St. George • Two of St. George’s three incumbent City Council members up for reelection seem to be in good shape to retain their seats in the Nov. 21 general election, but the third looks like he might have an uphill fight to secure another term.
Although the results are preliminary, council members Dannielle Larkin and Jimmie Hughes have emerged with the most votes in Tuesday’s primary election thus far, while council incumbent Gregg McArthur currently is in sixth place.
Only the top six vote-getters in the Sept. 5 primary election will move on to the general election, where the three candidates with the most votes will win a seat on the council.
Larkin, who is seeking a second term, is leading with 12.33% of the vote, with Hughes squarely in second with 10.93%. At this point, 462 votes separate the two. St. George Planning Commissioner Steve Kemp, who campaigned on sticking with city business rather than on stoking culture wars, is in third place, with 10.23% of the vote.
Paula Smith and Brad Bennett, both of whom have been endorsed by Council member Michelle Tanner, are currently in fourth and fifth, with 9.38% and 9.25% respectively. Katheryne Knight and Austin Hodges, two prominent members of the LGBTQ community, placed 12th and 13th in the crowded field and are out of the running.
Larkin, whose campaign watchwords have been “kindness” and “civility,” is pleased with her strong showing and feels a level of vindication with the early results.
“It’s a statement that people are looking for civility in politics,” she said. “There have been a lot of attacks on my character, and I committed to run a completely clean campaign that is really about city politics rather than national politics. … I have not engaged in negativity, and I think the vote reflects that is what people are looking for. They want their city government to function.”
Between now and the general election, Larkin plans to continue to focus on public safety, affordable housing, parks and recreation and other bread-and-butter issues that she said St. George residents truly care about. She wants to steer clear of bickering over drag shows, cancel culture and other issues she says some are using to divide the community
“There’s so much to do that I think it is a massive waste of time to constantly talk about these culture wars that we don’t have a say in and can’t win,” Larkin added.
Hughes, who is the mayor pro tem and is seeking a fourth term, credits his primary election success to his common-sense approach to government that he said emphasizes service over special interests. He is especially proud of his work with the Switchpoint Community Resource Center in helping alleviate homelessness in the city as well as efforts to fund four years of “Safe St. George,” a multimillion-dollar program to hire more police and firefighters and bolster public safety, without raising taxes.
Despite his solid primary showing, Hughes said he is taking nothing for granted and plans to campaign like crazy in the weeks and months preceding the general election.
“I’m in it to win,” he said. “Serving on the City Council is important to me. It is not something that is owed to me. So I’m going to make sure people understand where I stand on the issues.”
Brad Bennett, who owns an audiovisual business, is pleased with his fifth-place standing in the primary.
“We feel great,” he said about his campaign. “We were able to accomplish this with a much lower budget than many of the other candidates, and that’s a testament to our message … that is resonating with the public.”
Bennett has emphasized his opposition to drag shows being held in public spaces in the city and has advocated for protecting children from “adult content and sexualization.” He also has taken issue with St. George Mayor Michele Randall’s decision a few months ago to temporarily suspend the public comment period at City Council meetings — something he calls “un-American.”
Growth and affordable housing are two of several issues Bennett said he would focus on if elected.
“Obviously, we want to make sure that our growth doesn’t exceed our capabilities or our resources,” he said.
While Bennett says it’s not the government’s role to provide affordable housing, he said he would still work on initiatives that foster an environment that would ease the area’s housing woes.
As of Wednesday morning, here is where the candidates stood in the unofficial vote count:
Dannielle Larkin, 4,063, 12.33%
Jimmie B. Hughes, 3,601, 10.93%
Steve Kemp, 3,370, 10.23%
Paula Smith, 3,092, 9.38%
Brad Bennett, 3,048, 9.25%
Gregg McArthur, 3,043, 9.23%
Wendi Prince Bulkley, 2,500, 7.59%
Aros Mackey, 2,158, 6.55%
Greg Aldred, 2,132, 6.47%
Steven G Jennings, 1,877, 5.70%
Matthew L Heaton, 1,764, 5.35%
Katheryne Knight, 1,083, 3.29%
Austin Hodges, 659, 2%
Kimball Willard, 567, 1.72%
