19 are vying for South Jordan mayor appointment

Government • Council will appoint successor to Kent Money, who is heading to New Zealand.

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

South Jordan is getting a new mayor for the new year, and plenty of residents are vying for the job.

Nineteen people have applied to fill the remaining two years of Mayor Kent Money's third term, including several former City Council members and a former mayor's son. Money is stepping down to take a work assignment in New Zealand for his employer, the LDS Church.

The City Council will appoint the new mayor at its Jan. 3 meeting. Interested applicants were asked to submit a short biography and résumé with their declaration of candidacy paperwork, which council members will review over the holidays. The deadline for filing was Thursday.

During the Jan. 3 meeting, each candidate will have a turn to address the council, said city spokeswoman Kelly Pfost. The council also may question the candidates. Council members may then go into a closed session to discuss the applicants if needed, but must return to the public meeting to make a motion and vote to appoint a candidate.

Current council members Kathie Johnson, Aleta Taylor and Leona Winger have all applied for the post but won't be able to vote. Johnson and Taylor were defeated in their November re-election campaigns, and Winger had planned to retire. Instead, three new council members who will be sworn in at the start of the Jan. 3 meeting — Steve Barnes, Chuck Newton and Mark Seethaler — will get to choose the new mayor.

Council members from the more distant past are also in the running.

Bradley Marlor served on the council from 2000 to 2007, and also did time on the planning commission. Linda Auger and David Wood also served on the planning commission. Others have made local government a career, such as Edwin Blaney, the former executive secretary for the Salt Lake County Council of Governments.

Candidate Larry Hutchings would bring a family legacy to the mayoral post. His father, Theron Hutchings, served three terms as mayor of South Jordan.

Residents can learn more about the candidates by requesting their résumés from the South Jordan City Recorder's office. The documents are public information, but those wishing to obtain copies must file an official Government Records Access and Management Act request form, available at bit.ly/rtmAxG or in-person at city offices.

Here is the complete list of candidates: Linda L. Auger, Kevin Matthew Beck, Edwin E. Blaney, Robert Arthur Bolduc, Thomas L. Christensen, Dale Farr Gardner, Larry Theron Hutchings, Kathie Johnson, Bradley G. Marlor, James R. Nelson, Scott Lee Osborne, Stanley S. Postma, Aleta Taylor, Robert D. Willardson, Jay B. Wimmer, Leona Winger, Gregory A. Wise, David Wood and Mark T. Woolley.

kdrake@sltrib.com