Four new Weber County mayors to be sworn-in next week
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- Four new mayors will take office in Weber County in January 2022. They are, from left, Braden Mitchell in Riverdale, Rob Vanderwood in West Haven, Richard Sorensen in Huntsville and Ken Phippen in Farr West.
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- Incoming Riverdale Mayor Braden Mitchell, who takes office in January 2022.
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- Incoming West Haven Mayor Rob Vanderwood, who takes office in January 2022.
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- Incoming Huntsville Mayor Richard Sorsensen, who takes office in January 2022.
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- Incoming Farr West Mayor Ken Phippen, who takes office in January 2022.
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- Four new mayors will take office in Weber County in January 2022. They are clockwise from the upper left-hand corner, Braden Mitchell in Riverdale, Rob Vanderwood in West Haven, Ken Phippen in Farr West and Richard Sorensen in Huntsville.
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Four new mayors will take office in Weber County in January 2022. They are, from left, Braden Mitchell in Riverdale, Rob Vanderwood in West Haven, Richard Sorensen in Huntsville and Ken Phippen in Farr West.
Four of Weber County’s 15 locales will be getting new mayors next week, per elections last November — West Haven, Riverdale, Farr West and Huntsville.
Voters stuck with the incumbents in nine other cities, including Roy, South Ogden and North Ogden, while the top officials in Ogden and Hooper weren’t on the ballot in the 2021 election cycle.
West Haven is the largest of the cities getting a new leader. It’s also the fastest-growing city in Weber County. Rob Vanderwood, the incoming mayor, said he’s already been preparing.
“I have proactively met with our city manager, the city council, both new and legacy members to gain direction for our first 90 days of accomplishments. We will be focused on our future vision and strategy goals for 2022,” Vanderwood said in an email to the Standard-Examiner. He has been serving on the West Haven City Council and defeated Sharon Bolos, the incumbent mayor, last November.
Braden Mitchell will also move from the City Council to the mayor’s office as the new leader in Riverdale. He was the sole mayoral hopeful, with incumbent Norm Searle opting not to seek reelection.
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Incoming Riverdale Mayor Braden Mitchell, who takes office in January 2022.
Ken Phippen narrowly defeated Lee Dickemore, the incumbent Farr West mayor, and will take over leadership there. He had been serving on the Farr West City Council.
In Huntsville, Richard Sorensen will take over as mayor from Jim Truett, who didn’t seek reelection. Sorensen has been serving on the Huntsville Town Council.
Voters last November also weighed in on numerous city council races across the county, and the winners in those contests will also be sworn-in to office next week. Roy and West Haven will be getting two new members each on their city councils, among many other newcomers.
In Ogden, one newcomer to the City Council will be sworn in, Kenneth Richey, while incumbents Bart Blair, Angela Choberka and Marcia White will be sworn in to new terms. Mayor Mike Caldwell wasn’t on the ballot in the 2021 cycle.
‘BUILD COMMUNITY CAMARADERIE’
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Incoming West Haven Mayor Rob Vanderwood, who takes office in January 2022.
Back in West Haven, Vanderwood said the quality level of service to city residents will be getting attention. Efforts to retain and “incentivize” city staffers will also be a focus. Most importantly, he said, he wants to, “build community camaraderie and sense of trust and appreciation of all residents that chose to reside here in our city.”
Rapid population growth in West Haven has been a delicate point of discussion, more specifically, how to balance the expansion with the country feel of the western Weber County city.
“We want to blend controlled growth, commercial enterprise and community support over the next five-10 years. We see bright and exciting directional corrections as we stay close to our heritage and concept of our past blended with the future,” Vanderwood said.
Mitchell, Phippen and Sorensen didn’t respond to Standard-Examiner queries on their plans as new mayors.
The returning incumbent mayors include Bob Dandoy in Roy, Neal Berube in North Ogden, Russell Porter in South Ogden, Mark Allen in Washington Terrace, Michelle Tait in Harrisville, Leonard Call in Pleasant View, Jon Beesley in Plain City, Scott VanLeeuwen in Marriott-Slaterville and Gordon Cutler in Uintah.
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Incoming Huntsville Mayor Richard Sorsensen, who takes office in January 2022.
Hooper Mayor Dale Fowers and Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell were not on the ballot this cycle.
Incoming Farr West Mayor Ken Phippen, who takes office in January 2022.
Four new mayors will take office in Weber County in January 2022. They are clockwise from the upper left-hand corner, Braden Mitchell in Riverdale, Rob Vanderwood in West Haven, Ken Phippen in Farr West and Richard Sorensen in Huntsville.