Coalville will have a new mayor next year, and it will be up to East Side voters to help narrow down the varied slate of candidates in August ahead of the general election.
Mayor Mark Marsh isn’t seeking reelection, opening the door for one of four residents who declared their candidacy last week to lead the city. The candidate filing period opened on June 2 and remained open until 5 p.m. on Friday.
Each municipality — Coalville, Oakley, Francis, Kamas and Henefer — will elect a mayor and at least two town or city council seats in November. The majority of the races are contested.
In Coalville, half of the mayoral candidates said they were inspired to run for office because they feel the community is at a crossroads.
Coalville native Rory Swensen, clinic director of Peak Medical in Park City and chair of the Summit County Democratic Party, said he’s running for mayor to address the gridlock at City Hall and the growth challenges the town faces. Swensen emphasized the need for collaborative leadership, better participation from Coalville City Council members and community engagement.
“We have some division in the city,” he said. “There is a real strong desire to keep the soul and the charm of Coalville in the face of the growth that’s coming, and what’s resulted in, especially over the last few years, some costly mistakes with the Wohali development, and also some dysfunction within City Hall.”
If elected mayor, Swensen said, he would be a proactive leader rooted in partnerships and preserving the eastern Summit County community. He emphasized a need to protect what residents love about the town while also actively preparing for, and helping to shape, future growth. Otherwise, the community will be “clobbered by it.” Maintaining affordability for the next generation was a key priority for Swensen, too.
Swensen added that there’s been a tendency for the City Council to “punt” decisions around without taking action and a lack of preparedness from members during discussions. He said the mayor needs to have a firm, collaborative approach to improve the accountability and efficiency of the city to ensure decisions are being made.
“We can keep stalling, or we can shape the future,” Swensen said. “I’m running to keep Coalville strong and liveable and authentic. I want to be a leader who listens and acts.”
Tyler Rowser, an administrative battalion chief with the North Summit Fire District, had similar motivations to launch a mayoral campaign. He recognized the need for collaboration, better partnership between the mayor and the City Council and improved employee retention.
“I see Coalville is at a turning point, and we have two ways we can go here. We can either turn and succeed, or we can turn and fail. I want to see Coalville succeeding, and I want to make sure we have things in place to make it succeed,” Rowser said.
As a former city councilor and Coalville planning commissioner, Rowser also emphasized the importance of developing a strategic plan to avoid the negative impacts of development.
He specifically mentioned a request from developers Larry H. Miller and Ivory Homes to annex a portion of its proposal to create a new town — formerly known as Cedar Crest Village, the downsized project is now called Hidden Meadow Village — into the Coalville city limits. Rowser was against the development, saying it would be “totally devastating” to Main Street and the community’s commercial base.
He also advocated for officials and staff to start planning so that everyone can be on the same page instead of at odds with each other. Rowser added that many employees have departed because of tensions between the city and its administrative arm or because they can find higher pay elsewhere.
“I think there’s a lot that can be done,” he said. “I am worried about how to make Coalville better for the people that live there now, and how to do it with … the least impact on taxes.”
Coalville City Councilor Lynn Wood said the decision to run for mayor came about very quickly. She’s only been on the City Council for 18 months and has been focused on creating opportunities for meaningful community involvement, but Wood said additional priorities have emerged. She said she realized the mayor is in a unique position to facilitate changes in the city related to how the government is run.
“It’s critical that we expand and diversify our team of professionals and advisors in order to negotiate the best possible outcomes with the developments that are currently on the horizon,” Wood said. “Another priority is to involve the council more fully in the city administration and I’d work to bring back the council committees and assignments that were effective in past administrations.”
Former Planning Commissioner Walter Brock also filed a candidacy declaration. Brock could not be reached by the time of publication.
There are also two City Council seats with four-year terms on the November ballot. Coalville City Councilors John Hansen and Louise Willoughby are not seeking reelection. The individuals who declared their candidacy: Chris Tomczyk, Matthew Boyer, Andrew Nelson, Jeff Peterson, Colleen Goodman and Steven Richins. Boyer serves on the Planning Commission.
Other East Side voters will also have a range of candidates to choose from, based on the other municipal filings.
In Oakley, incumbent Mayor Zane Woolstenhulme announced his intent to run for reelection. Oakley City Councilor Steve Wilmoth filed as a challenger.
Amy Regan, Kerbee Leavitt and Christopher Dillman declared their candidacy for the two open Oakley City Council seats, currently occupied by Wilmoth and City Councilor Kelly Kimber, who is not running for reelection.
Francis City voters will choose between two candidates for mayor, including incumbent Jeremie Forman. Byron Ames also filed to run.
Francis City Council incumbents Shana Fryer and Clayton Querry announced their plans to run for reelection. They are challenged by Lynsi Stone and Riley Atkinson, as well as Francis City Planning Commission Chair Justin Ciampi and Planning Commissioner Scott Buchanan.
Kamas Mayor Matt McCormick declared his intent to run for reelection. No one filed to run against him.
Incumbent Kamas City Councilor David Darcey is also running for another four-year term. Steve Cyr, Kandilee Sauter and Michael Georgi declared their candidacies for two open seats. City Councilor Jessica Allen Bateman is not seeking another term.
Henefer voters will also vote for a new mayor and three at-large town council seats this November. Officials published a municipal election notice on May 21, though it improperly stated the filing period ran from June 1 to 5. A second notice with the correct dates was posted on May 30. The website has not been updated to include which candidates have declared as of Tuesday.
There will be a primary election to narrow down the candidate field for the mayoral and city council races in Coalville, as well as the Francis City Council election, on Aug. 12. There will not be a primary in the other municipalities because there are not enough candidates to qualify for one.
The general election is Nov. 4.