Tag: city council (Page 2 of 8)

AF Primary Election Turnout 2023

09/27/2023 / David Rodeback

Now that Utah County has posted detailed election results by precinct (a CSV file), we can see turnout for American Fork specifically.

County-wide turnout was 21.2%. (I’m rounding throughout.)

In American Fork we did slightly better: 22.5%

In my subjective view, that’s not bad for a primary election that was oddly, even awkwardly, timed and in which, to be frank, most candidates didn’t appear to do a lot to put their names and thoughts in front of the voters. The general election is oddly timed too, November 21, just before Thanksgiving, but I’m confident the voters will hear plenty from the remaining candidates by then.

Drilling down a little further, and excluding two odd little precincts with ten registered voters combined, turnout in the various precincts varied from to 11.1% to 29.3%. If you want to study the numbers and a precinct map, those are at the Utah County website.

(I think it’s all supposed to be available with numbers in a map here, but as of this writing, it isn’t working in my browser.)

If you’re not registered to vote at your current address but you’d like to be, here’s another link to the Utah County website for voter registration.

We’ll be back fairly regularly here with more information and analysis of candidates and the issues, between now and — good grief — the day before the day before Thanksgiving.

Elizabeth Gray - American Fork City Council candidate

Statement by Elizabeth Gray

09/23/2023 / David Rodeback

American Fork City Council candidate Elizabeth Gray, who was eliminated in the September 5 primary, released this statement today and her campaign’s Facebook page and also provided it to AFElection.info.

Elizabeth Gray Statement

Dear Friends, Neighbors, and Supporters,

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.

I must also address a serious issue that arose in the days leading up to the election. Unfortunately, there were multiple targeted threats made against me and personal attacks from individuals on a national scale, which led to the archiving of this page for safety reasons. I want to assure everyone that these threats have been forwarded to the wonderful American Fork Police Department, who are handling the situation with the utmost professionalism.

During this trying time, I was deeply touched by the outpouring of support from the community, including my fellow candidates and city officials. It’s a testament to the strength and unity of American Fork, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this community.

While the journey was challenging, it was also incredibly rewarding. I’ve had the privilege of meeting so many amazing residents and hearing your hopes and concerns for our beloved city. Your voices have inspired me, and I promise to work diligently to make American Fork a better place for us all.

Once again, thank you for your unwavering support and for standing by me through thick and thin. Together, we will build a brighter future for American Fork.

With deepest gratitude,

Elizabeth Gray

Austin Duke - American Fork City Council candidate

AF Election Update: Austin Duke withdraws, endorses Taylor, John, Holley

09/22/2023 / David Rodeback

Today American Fork City Council candidate Austin Duke submitted the required notarized affidavit at the City Recorder’s office to withdraw his name from the November general election ballot.

He cited “unforeseen personal and family considerations.”

He finished fifth among nine candidates in the September 5 primary election, which advanced six candidates for three available seats on the council. In withdrawing he endorsed three of the candidates who finished ahead of him: Clark Taylor, Ernie John, and Tim Holley. These, he wrote, “are committed to what I believe is good and wise local government.”

Here is the statement he posted on social media and sent to AFelection.info:

2023 American Fork Primary Results

09/08/2023 / David Rodeback

Is it just me, or has Election Day lost most of its sizzle, what with the meaningful vote count continuing for days thereafter — technically, weeks — and some doubt as to many of the results for a while? I used to jump in to report election results on Election Night, but now, well, it’s Friday, as you see. Here are some primary results.

Guest Post: Bryce Shelley on 2023 American Fork City Council Candidates

08/30/2023 / Bryce Shelley

After attending the meet the candidates event at the senior citizens’ center, to me they divided into three groups of three candidates.

American Fork Library - 2023 primary election

David’s 2023 Primary Election Votes — Who and Why

08/28/2023 / David Rodeback

This is the post where I tell you what I think of our current American Fork City Council candidates and how I plan to vote in next Tuesday’s primary election. I get three votes; there are three council seats up for election this year. The primary will narrow the field to six for the general election in late November. The terms are four years, beginning in January.

Please note: If you visit this site for information only and prefer to avoid opinion, as some readers do, you’ll want to avoid this post. If you feel that all of our political discourse should be sweetness and light, you’ll want to avoid this post. But I’ll be as positive as I can.

I know some candidates fairly well, but others I didn’t know at all, except their names, until about a week and a half ago. I got a late start this year, and the best I can do is tell you what I think so far. In some cases information we’ve published here, plus my conversations at last Monday’s candidate open house, constitute all I know.

