SOUTH SALT LAKE — Political campaigning in this small industrial city has reached a fever pitch with wild allegations about misconduct by department heads and voter intimidation at public events.

But underlying the furor of unsubstantiated rumor is debate over the merit of a major property-tax increase instituted in 2006. Candidates are also grappling with plans for high-rise condominiums and shops in the Market Station development.

Former Mayor Wes Losser is up against Mayor Bob Gray's assistant, Cherie Wood, in the city's mayoral race.

Losser was ousted by Gray four years ago but made it through the September primaries with 34 percent of the vote. If elected, Losser said he would roll back the property-tax increase by cutting wages to public-safety workers, whose pay increased by 17 percent in one year under Gray, a former city police chief.

Losser, a 56-year-old grocery store manager, is adamantly against the city buying property underlying Market Station.

But Wood, 36, has won the endorsement of the local public-safety unions. And she trailed just a few votes behind Losser in the primary election.

Although this city is sure to get a new mayor, each of the three City Council seats up for election is being defended by an incumbent.

District 2's Boyd Marshall was appointed to fill the seat vacated by the death of Councilwoman Rhea Goddard. If re-elected, the 54-year-old mechanic said he would push for a city economic-development director.

Challenger Nick Godsis does not have a listed phone number, but his campaign material has focused on openness and bringing back the city parade.

District 3's John Weaver, a 43-year-old advocate for the disabled and incarcerated, is running for a second term to fulfill "a sense of responsibility" to residents. He refused to answer Deseret News questions about his campaign, saying doing so would introduce bias into the news-gathering process.

Weaver's challenger, 61-year-old Linda Turkovich, got into the race in protest of the 2006 property-tax increase.

"It put a lot of hardship on many, many people," the semi-retired nursing professional said.

At-large City Council incumbent Casey Fitts, who comes from a family of local politicians, is trying for another term to continue positive momentum in crime reduction and code enforcement. He wants to position South Salt Lake to take advantage of an impending economic recovery, he said.

Fitts' challenge, Matthew Pitts, said he got into the race to provide a new perspective.

"The city just needs a new face," Pitts said. "South Salt Lake needs somebody who has a fresh perspective and isn't caught up in the old politics that has been around for the last 25-30 years."

If elected, Pitts said he would aim to turn the vacated Granite High School into a recreation center and would create opportunities for new single-family homes.

Candidate biographies and financial disclosures are available at www.ssl.state.ut.us/.

e-mail: rpalmer@desnews.com