Election 2009: Land use a big issue in Cottonwood Heights

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — The popular mayor who guided this city through incorporation is sure to hang onto his seat, but this east-side residential community is also going get at least one new City Council member in 2010.

City Council District 3 representative Don Antczak, a 76-year-old business retiree, is up against political newcomer Nicole Omer, a 32-year-old health-care manager.

If elected, Omer would be the only woman on the City Council. She said she wants to bring a new perspective on property rights to the table so the majority opinion gets as much attention as private property rights. Omer also wants to improve communication between the city and its residents.

"Right now, it's a part-time job to be informed," she said.

Antczak calls himself a link between the old and the new and wants to continue focusing on city historical and recreation committees. In the next 20 years, he predicts the Salt Lake Valley will change dramatically.

"I think I can see to it that whatever happens here will be for the best of the community," Antczak said.

In City Council District 4, 59-year-old Tee Tyler is up against write-in candidate and city spokesman Bob Warnick, 72.

Neither candidate is excited about development on the eastern foothills, but Warnick said he believes some vested rights may be in place for a planned development near the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon.

"You need people in the city running the city who are familiar with what the city is all about," said Warnick, whose political history includes service as a state representative, an American Fork councilman and a Utah County Commissioner.

Warnick is not on the ballot because of a misunderstanding over whether current District 4 Councilman Bruce Jones would be running.

Tyler said, if elected, he would go to great lengths to protect open space and access to the mountains. The title-company worker wants to be extremely careful with zone changes, he said.

"I think there is so little open space in Cottonwood Heights left that it's precious," Tyler said.

Mayor Kelvyn H. Cullimore, elected in November 2004 as the city's first mayor, is running unopposed.

e-mail: rpalmer@desnews.com