OGDEN — It will be nearly two weeks before primary election results are made official — and even a few days before all of the ballots will be fully counted in Weber County.

However, in the two Ogden City Council races, clear-cut frontrunners emerged as the first batch of results were released Tuesday night and follow-up results were disseminated on Wednesday.

In the at-large seat C race, Shaun Myers (4,324 votes) and Lara Gale (2,499 votes) were well ahead of challengers J. Levi Andersen (1,536 votes) and John Thompson (1,119 votes). A similar situation developed in the District 4 race, which sees Steven Van Wagoner (1,430 votes) and Dave Graf (1,356 votes) ahead of Sebastian Benitez (754 votes), Alexander Castagno (320 votes) and Austin Raymond (160 votes).

The top two vote-getters for each race will advance to the general election, slated for Nov. 21. One guarantee in November is that Ogden will have two brand-new City Council members. District 4 incumbent Ben Nadolski opted to run for mayor while at-large C incumbent Luis Lopez chose not to to seek reelection in 2023. Results will be unofficial until a canvass of the election is conducted by the Ogden City Council on Sept. 19.

Graf told the Standard-Examiner he had a lot of help getting to the top spot Tuesday.

“There are votes yet to count, but I’m optimistic and grateful for the support I’ve gotten from my wife, Kim,” he said. “My supporters have been outstanding.”

He said he’s entered a regrouping mode as he prepares for what likely is the next step — campaigning for the general election.

“The game changes a little bit as we go from a primary election to a general election,” he said. “I really have to craft a new game plan.”

Van Wagoner said he’s excited to be moving forward if the results hold.

“I look forward to serving the people of Ogden in the capacity of a council member,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of work ahead. It’s going to be an upriver swim and I’m going to work my hardest for the citizens and the community, and I’m going to keep my campaign character and integrity focused on the positive, the future and the vision of what we can be if we all work together.”

He said that, going forward, he will try to establish that there is a difference between him and his apparent challenger, Graf.

“If the results hold here, the next few months are going to be a clear strategy of painting the difference between the two candidates,” Van Wagoner said. “I am not the establishment candidate. I am not appointed by the mayor on the Planning Commission. I am not responsible for the decisions of the last seven to eight years that the Planning Commission has been responsible for and I have not accepted a campaign contribution from the mayor that appointed me in my position.”

Holding in second in the at-large seat C race, Gale said she’s happy that she ran for office.

“It’s been an incredible experience and I learned a lot from all the other candidates,” she said. “The process of running has been affirming about where we’re at as a community with civic participation. It was a really positive race and there was a lot of passion and I think a lot of really important thoughts shared during the campaign.”

She added that the next couple of months, should results hold, will see her attempting to get more people galvanized to vote.

“I’m going to really focus on turning out the vote,” she said. “Primaries are probably always the lower turnout, but I want to make sure that our whole community feels connected to the process and feels like their vote matters.”

The Standard-Examiner reached out to Shaun Myers for comment but received no response by press time.

A handful of other Weber County municipalities saw competitive primaries.

• In North Ogden, with three contested City Council seats, the top six candidates will move on to the November election. Results as of Wednesday are Christina Watson (1,786 votes), Ryan Barker (1,724 votes), Chris Pulver (1,552 votes), Tim Billings (1,336 votes), Phillip Swanson (1,135 votes), Merill Sunderland (1,107 votes) and Reed Miller (936).
• In Hooper, with two open City Council spots, the top four candidates will advance to the November election. Results as of Wednesday are Dale Fowers (741 votes), Cindy Cox (573 votes), Ryan Hill (528 votes), Kamie Hubbard (437 votes), Jennifer Stanger (307 votes), Michael Elmer (269 votes), Chris Paulsen (193 votes) and Wes Davis (52 votes).
• In Roy, with three open City Council seats, the top six candidates will move on to the November election. Results as of Wednesday are Ann Jackson (2,625 votes), Joe Paul (1,888 votes), Bryon Saxton (1,775 votes), Benjamin Pearson (1,221 votes), Jeremy Thompson (1,201 votes), Claude Payne (764 votes), David Young (669 votes), Jeremy Brighton (507 votes) and Trent Wilkins (376 votes).

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