Much is said for, against, and simply about the proposed split of the Alpine School District (ASD) via ballot Propositions 11 and 14. I won’t try to report or evaluate all of it here. I’ll do two things:
explain what’s on the ballot and how it will work, as clearly as I can, and
discuss several issues and arguments, and how, for me, they move the needle or don’t.
After a quick preview of questions (discussion follows later), a bit of editorial housekeeping, and two requests, we’ll get to the information part. If you read here only for information and want to leave before the opinion and analysis, you’ll know when.
American Fork City Council election results won’t be certified for a couple more weeks, give or take, but additional ballots counted today and reported this afternoon take the apparent results from likely to virtually certain.
We won’t have a clear picture of turnout until the vote is certified, but if turnout is anything like the 38% we saw in 2021, there could be another thousand ballots out there and yet to be counted.
That said, with Ernie John leading Ken Sumsion by more than 500 votes for the third available seat on the council, a change in the final outcome is extremely unlikely.
Here are the unofficial results as of this evening, according to the Utah County website. (Rudimentary precinct data is available there too. Don’t get excited about the two precincts with zero votes. At the time of the primary election, there were only ten registered voters there, at least on the books, and none of them voted in the primary.)
Unofficial winners of four-year terms on the American Fork City Council are incumbent Clark Taylor, Tim Holley, and Ernie John. They’ll be sworn in just after New Year’s Day.
Clark Taylor
3,046 votes
25.41%
Tim Holley
2,824 votes
23.56%
Ernie John
2,429 votes
20.27%
Ken Sumsion
1,927 votes
16.08%
Jeff Shorter
1,760 votes
14.68%
Looking simply at numbers, this is an especially strong showing by Holley, who finished fourth in the primary voting. It’s a solid performance by John, who was third in the primary. It’s no surprise at all that Taylor, a popular incumbent, finished first in both elections.
Sumsion, a former Utah State Representative, finished second in the primary but slipped to fourth in the general election. Shorter, who served a four-year term on the council from 2014 through 2017, finished fifth in the general election after finishing sixth in the primary behind Austin Duke, who dropped out of the general election before the November ballots were printed.
Congratulations also to Kelly Smith, a former American Fork resident and still an active friend of all things AF. (One might even say she’s All About American Fork.) She won a second term on the Cedar Hills City Council. She finished first in a four-way race for three available seats.
Last time, I — we — thanked the candidates. Today, on our belated Election Day, when it’s too late to mail your ballot but you can still use the dropbox at the library or vote there in person, both until 8:00 p.m. . . . Today we focus our thanks on some other good people.
Election Day is less than a week away, Tuesday, November 21. I’ve been candid in my evaluations of candidates and their views (here, here, here, here, here, and here). But this is not about that. For a few minutes, let’s step back from issues and from debating which candidates will be best for American Fork. Let’s talk about candidates as people — because I’m fairly certain all five city council candidates are human, not holograms or deep fakes or Cylons or whatever.
(This post is more opinion than information, but it doesn’t take sides. It might be comfortable for information-only readers.)
Candidates, we thank you! It’s not easy, this thing you’re doing. A lot of it isn’t fun. And in the final days before Election Day, whatever that means anymore, it’s even less fun.
One of our American Fork city council candidates likes to say we should run the City — specifically its finances — like a family budget. He even registered a web domain about it: voteforfamilybudget.com.
I’m jaded and cynical, when it comes to political talking points, including “Manage City as a Family Budget.” I like to crack them open and see if there’s any substance beneath the shiny sound bite.
. . . Which makes this one of those opinion-and-analysis posts, sez I to warn readers who come here only for information. (Thanks for stopping by again. Let’s all learn BEFORE we vote.)
My Family
I know next to nothing about this candidate’s family, though I readily accept that he has one. I’ve seen a photo. Odds are I know next to nothing about your family too. Families vary widely, so the best I can do here is compare how we’ve done things in my family over the years with how things do or could work in American Fork City government.
I have a quick tangent, then we’ll dive in. Like any proper tangent, it really does intersect with my topic.
This time, I can’t make my election guide any clearer than a large postcard which recently appeared in mailboxes across American Fork. That’s no surprise, once you know that I drafted the copy and my name is one of a couple dozen it lists, endorsing three excellent candidates for American Fork City Council: Clark Taylor, Ernie John, and Tim Holley.
First we’ll look briefly at the substance of the matter. Then I’ll tell you where the postcard came from — because we don’t hide in the shadows.
If you were at the October 16 American Fork City Council candidate debate or listened to the audio or watched the video, you might have wished for some detailed background about how property taxes work. Here I’ll give you that background as concisely as I can, then say a few words about the candidates with respect to these issues.
