MARRIOTT-SLATERVILLE — In contrast to many area cities that are seeing municipal elections with a large field of candidates, Marriott-Slaterville is a little different.

Of the three open seats on the council, only one district — the city’s West District — has a competitive race between two candidates. Contending for the seat are incumbent Rob Smout and challenger Corey Smith.

Smith, a construction worker, said a prompt to run made him throw his hat in the ring.

“I was invited to,” he said. “I said why not and I’m just kind of following through to see what happens.”

“After talking with my wife, we both agreed that, No. 1, we need to be involved in the community,” said Smout, who works in communications and has 24 years of experience on the City Council. “No. 2, I’d like to keep working on what we’ve already been accomplishing here in Marriott-Slaterville — keeping the rural environment, trying to bring in smart growth and not just letting things get out of hand.”

Smith said, if elected, he’d like to tackle issues such as trickle-down economics, inflation and taxation.

Smout said housing will be a big focus if reelected.

“The Utah Legislature is always changing things, so that sometimes throws a curveball for people in city government,” he said. “One of the things they’re looking at right now is housing, so we need to make sure, No. 1, we’re meeting the housing needs for our community, but also that we’re keeping our personality.”

Incumbent Dee Christofferson was the lone person to file for the at-large seat while incumbent Dennis Illum was the lone person to file for the East District seat.

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