IRON COUNTY — With Election Day over, citizens of Iron County can look forward to seeing some familiar faces retaining their positions, along with some new ones looking to make an impact.
Voter turnout for elections in Iron County was 42.3 percent, according to information from the Iron County Clerk’s office.
House races
Republican incumbent candidate John Westwood retained his seat in Utah House District 72 with 83.31 percent of the votes against Libertarian candidate Barry Short, who took away 15.9 percent of the votes.
Westwood said he was very pleased to see such a high turnout for the elections and will do his best in continuing to serve the people of Iron County.
“I really appreciate the great people of Iron County,” Westwood said. “They are engaged in the political process, and it’s an honor for me to have such great support and that I’m trusted to return to the legislature.”
Along with Westwood, Republican candidate Brad Last defeated his Democratic opponent, Kenneth Roderick Anderson, with nearly 80 percent of the votes to keep his place on House seat 71.
Iron County Sheriff
In the race for Iron County Sheriff, incumbent Republican candidate Mark Gower took away the win with just over 83 percent of the votes against write-in candidate Dave McIntyre.
In a statement on his campaign Facebook page, McIntyre — who announced his candidacy as a write-in in late August — said he will do his best to continue serving the community as a sergeant in the Cedar City Police Department, and he thanked all those who supported his campaign effort.
“Today is another day and I will still be patrolling the streets and serving the citizens of Cedar City,” McIntyre said. “Who knows four years is really not that long and a lot can happen between now and then.”
Throughout his campaign, Gower — who began his position as sheriff in 2003 — said he will use the experience he has gained over the years to continue serving the people of Iron County to the best of his abilities.
Iron County Clerk
In the race for Iron County Clerk, Republican candidate Jon Whittaker faced off against write-in candidate Cindy Robinson. Whittaker walked away with 80.52 percent of the Iron County vote.
“I am determined to live up to the trust the citizens of Iron County placed in me during this election,” Whittaker wrote in a post on his Facebook page.
Robinson put up a good fight and stuck with it to the end, Whittaker said.
Iron County Commission and County Attorney
Republican candidates for County Commission seats A and B ran unopposed and retained their spots. Both Dave Miller and Dale Brinkerhoff remain on the commission and will continue to serve Iron County.
Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett also ran unopposed in the election and retained his position with 7,747 votes.
Enoch Tax Referendum and Brian Head PAR tax
A total of 55.41 percent of voters voted against Proposition 9, designed to adjust property taxes in Enoch in an effort to better balance the city’s budget.
In 2013, the Enoch City Council passed a resolution to raise property taxes in order to balance the budget, but a petition was put together to refer the proposed increase to a vote instead, Dan Jessen, Enoch City treasurer, said.
The proposal to reenact the Brian Head PAR tax was passed with 76.92 percent voting in favor of the proposal. The PAR tax will take 0.1 percent of the sales tax in Brian Head and put it toward parks, arts and recreation.
According to Utah State law, this tax needs to be reauthorized by voters after being in place for eight years and be reestablished for another 10 years, Brian Head Town Clerk Nancy Leigh said. The monies from this tax go toward things like music concerts, maintaining recreational trails and purchasing picnic tables and playground equipment.
“We use it a lot because we are a recreation community,” Leigh said. “This is going to be very good for us.”
State and congressional races
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, who was appointed to the position after John Swallow’s resignation in November 2013, was elected to serve the remaining two years of what would have been his predecessor’s original term in office. Reyes defeated Democratic challenger Charles Stormont after getting 63 percent of the vote.
As reported by Deseret News, Reyes sees his victory as a sign the public’s trust is coming back.
“I think it reflects the people’s trust that we’ve started to win back, and the hard work that we’ve put in,” Reyes told Deseret News.
In the race for Congressional District 2, Republican candidate Chris Stewart retained his seat against Democratic candidate Luz Robles. For a time, the race was rather close, until Stewart came out ahead of Robles and won with 60 percent of the vote.
“I like to thank the 2nd Congressional District for reelecting me to Congress,” Stewart said in a statement on his Facebook page. “Thank you for your trust and friendship. It is going to be a different Congress with Republicans in the majority.”
Unofficial results of Tuesday’s election for Iron County votes can be viewed here. Statewide results for state offices, all counties and districts can be found here.
Certified results will be available after the official canvas.
St. George News Senior Reporter Mori Kessler and reporters Rhonda and Samantha Tommer contributed to this report.
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