| Election Judge Brenda Bigelow assists Elwin Atwood with signing in to vote at the Price River Water Improvement District office. The office was the only November 2003 polling place for Carbon voters residing in unincorporated areas of the county. The ballot included one race – filling an elected position on the PRWID board |
While Tuesday was not a general national election, there was considerable interest in local races across the state. Carbon County was no exception to the rule.
Elections for council seats in five Carbon County cities and a position on the Price River Improvement District Board were up for grabs.
In several cases, the incumbents failed to make the cut at the Nov. 4 election polls.
In Price, the election ballot included four city council seats, three four-year offices and one two-year position.
The two-year position was won by appointed incumbent Jeanne McEvoy.
The Price City Council incumbent received 742 votes to Jeffrey Nielson’s 593 ballots.
In the four-year Price City Council election, the three candidates who emerged victorious were Richard Tatton with 840 votes, Steven Denison with 781 and Joe Christman with 738 ballots.
Price council incumbent Don Reaveley garners support from 582 voters. Challenger Mike Metzger received 546 votes, followed by David Cox with 219 ballots.
In Sunnyside, six candidates vied for three open city council seats.
The top three vote winners were Sam Leonard with 73 ballots, Shari Madrid with 68 votes and Carol Johnson with 65.
Candidates who were not elected to the Sunnyside City Council included Tony Riffle with 56 votes, Doug Alger with 43 and Cheryl Ek with 35 votes.
In East Carbon, local residents filled three seats on the city council from a list of four candidates.
The final results showed Darma Lopez with 187 votes, incumbent Dave Maggio with 183 votes and Joseph Manley with 182 ballots secured city council positions.
Darrell Valdez, the final candidate on the East Carbon City Council ballot, received 167 votes.
Sunnyside and East Carbon are currently exploring the feasibility of consolidating the two towns into one city.
If the consolidation gains final approval, 2003 could be the last time Sunnyside and East Carbon City conduct separate municipal elections.
Helper had an unusual situation where there were exactly the same number of candidates running for positions on the city council as were available.
The Helper City Council candidates included Kirk Mascaro, who received 169 votes; Chuck Buchanan with 146; and Robert Farrell, a newcomer to the council, with 144 ballots. The field included four candidates until longtime councilman Jim Robinson decided to pull out of the race before the October primary.
In Wellington, three seats were open on the city council. Incumbents Glen Wells with 196 votes and Paula Noyes with 193 ballots won re-election bids. Robert Berta with 163 votes secured the third council position. Paul Childs, a fourth Wellington City Council candidate, received 120 votes.
The only race that was open to voters residing the county’s unincorporated areas was a contest for an open Price River Water Improvement District board seat.
In the PRWID race, incumbent Steven Rigby with 99 votes was defeated by former county commissioner Tom Matthews, who garnered 118 ballots at the water improvement district election polls. Challenger Lee Heath received 33 votes.