(Links anchored to candidates names below point to posts with their answers to one or more of my questions. See also John Mulholland’s report of his interviews with most of the candidates.)

Painting of casually dressed people at an event, in the style of Renior - AF candidate open house

Open House: Well Done, AF Voters!

08/26/2023 / David Rodeback

Monday evening’s 90-minute, informal city council candidate open house at the American Fork Senior Center was well attended on two counts. All the candidates were there — which doesn’t always happen — and a few dozen voters attended too.

It Was Good

I spent some quality time with each of the candidates except the one I already know best, incumbent Clark Taylor. I asked some of my questions, listened as they answered my questions and others’, and chatted briefly with some voters too — because I’m always eager to hear what other voters are thinking.

I won’t name names here — I will soon — but more than one candidate improved in my view, based on the evening’s conversations. And I enjoyed meeting the candidates I hadn’t met before.

Here’s the crux of this post: Attendance was good. (Well done!) And it wasn’t just numbers. Voters who attended were civil and friendly, asked smart questions, listened to the answers, and in general seemed serious and engaged. (Did I already say “Well done!”?) Quite a few of them were there from the beginning to the end.

Coming Soon at AFelection.info

On Monday I’ll post my thoughts on each candidate by name. I’ll tell you why some get my votes and others don’t — based in part on conversations at the open house, in part on interviews and answers posted here at afelection.net, and in part on prior knowledge of some of the candidates.

In the meantime, here at AFelection.info this week we’ve added one candidate to John Mulholland’s reports of his interviews (now seven of nine), and I’ve posted answers to some or all of my questions by the five candidates who have responded so far. (I’m still hoping for more — and I did send the questions very late.) Here are links to their answers, in the order of their responses:

Thanks for reading. Thanks for learning BEFORE you vote. Thanks to the American Fork Chamber of Commerce for hosting the event, as they so often do. And I keep saying this, but stay tuned.

Image credit: generated by DALL·E with prompt “Renoir painting of casually dressed people standing at a party” (I was feeling whimsical.)

Your Primary Votes Matter — Learn BEFORE You Vote

08/16/2023 / David Rodeback

My primary ballot for the 2023 American Fork municipal election arrived yesterday, and I’m far behind the curve. I only know about half of the American Fork City Council candidates at all, let alone well enough to choose confidently among them when I mark my ballot. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Ordinarily, I’d have been working at this for the last several weeks and posting much of what I learned here. But I’ve been busy with other things. Good things, enjoyable things — but now the slightly-delayed primary election is upon us.

I finally sent some questions to the candidates this evening — the same questions for all of them (see below), but weeks later than I usually do that. Whatever answers they send (within reason) I will post, and given the timing, I won’t wait to hear from most or all of the candidates before doing so.

Meanwhile, here are some other opportunities to learn about candidates.

Minimalist drawing of five candidates at podiums

2023 American Fork City Council Candidates (and two date changes)

06/24/2023 / David Rodeback

Three of five seats on the American Fork City Council are up for election this year. The term is four years, and the other two seats and the mayor will be up for election in 2025.

Ten candidates filed during the June 1-7 filing period, but one has since withdrawn. Of the nine remaining, only one, Clark Taylor, is an incumbent. Another, Jeff Shorter, served on the council previously. He was first elected in 2013.

The primary election will narrow the field to six (two per seat). However, candidates don’t run for specific seats or from specific districts. The winners will simply be the six (in the primary), then the three (in the general election) who get the most votes. The winners’ will be sworn in just after New Year’s Day.

Here’s an important note, of which more below: municipal primary and general elections have been postponed statewide. They’ll be a few weeks later than usual.

American Fork Presbyterian Church with mountains

AF City Council Interviews: My Own Reflections

05/31/2023 / David Rodeback

I mostly kept my own views out of the several previous posts in which I reported my one-on-one interviews with all five members of the American Fork City Council. But perhaps you’ll indulge some personal thoughts as we conclude.

I’ve observed and worked in politics and government at the local, state, and national levels since childhood, and I studied government in an academic setting for years. Whether or not I was inherently so at the beginning, I became cynical and skeptical. At the same time, I remain idealistic enough to hope for better than we often see in some contexts, and, yes, to be misled by the occasional politician, at least for a while.

A Jeffersonian Virtue

That said, these interviews increased my existing sense that there is a sort of Jeffersonian virtue about American Fork’s city government these days. I know people have grievances and disagreements; I know things things are imperfect and in some cases outright flawed. There is ample room for improvement.

But I just spent about five hours with good, capable people who I believe are doing their best to serve the city and its residents — and who I believe have done well, especially as a group.