Grand County voters were apparently not in a mood for change on Tuesday, opting to reelect all three Grand County Council incumbents, and soundly defeating two county propositions that would have altered the structure and makeup of the council.

Problems tallying votes in the county’s largest precinct, and glitches with vote counting equipment stalled results in two council races until after midnight, but when all precincts were finally in Jim Lewis and Joette Langianese had cruised to victory. Lewis carried 55-percent of the countywide vote to defeat Dave Cozzens in the contest for Lewis’s at-large council seat. Joette Langianese drew the support of 65-percent of voters in council District 5. Councilman Jerry McNeely ran unopposed in District 2.

In the only council race not involving an incumbent, Audrey Graham won council District 4, defeating Jim Salmon by a 54 to 45 percent spread.

School Board Races

Three Grand County School Board seats were up for grabs this year. Ronald Olsen ran unopposed and won reelection in School District 5. In Grand County School District 2, Debra Hren defeated Hilary Ward. In School District 3, write-in candidate Jim Webster defeated write-in candidate David Olsen to take a seat originally held by his opponent. Olsen had originally decided not to run for reelection but entered the race as a write-in after the only candidate dropped out earlier this year.

Voters opposed County Proposition 1, which would have cut the number of council members from seven to five, by a 60-percent margin, and County Proposition 2, a proposal to eliminate council districts and make all council representatives at-large, was defeated by a 52-47 percent margin.

Provisional Ballots, Absentees Cause Few Problems

More than 4,100 registered voters – about 56 percent turnout – cast ballots in Grand County on Tuesday, including 101 who were forced to submit “provisional” ballots either because their names did not appear on the voting rolls at the precinct where they cast their votes, or because poll watchers challenged the vote.

County Clerk Fran Townsend said counting of provisional ballots will probably begin Wednesday, but the number of uncounted ballots is not sufficient to sway the results of Grand County’s election.

The county’s Tuesday night tallies include all absentee ballots that had been returned to the County Clerk’s office by Election Day. Townsend could not immediately provide a final number of outstanding absentee ballots, but she said ”most” of the requested absentee ballots sent out for this election were completed and returned to her office by Tuesday. Absentee ballots must be postmarked by November 1.

Local Utah House and Senate Races

Democrat Mike Dmitrich easily won reelection to the Utah Senate, garnering 56-percent of the total vote in the multi-county race. Voters in Grand, Carbon, Emery, and San Juan counties overwhelmingly favored Dmitrich over challenger Phillip Peay in Senate District 27. But Utah County voters backed Peay by almost 70-percent.

In local state house races, Democrat Brad King was reelected in his unopposed bid for House District 69, while 80-percent of voters chose Republican John Mathis over third-party challengers John Weisheit, Dale Flake and Ronald Regehr in a race that included no Democratic candidate in House District 55. Mathis had 1727 votes, local residents Weisheit and Regehr had 752 and 288 votes, respetively.

Statewide Races and Ballot Questions

In the race for governor, Republican Jon Huntsman soundly defeated Scott Matheson. Huntsman garnered 56-percent of the total state vote, winning the popular vote in all counties except Grand, Carbon, Salt Lake and Summit. In Grand County, voters backed Matheson by a 54-44 percent margin.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff won statewide reelection with 67-percent of the vote. Shurtleff was the favorite among voters in all 29 Utah counties, according to state election returns.

In the state auditor race, Republican Auston Johnson garnered 61-percent of the popular vote. Republican Edward Alter defeated Democrat Debbie Hansen for another term as Utah’s state treasurer.

Voters across the state also approved three amendments to the Utah Constitution.

Amendment 1, which changes Utah law governing the impeachment of state officials, won approval in all Utah counties.

Amendment 2, allowing the state of Utah, and publicly funded colleges and universities to acquire ownership in private businesses, was approved by 57-percent of Utah voters, although residents of several counties including Grand defeated the measure.

Statewide voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 3, which legally defines marriage as solely between a man and a woman. The measure, touted as a protection against gay marriage, also prohibits extending legal rights to all unmarried couples. Grand County and Summit County were the only areas of the state to vote against Amendment 3.

Grand County voters backed Citizens Initiative 1, a measure that authorized the state to increase sales taxes to create a fund for purchasing and protecting open space. But statewide, the Utah Clean Water, Quality Growth and Open Space Initiative was soundly defeated by a 55-46 percent margin.

Federal Offices go to Incumbents

Senator Robert Bennett was reelected to his third term by a huge margin. Across the state, Bennett defeated challenger Paul Van Dam by a 67-29 percent margin.

In the race for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, the state’s lone Democrat won by a decisive edge. Jim Matheson defeated Republican John Swallow by almost 14 percentage points, state election returns showed Wednesday morning. Grand County voters favored Matheson by 57-percent.

Grand Goes For Bush

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry took an early lead over President George Bush among Grand County voters on Tuesday, but in the end, Grand County residents favored Bush by 51 to 44 percent.

With no decisive winner in Ohio, the presidential contest was unresolved when most voters went to bed Tuesday night. But on Wednesday morning, Kerry called Bush to concede the race, according to national news reports. In winning his second term, Bush became the first president since 1988 – when his father, George H.W. Bush was elected – to win more than 50-percent of the national popular vote.

Complete Utah Election results are available online at www.electionresults.utah.gov.

© Lisa J. Church 2004