts reporting, Bradley was up 6 percentage points.

Bradley has been a member of the council since 2000 and served as a county commissioner from 1991 to 1994. In District 1, incumbent Joe Hatch trounced 29-year-old Republican Benjamin Kendrick, taking in 70 percent of the vote compared to Kendrick's 25 percent.

The Republicans will keep control of the offices of assessor, surveyor, recorder and treasurer. The race for auditor was extremely close, with incumbent Sean Thomas up by 379 votes over Democrat Jeff Hatch, with 99.5 percent of the precincts reporting. Since the vote was so close, Hatch can ask for a recount.

Sherrie Swensen, a Democrat, will continue to serve as county clerk. She was up 19 points over Republican Carrie Dickson, with 99.5 percent of the precincts reporting.

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com