Election 2009: Incumbent mayors rule the day in Davis

Tuesday was a good day to be an incumbent mayor in Davis County.

Mayors in Layton, Bountiful, Centerville, Fruit Heights, Farmington, Clinton, West Point, Clearfield and Woods Cross will be around for the next four years.

And though some of the mayors coasted to easy victories as unopposed candidates, Layton's mayoral race was anything but easy for Mayor Steve Curtis.

"It was dang close," Curtis said of the 153-vote spread between him and challenger Bob Stevenson.

Though some provisional and absentee ballots likely still remain to be counted, Curtis is confident he will remain the mayor-elect in Layton.

"I was able to put my message across the table," he said. "People made an informed decision."

Curtis credited his friends, family and neighbors who worked for his campaign to get him elected.

"(They) went out and shared their passion with others," he said.

Curtis said he has a passion for Layton and is "pumped" to see what the next four years will bring with numerous construction and economic-development projects in motion.

"It took a lot of hard work the last four years to achieve what we're going to be seeing the next four years," he said.

In Bountiful, early votes put incumbent Mayor Joe Johnson at a lead over challenger Jeffrey Novak,

Incumbents Fred Moss and Tom Tolman, who are running for their third terms on the City Council, were also early favorites over Ernie Cox and Phill Wright.

Those leads held for the rest of the night. As voting numbers were returned, Johnson's lead grew to more than 1,900 votes over Novak, while Moss and Tolman maintained their leads and their seats.

Come January, residents in North Salt Lake, Sunset, and Syracuse — where incumbent mayors opted not to run for re-election — will have new mayors.

In Sunset, former Councilman Chad Bangerter defeated Councilman Ryan Furniss — 390 to 276 — to replace outgoing Mayor Dan Gotchy.

In Syracuse, Jamie Nagle narrowly defeated Craig Jenkins — 1,643 to 1,611 — to replace outgoing Mayor Fred Panucci. If outstanding absentee and provisional ballots hold out for Nagle, she could be Syracuse's first female mayor.

"It was a nail-biter," Nagle said Tuesday evening. "We predicted it would be a nail-biter."

Nagle said she worked hard to get her message of economic development and a responsive, accessible and accountable government out to the residents.

"I think Syracuse residents were ready for a change," she said.

The campaign was an uphill battle, Nagle said, adding that some of her campaign signs were taken early in the campaign and a further 75 yard signs and five large signs disappeared Monday night.