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No Comments [ Add Comment ]Dearden winner in Weber County Commission race
By BROOKE NELSONOGDEN -- Weber County Commissioner Craig Dearden hopes to use his next four years in office to relieve some sticker shock for constituents.
"I'm happy to be able to serve for another four years. I'm looking forward to it," Dearden said.
"I'm going to keep working hard and trying to make Weber County the best it can be."
Dearden easily defeated Democrat Lewis Johnson in voting Tuesday to win a second term as a commissioner. Dearden received 43,949 votes to Johnson's 22,437.
A main priority for Dearden will be working with the state Legislature to revise current property tax assessment practices.
"We need to do something to get away from the spikes so it's a little more consistent," he said.
This issue has been an important one for local residents, especially with the recent downturn in the economy, he said.
Economic development is another project Dearden said he looks forward to working on.
The 56-year-old North Ogden resident has served as a county commissioner since 2005.
He has also served on the North Ogden City Council, as Weber County sheriff and as the Utah Commissioner of Public Safety.
Johnson, of Huntsville, also ran on a platform of providing more equity in property tax assessments.
Johnson, 52, is a math teacher at North Ogden Junior High.
He said he would aim to increase assessment equity, reduce the burden on homeowner's to pay for government services and cut the salary of county commissioners by 20 percent.
Lewis has also served as the president of Huntsville's secondary water system, a member of the Huntsville town board, and a member and president of the Huntsville Board of Adjustments.
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