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Category: 2017 American Fork Election (Page 1 of 4)

Clark Taylor Joins American Fork City Council

On January 9 the American Fork City Council appointed Clark Taylor to fill the vacancy Brad Frost left on the council when he was sworn in as mayor the previous week, after winning in the November election. Frost was two years into his second term on the council, so the appointment is for the remaining two years of that four-year term.

Clark Taylor

Utah law provides for the council to fill such a vacancy. The City announced the vacancy in December, took applications until January 5, then heard from each applicant in the January 9 meeting, before choosing Taylor unanimously on the first ballot.

The other applicants were:

  • Jeff Shorter, who lost in the November general election, running as a one-term incumbent;
  • Kyle Barratt, who lost in the November general election;
  • George Brown, who served on the council several terms ago and has since run unsuccessfully for mayor;
  • Ernie John, who lost in the 2017 primary;
  • Bruce Frandsen
  • Amber Marstella
  • Charelle Lyon

If you’d like to examine the applications, they’re publicly available and pages 4-29 of this PDF file, which includes the meeting agenda and the council members’ packet of information for the meeting. They include written responses to several questions. To see the candidates’ statements to the council in their meeting, a long and avoidable discussion of the voting process, and the vote itself, turn to the City’s YouTube channel for video of the meeting. (The agenda, which is at the beginning of the packet at the previous link, will help you navigate the video.)

I don’t know how much back-channel discussion went on among council members in the days prior to the vote, or what additional contact any of them might have had with applicants or with Mayor Frost. (There’s no reason for it not to have occurred, but anything involving at least three of them at a time would have to have been noticed in advance and treated as a public meeting.) I didn’t speak about the process or the vote on the record with any of the council; nor did I speak with the candidates themselves. Nor, for that matter, am I acquainted with all of them. However, I thought the result was predictable.

Clark Taylor has served on the council twice before, as recently as two years ago, and is known to be a workhorse and to work well with others. His name has been tossed about in the past as a strong potential mayoral candidate. Such a congenial, energetic workhorse would have great appeal to the rest of the council and the mayor, coming in the wake of four years during which some members of the council were known to be less than energetic in accepting and fulfilling committee assignments.

So I thought the outcome was predictable, given that Taylor’s name was on the list. And the unanimous first ballot is noteworthy, but — at least for me — no surprise.

All of that said, there were other strong candidates in the field. The tougher the decision, the luckier we are.

So . . . thanks to all who applied, and congratulations to Councilman Taylor.

Election Results – 2017 General Election

Note: These election results are updated as of Tuesday, November 21. These are the official results. The turnout is 40.34% in American Fork, which is excellent for an off-year election.

If you want to want to see the sources yourself, here are links to reports for the congressional race and the American Fork municipal races.


US House of Representatives, District 3

Not including three third-party (fourth-party?) and unaffiliated candidates who, combined, got 7.1% of the vote:

  • John Curtis (Republican)
    • Final (Nov 21): 85,739 votes or 58.0%
    • Nov 7: 62,498 votes or 57.6%
  • Kathie Allen (Democrat)
    • Final (Nov 21): 37,778 votes or 25.6%
    • Nov 7: 29,449 votes or 27.1%
  • Jim Bennett (United Utah)
    • Final (Nov 21): 13,745 votes or 9.3%
    • Nov 7: 9,641 votes or 8.9%

John Curtis is the winner.


American Fork Mayor

For a four-year term . . .

  • Brad Frost
    • Final (November 21): 3,935 votes or 77.0%
    • Nov 7: 2,885 votes or 77.7%
      • Corrected — I previously misreported the vote count, but not the percentage.
  • Carlton Bowen —
    • Final (Nov 21): 1,177 votes or 23.0%
    • Nov 7: 828 votes or 22.3%
Brad Frost

Brad Frost

Brad Frost wins. When his seat is vacated at the first of the year, the city council will choose someone to fill the rest of his term.


American Fork City Council

Two seats, two winners.

