Tag: 2017 election (Page 1 of 3)

Election Results – 2017 General Election

11/07/2017 / David Rodeback

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 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

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

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

11/02/2017 / David Rodeback

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)

11/02/2017 / David Rodeback

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

Barbara Christiansen (left), Jeff Shorter, Kyle Barratt, Staci Carroll

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

10/19/2017 / David Rodeback

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 Barratt, Barbara 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)

Joe Phelon, Barbara Christiansen, Jeff Shorter, Kyle Barratt, Staci Carroll

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

10/18/2017 / David Rodeback

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 campaign signs

American Fork City Council Debate Audio – October 7, 2017

10/14/2017 / David Rodeback

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 a 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

Meet American Fork City Council Candidates

10/06/2017 / David Rodeback

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 Candidates Q&A – Part 5 – Debt, Decisions, and More

08/12/2017 / David Rodeback

As before, I sent all the candidates the same questions. This time, more of them responded, and I’m still expecting another response or two, which I’ll happily post upon receipt.

Thanks to all the candidates who’ve participated in our little pre-primary Q&A.

Voters, don’t forget that your ballot, if mailed, must be postmarked no later than Monday, August 14, 2017. There are some in-person options on Tuesday. Further information is here.

Mayoral candidates Brad Frost and Carlton Bowen are on the November general election ballot in American Fork. Kyle Barratt, Barbara 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: 25 July 2017
Updated: 31 October 2017

American Fork Candidates Q&A, Part 4 – The City and Developers

08/08/2017 / David Rodeback

In this post, candidates respond to one question:

For years we’ve heard reports that developers find the City so difficult to work with that many of them won’t build at all in American Fork. To what extent are these reports true? Is it a good thing? What if anything should elected City officials do about it?

Carlton Bowen and Brad Frost are running for mayor. Kyle Barratt, Barbara Christiansen, Staci Carroll, and Jeffrey Shorter are running for two available city council seats.

Note: None of the candidates who were defeated in the primary responded to this set of questions, so this post, unlike previous similar posts, has no responses to hide behind buttons.

Published: 25 July 2017
Updated: 31 October 2017

American Fork Candidates Q&A: Part 3 – Quick Responses on Nine Issues

08/07/2017 / David Rodeback

I’m combining mayoral and city council candidates’ responses to this set of questions, because so far only one of the former and two of the latter have responded with answers. I’ll publish more if and when I receive them.

Perhaps I ask too much of candidates, sending them all these questions and asking them to respond. Life is busy enough, and campaigning makes it more so, for those who actually do it.

However, I keep thinking that it’s a decent test — not a perfect one — of candidates’ inclination and ability to communicate, even when they’re busy — which seems to be an important characteristic of their service, if we elect them.

But onward. In this set of questions, I asked the candidates to respond quickly — in seven words or less — to a list of issues. My exact instructions were (with examples omitted): Respond to the following issues in seven words or less. . . . Leave some of them blank, if you wish.

Those who responded caught the spirit of it. Please note that I don’t expect informed profundity on every issue; you probably shouldn’t either. But it’s good to see how they think. Continue reading