Election 2009: Primary election may indicate desire for change in Am. Fork

AMERICAN FORK — Challenger James H. Hadfield received nearly 200 more votes than Mayor Heber Thompson in the primary election, perhaps signaling that American Fork residents are ready for a change.

Hadfield spent six years as chairman of the Planning Commission and 15 years as supervisor of American Fork's engineering department. He's running for office, he said, in an effort to bring more financial responsibility to the city government.

If elected, Hadfield said he wants to end the debt American Fork is accumulating through public bonds, while attracting back some of the businesses that have left the city with the economic downturn. He also said he wants to fix the roads that have been cut up from installing the city's pressurized irrigation project.

Mayor Thompson has spent most of his term planning and constructing that irrigation project. City workers had been discussing the need for a pressurized irrigation system for years, and now it's become a multimillion dollar job. Many residents have complained about how much the irrigation system has ended up costing.

Thompson said he wants a second term to make sure the pressurized irrigation project gets finished, as well as create a fund for roads and sidewalk repair and get more competitive pay for city employees. He's hoping his experience as mayor and his work in long-range planning will help him reach those goals.

Councilwoman Heidi K. Rodeback is running to keep the seat she's held for the past four years, saying she has the "experience, passion and time" to do the job well. Rodeback promises to work on road maintenance, public safety and long-range planning. She also wants to put all of the city's roads on a 20-year maintenance schedule.

Dale O. Gunther also is seeking a second term on the City Council. Gunther said he originally got involved in city politics to help revitalize the downtown area. Now, he wants to focus on the city's finances. Gunther said he wants to sell some of the city's fiber-optics assets — running from Salt Lake City to Spanish Fork and American Fork to Springville — to companies that can use them as communication lines. He's hoping that will help the city pay off bond debt.

Seeking political office for the first time, Marc J. Ellison said he decided to run after the increase in taxes and water rates. Ellison also was upset when the council tried to pass five bonds last November, which he said would have made it too expensive for him to live in American Fork.

Ellison said, if elected, he would make sure bonds are only passed if they're needed for "life-sustaining necessities."

Jess Green also is seeking a seat on the City Council. Green was mayor of American Fork from 1994 to 1998 and served 16 years on the Planning Commission before that.

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