  • Barbara Christiansen
    • Final (Nov 21): 3,228 votes or 34.6%
    • Nov 7: 2,368 votes or 35.0%
  • Staci Carroll
    • Final (Nov 21): 2,661 votes or 28.5%
    • Nov 7: 1,898 votes or 28.0%
  • Kyle Barratt
    • Final (Nov 21): 1,905 votes or 20.4%
    • Nov 7: 1,409 votes or 20.8%
  • Jeffrey Shorter (incumbent)
    • Final (Nov 21): 1,532 votes or 16.4%
    • Nov 7: 1,094 votes or 16.2%
Staci Carroll

Staci Carroll

Barbara Christiansen and Staci Carroll win four-year terms on the city council.

Barbara Christiansen

Barbara Christiansen


Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to all the candidates. This doesn’t work if good people don’t run.

Finally, thanks to all 2,819 of you who visited afelection.info during this election cycle.

David’s Handy Little (General) Election Guide, 2017

Here on my thoughts on the races on my November 2017 general election ballot.

US House of Representatives, Utah District 3

In the special election to fill the latter half of former Congressman Jason Chaffetz’s term, there are three candidates of note.

Provo Mayor John Curtis is a sterling example of conservative governance — and not the ideologically poisoned kind some seek. His Democrat opponent has tried to paint him as a Donald Trump sycophant, but he and President Trump aren’t even on the same planet, as far as I can tell. Curtis will win, and he’ll be a big step up from Congressman Chaffetz. Always replace a show horse with a workhorse, when you can. Continue reading

In Praise of Candidates (and Their Friends and Families)

Election Day is four days away, and many of us have already voted by mail. For the candidates, their families, close friends, and avid supporters, the end of a marathon looms — but in some ways it’s uphill to the finish line.

I’ve never been a candidate for political office, as candidates and officials sometimes remind me, when they don’t like what I write. But I’ve managed a few campaigns and staffed several others. I’ve advised numerous actual and potential candidates, and analyzed and commented on far too many issues and races (some would say). I’ve also lived with a candidate a couple of times — that is, I’ve lived with her for nearly 30 years, and she’s run for office a couple of times (and won).

So I have a lively appreciation for the look and feel of campaigns from the inside at this point in the election cycle — perhaps not for all candidates in all elections, but for many. Continue reading

American Fork Candidates Q&A – Part 6 – Resident Concerns, Hindsight, More

As before, I sent all the candidates the same questions. That was about two weeks ago. I’ve had two responses. If more arrive, I’ll happily post them.

In case you don’t already know, mayoral candidates Brad Frost and Carlton Bowen are on the November general election ballot in American Fork. Kyle BarrattBarbara Christiansen, Staci Carroll, and Jeffrey Shorter are running for two available city council seats.

Note: Responses may be slightly edited for grammar, punctuation, and format. Responses by candidates who were defeated in the primary are still available below, behind the buttons.

  • Published: 19 October 2017
  • Updated: (20 October 2017)

Continue reading

David’s Notes and Commentary: October 7 City Council Debate

Audio recordings of the October 7 city council debate in American Fork are available here, separated by question. The American Fork Chamber of Commerce also posted a single, long video recording of the event. This post is not intended to substitute for listening or watching, nor is it a play-by-play. I’ll tell you some of the things the candidates said and some of the things I think. So you are duly warned that this post contains more opinion than objective reportage.

I’ll link to a few audio segments and suggest that you listen to them. The full set is available at the link above.

Your comments are welcome, of course, and you certainly don’t have to agree with me.

The four candidates for city council on my ballot — it arrived today, and I checked — are Barbara Christiansen, incumbent Jeff Shorter, Kyle Barratt, and Staci Carroll. (I list them in the order in which they were seated at the event, alphabetically by first name. And I’ll use their first names here, to simplify your connections between these notes and the recordings.) Continue reading

American Fork City Council Debate Audio – October 7, 2017

Here is audio from the October 7, 2017, city council debate in American Fork. The mayoral candidates were not present but sent short statements to be read; they are included below.

This post has just the questions and the audio, with no attempt to summarize responses, no fact checking, and no commentary or analysis. My own thoughts are coming soon, but separately.

