Election 2009: Salt Lake Council winners celebrate victory

In the hours after polls closed around Salt Lake City Tuesday evening, Stan Penfold sipped from a champagne glass inside a quaint Capitol Hill restaurant and laughed with friends about which potholes needed to be filled in his neighborhood.

With 52 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results, Penfold earned a chance to represent the Avenues, Capitol Hill, Federal Heights and Guadalupe, becoming what is believed to be the City Council's first openly gay member.

Penfold's sexual orientation was never a prominent part of his political platform, but after taking a concession call from challenger Phil Carroll Tuesday, Penfold said he believed his election was important for the city and its gay and lesbian community.

"It's pretty cool," Penfold said outside of Em's on Capitol Hill. "I think it's significant for the city. It's a first."

Penfold's election was celebrated by politicos and LGBT activists Tuesday.

"It gives many gay and transgender people a sense of being seen," said Equality Utah director Brandie Balken. "They can be seen for who they are — and that's not only accepted, but people will vote for them. It's incredibly affirming."

Penfold said his agenda — which threw support behind a proposed nondiscrimination ordinance and a chance to reform the city's liquor laws — resonated with District 3 voters.

"This is a truly progressive neighborhood," he said.

Penfold, executive director of the Utah AIDS Foundation, also campaigned on protecting historic neighborhoods from monster homes, expanding public transportation options within the city and "exploring" the possibility of allowing pubs in residential neighborhoods.

Carroll, a longtime Avenues resident, said Penfold would represent the area well.

"He'll do a good job," Carroll said. "We need to make sure he is successful. It's not up to Stan, necessarily. It's up to all of us. We have no interest in him not being successful."

As Penfold and his supporters celebrated the historic victory Tuesday, two City Council incumbents were trying to win their re-election bids.

District 7 Councilman Soren Simonsen and challenger Lisa Ramsey Adams appear headed for a recount after Simonsen edged Adams by just nine votes, according to Tuesday's unofficial results.

"I only need one to win," Simonsen said. "I'm optimistic."

Adams said she was pleased with her performance as a "neophyte taking on an incumbent," but said she believed she has a chance to prevail.

"I feel like a hanging chad right now," she said.

Council Chairman Carlton Christensen, a political staple on the city's west side for more than a decade, handily won a fourth term as District 1's representative.

By a margin of 67 percent to 32 percent, Christensen beat out challenger Leslie Reynolds-Benns for the second time in as many elections.

Councilwoman Jill Remington Love ran unopposed in District 5 and took home 95 percent of the vote.

e-mail: afalk@desnews.com