(My other responses to what I heard at that debate are in the previous post. It’s about twice as long as this one.)
This post is heavy on information, for those of who seek only that here, but the closer we get to the end, the more you’ll get my opinions.
When I posted audio, one file per topic, from the October 16 American Fork City Council candidate debate, I promised to return with my own thoughts. It’s taken longer than I hoped, but Election Day is still almost two weeks away, and this is that post. (The American Fork Chamber of Commerce posted video of the event at its YouTube channel. See also frequent contributor John Mulholland’s TL;DR.)
If you want to know what every candidate said on every topic, please listen to the audio. Getting it straight from the candidates is best. Here I’m choosing the things I want to discuss, not trying to report or even summarize everything.
I’ll tell you what I think and why. if you’re here just for information, not opinion and analysis, exit after the next section, and thanks for reading.
It’s past time for a fresh batch of straight talk here about citywide fiber optic broadband in American Fork. There’s a lot of information about the City’s project at the City website, and it’s well worth reading. But here we’ll do something the City can’t. We’ll look at the project in the context of the current city council election.
If you’re one of those readers (thank you for reading!) who seeks only information here and prefers to avoid analysis, commentary, and opinion, proceed with caution. There’s information here, but it’s arrayed against incomplete and inaccurate information spread by two of the five American Fork City Council candidates, and there’s some analysis, commentary, and opinion in the mix. But I’ll meet you halfway, sort of. I’ll only name those two candidates at the very end, in case that helps you focus on the information.
I’m firmly in favor of the project, but there are legitimate reasons why well-informed voters might oppose it. As in many other realms of our political discourse, I wish people would argue for or against a thing (or candidate) for legitimate reasons, without thinking they have to abandon truth and context in favor of spin, selective information, and untruth.
I’ve said that before. Call me naive — or perhaps spoiled, lately — but I expect better in American Fork than we sometimes get from other levels of our politics.
On Monday evening, October 16, 2023, all five American Fork City Council candidates appeared at the American Fork Senior Center in a debate. Not including the candidates, attendance was about 70, which is unusually high for such an event.
Audio recordings of the candidates’ complete statements and answers are presented here unedited, except for some noise reduction and audio level adjustments, and without comment or analysis.
Format
Except for timed opening and closing statements, candidates each had one minute to respond to a question or topic. If any candidate requested a 30-second rebuttal, all were allow an additional 30 seconds.
Questions were submitted by voters attending the event and by members of the Chamber of Commerce in advance of the event.
Straight talk about American Fork's proposed citywide municipal fiber optic broadband project, which isn't what we're getting from two of our city council candidates.
A small city needs good local journalism, for the same of good government and a sense of community. For decades American Fork, Utah, had the American Fork Citizen. Now we have it again.
"As the dust settles on the primary elections, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you who believed in me and supported my campaign for American Fork City Council. Your encouragement, volunteer hours, and kind words have meant the world to me."
"None of our laws or regulations was put in place by evil people seeking to annoy the rest of us. Some might be outdated. Some might need upgraded. Some should probably be eliminated. But understanding why it was there in the first place is a good first step in not re-causing whatever made it necessary in the first place."
Today American Fork City Council candidate Austin Duke withdrew his name from the November general election ballot, citing "unforeseen personal and family considerations" and endorsing Clark Taylor, Ernie John, and Tim Holley.
There are nine candidates for American Fork City Council in September’s primary election. The top six will advance to the general election in November, to compete for three available seats. Terms are four years. Here are notes on interviews with the candidates. Updated August 24, 2023 (one candidate added)
Melinda (and earlier commenters), thanks for reading, and especially for sharing your thoughts.
I live in Orem. I voted for a split, knowing it would not pass. I don't actually think Orem alone…
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David thanks again for another well thought out and very well explained opinion on a matter that is very important…
Thank you for your pragmatic approach and analysis. My path to a yes vote started with representation, 21 spread across…
I don’t know you at all, but my thought processes and conclusions have mirrored yours nearly exactly. My gut reaction…
Thank you for your thoughtful dive into these murky waters. As always, you bring clarity and common sense to the…
You have a gift, David. Thanks for sharing it with us all.
Thanks for your excellent election coverage!
David thanks for another excellent post. This is very articulate, clear, and easy to understand. Too bad this isn't required…
The author's name is displayed just under the title. Usually, as in this case, it's David Rodeback. Thanks for the…
Who is the author of these blog posts? This one is excellent.
I listened to this interview of the council candidates. I wish that all my neighbors would take the time to…
I had an almost word for word conversation with a candidate for city council from your example. He wasn't having…
The chamber did post a video! I'm glad they did. Here's the link to the debate: https://youtu.be/o4aI9MRoI_c?si=9j5JGKI1TVyL1ab2