The deadline for candidacy in Provo and Orem closed at 5 p.m. on Monday.
Now voters have an opportunity to study the candidates and their platforms to see which they prefer their cities to prepare for the primaries.
This year, voters will elect mayors and three councilors for both cities.
According to the city clerks, the people listed below have submitted their candidacy. Now they need to be validated with background checks before being fully admitted as candidates, according to Amanda Ercanbrack, Provo town clerk.
Provo
In Provo, incumbent Mayor Michelle Kaufusi is nominated by M. David Gedo Sanchez, Dalton Beebe, Caleb Reeve, Ken Dudley and Neil Mitchell.
There are three council seats available: Citywide 1, plus Districts 2 and 5.
Katrice MacKay, Landon D. Johnson, Aaron Skabelund and Hoc Vu have run for the seat on City Council 1, while George Handley (incumbent) and Suzanne Q. are running for District 2. Rachel Whipple and Zac Green are running in District 5.
Kaufusi achieved several milestones during her first term, including building a new city building, a new terminal at Provo Municipal Airport for more commercial flights, and helping the city get over financial concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sanchez has never held office but has watched government scrutiny and hopes residents will see the need to be more self-sufficient. Originally from Uruguay, Sanchez settled in Utah with his parents in 1962. He has worked in the non-profit industry all of his adult life.
Reeve is no stranger to running for office and says he may have taken the wrong direction from his Facebook posts. Reeve ran for governor in 2010, US president in 2016, and Senate in 2018, hoping the mayor’s seat is the ticket.
Reeve feels that the Provo people want to know what is going on at the government level and they didn’t hear that from the administration.
Many Provo residents may remember the shooting last summer during a protest rally in downtown Provo. Dudley was the driver who was shot dead during the incident. He says he has thought about things a lot since that time.
“I felt like I had to take part. I’m not happy with the things that happened when I was shot, ”Dudley said. “I support our men and women in blue. I recommend the police. You have my greatest respect. “
Mitchell is semi-retired and works with the IRS during tax season, reviewing tax returns and answering applicants’ questions. He is worried about the economic development in Provo.
“I get a little depressed when I go to the Provo Towne Center. I’m going to Orem and they’re booming, ”said Mitchell. “I want to know what’s wrong.”
“Grow and expand or contract and die,” said Mitchell. He also wants to see some kind of aerospace industry at the airport.
The Daily Herald attempted to contact Beebe for a brief comment on its filing, but did not respond before the deadline.
To read the candidates’ platforms, go to http://provo.org and go to the department drop-down list under Recorders and look for the election box.
Orem
In the final moments of the filing on Monday, several people threw their hats into the Orem political arena.
Jim Evans announced his candidacy for Orem’s mayor earlier this year. On Monday he was accompanied by Archie A. Williams III, David A. Young and Haysam Z. Sakar.
As for the seats on the city council, three four-year seats are open. Incumbents Tom Macdonald and David Spencer signed up early.
To Macdonald and Spencer come council candidates, including: Shaunte Ruiz Zundel, Nichelle Jensen, Jon “Jon J”. Jensen, Mike Carpenter, Micky Cochran, Quinn Mecham, LaNae Millett and Todd Linsley.
Provo and Orem will join a good chunk of the rest of the state and vote by postal vote. They will be mailed three weeks before the August 10th primaries and three weeks before the November 2nd parliamentary elections.
“We made it easier with the ballot boxes,” said Jody Bates, Orem’s town clerk. “The ballot papers can be submitted at any voting box in the district. If you work in one city and live in another, you can drop your ballot papers on your way to work. “
Once Orem’s candidates are validated, you can read their platforms by going to http://orem.org and scrolling down and selecting the option box.
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