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LAYTON — And they’re off.
Municipal elections across Davis County today will be serving up a little something for every voter, with several mayoral races expected to be hotly contested.
In Layton, both Mayor Steve Curtis and challenger Bob Stevenson have been reaching deep into their own pockets — spending between them a combined $23,000 — to capture a mayoral job that pays about $21,000 a year.
“The sense that I get is that it will be very close,” said Curtis, who spent Monday fixing signs and doing honk-and-waves with area teens.
The 8 percent voter turnout for the September primary makes it difficult to gauge the volume of voter turnout, Curtis said, but added he is encouraged that early voting numbers for the city increased from 136 in the primary to 413 for the general election.
Stevenson said his race with Curtis should be close and he has worked hard to get it there.
“We knew when we started the race we were going to be the underdog. It’s difficult to run against an incumbent,” Stevenson said.
He said his supporters have built the campaign around getting information out to the electorate, working their “tail ends off” to get the voter to understand the importance of new leadership for the city.
“We have told the voter what our major goals are. We are facing critical issues in the cost of UTOPIA, the loss of revenues from empty commercial buildings, and our plan is for the future and not the past,” he said.
Curtis and Stevenson have been debating the economic issues, with Stevenson pointing to the city’s declining sales tax revenues and increasing vacancies in its commercial buildings as areas of concern.
The decline in sales tax revenue is related to the national economy, Curtis said, while during his first term more than 1,000 businesses, including home businesses, have opened.
Layton is not the only city catching the eye of voters with a combative mayoral race.
Syracuse voters cast 870 early ballots, said City Recorder Cassie Brown.
“We’re hoping for 30 percent to 35 percent (voter turnout),” including early voting, Brown said.
“The last time we had a mayoral election, we only had 25 percent turnout.”
This time around, the Syracuse mayoral race is between Craig Jenkins and Jamie Nagle. The winner will fill the position that is being vacated by Fred Panucci, who opted not to seek a third term.
In Kaysville, Mayor Neka Roundy is trying to fend off a challenge from Councilman Steve Hiatt, who has received the endorsement of the majority of the council.
In addition, Roundy has been criticized for comments she wrote in a city newsletter. She told voters that many good people do not have the resources to engage in a big media campaign and that they should not be swayed by “extensive media.”
Roundy defended her statements, saying if there is a concern in the citizenry, why can’t she bring it up? The mayor was also criticized for using the Kaysville city logo on her personal re-election Web site. She removed the logo from her site once she was aware of the complaint.
West Bountiful Mayor James Behunin, also in a closely contested race with Councilman Ken Romney, faced a similar issue when residents complained of Behunin’s linking his mayoral Web site to the city’s Web site.
The North Salt Lake race between Councilwoman Lisa Watts Baskin and Len Arave, to determine who is to fill the position held by Mayor Shanna Schaefermeyer, has also had its share of controversy.
Arave has been employed as a chief financial officer for Woodside Homes Corporation Inc., which has a pending court action against the city for at least $500,000 for an overpayment of building fees it made to the city for a development.
Watts Baskin said Arave’s scenario creates a conflict of interest.