If you enjoy disclaimers, go reread the disclaimers from last time we did this together. For the rest of us, on with the show.

Attendance was about 12, not including candidates. That’s unusually low and somewhat disappointing, but we’ll hope for a larger audience watching the video recordings and listening to the audio here. The Chamber of Commerce, which hosted the event, has posted video recording on YouTube. Here also is the Daily Herald‘s report of the event. (Apologies for the unpleasant ad experience there.)

The moderator was Joe Phelon [“FEE-lawn”] Chairman of the Board of the American Fork Chamber of Commerce. Questions came from the audience, and some may have been submitted by email in advance.

All four candidates attended. They were seated in alphabetical order by first name:

  • Barbara Christiansen
  • Jeff Shorter (incumbent)
  • Kyle Barratt
  • Staci Carroll
Josh Walker, Barbara Christiansen, Jeff Shorter, Kyle Barratt, Staci Carroll

Josh Walker (Chamber of Commerce), Barbara Christiansen, Jeff Shorter, Kyle Barratt, Staci Carroll

Continue reading

Meet American Fork City Council Candidates

Our best opportunity to meet and grill American Fork’s four city council candidates is tomorrow morning, Saturday, October 6, at 9:30 a.m. It’s provided by the American Fork Chamber of Commerce (thanks!), and hosted by American Fork Hospital (thanks!) in their comfortable Education Room.

Neither mayoral candidate is able to attend but — forgive me, if you feel the need — the city council race is the interesting one anyway.

The easiest access is the emergency entrance at the front of the hospital. Once inside, I suggest you decline any proffered medical care — they charge for that — and find the Education Room back a bit and to your right. If you don’t arrive especially early, there should be signs to guide you. If there aren’t, just poke your head into rooms until you see something that looks political, or the staff becomes so distressed that they offer to escort you to your destination.

At 9:30 a..m. we get to chat with candidates informally. At 10:00 a.m. the formal question-and-answer period will begin. I’d anticipate it lasting 60 to 90 minutes.

You’re welcome to e-mail your questions in advance to chamber@afcity.net or submit them in writing at the event itself.

Also, I’m expecting a cookie — but I remember when it was pancakes.

In case you’re just arriving at the party, the four city council candidates on your November ballot in American Fork will be (in alphabetical order by surname, not necessarily my preference): Kyle Barratt, Barbara Christiansen, Staci Carroll, and incumbent Jeff Shorter. We voters each get to vote for two, and the two winners fill the available seats.

You’ve been wanting to get involved, and this is a great place to start. Even if you don’t know what to ask or what the issues are, come and observe and learn. The hot seat is for the candidates. The audience can relax, listen, and nibble the aforementioned cookie.

We plan to post audio here after the event, as we’ve done before, for those who can’t make it. For the rest of you . . . see you there! Bring the kids! Especially the teenagers! But don’t let them run laps around the room while everyone else tries to listen to the candidates and avoid unkind thoughts about their — ahem, the children’s — parentage. This isn’t a church dinner.

American Fork Election Results (updated)

Here’s an updated report of primary election results, based on updated counts released this afternoon. There will be further updates — by state law, on Tuesdays and Fridays — before the official canvass on Tuesday, August 29, but the votes added in subsequent updates will likely be far fewer.

The big news for American Fork voters is that the outcome of the city council race changed. Incumbent city councilor Jeff Shorter moved into fourth place ahead of Ernie John by 27 votes, pushing the latter out of the general election, if the result holds. This isn’t a big surprise; in Tuesday’s results the margin was a mere nine votes.

Continue reading

American Fork Election Results (Tentative)

I’ve been waiting to post local election results, hoping for numbers more recent than 10:09 p.m. on election night — given that most of the ballots were mailed, and a lot of them presumably didn’t arrive in time to be counted on Tuesday evening.

I finally called the county clerk’s office, where I learned that state law requires them to publish updated numbers on Fridays and Tuesdays, until the final canvass two weeks after election day. They said they might publish an update sooner, but so far they haven’t.

So without waiting further, let’s see what we know. Continue reading

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