St. George • When the new St. George City Council is seated in January, chances are it will look a lot like the current one.
If the unofficial election results remain the same once all the votes are counted, the only newcomer on the council will be Steve Kemp, who is currently the leading vote-getter. Rounding out the winner’s circle for the three council seats are incumbents Jimmie Hughes and Dannielle Larkin, who are second and third respectively in the vote count. Paula Smith and Brad Bennett, who are in fourth and fifth, would be eliminated.
While Kemp would be a fresh face, he would not be an unfamiliar one. He has served as a planning commissioner for three years and is well-acquainted with St. George elected officials and key staff members. He credits much of his strong showing to his “no nonsense, real results” campaign that stressed traditional rather than cultural war issues.
“My message has been, let’s get back to getting the city’s business done, and I think that resonates with people from across a wide spectrum,” Kemp said. “Municipal elections are nonpartisan for a reason. Almost everything [council members] do is nonpartisan in nature — fixing potholes, making sure the parks are mowed, the playground equipment is safe and we have enough police and firefighters.”
Cultural war issues such as drag shows, the new state flag, gun rights and changing the name of Utah Tech University back to Dixie State University have often divided the council and the community over the past few years.
Kemp, Hughes and Larkin, who are backed by Mayor Michele Randall, have campaigned to stick with traditional city business. Smith and Bennett, who are endorsed by Council member Michelle Tanner, have shown more willingness to wade into hot-water cultural issues.
That divide has embroiled the candidates and their supporters in what some have called the nastiest election season in St. George history. Larkin, in particular, has come under fire from Tanner and likeminded critics, who portray her as a “woke liberal” for the “A” grade she received from Equality Utah and her willingness to reach out to the LGBTQ community and other underrepresented groups, among other things.
All the current council members and challengers are Republicans.
Larkin posted on Facebook Wednesday, thanking voters for their support and helping her spread her message of inclusion and “dignity for all.”
“Despite being beaten over the head for months with the stick of disinformation, our campaign held true to our belief that hard work, emotionally intelligent dialogue, and community building are the backbone of a happy and healthy city and people,” she wrote.
While the mayor and numerous others have commented on the ugliness of the election, Vince Brown, director of Utah Tech University’s Institute of Politics, prefers to call it the most “intense” election he has seen in a city of St. George’s size, something he characterizes as a reflection of a national trend.
“There seems to be a schism or a civil dispute … that’s dividing the right nationally, and that’s been brought home to St. George,” he said.
Brown also argues it is a mistake or oversimplification to characterize St. George’s election results — at least as far as voters are concerned — as a triumph of traditional municipal politics over extreme MAGA populism. Absent any professional polling, he added, it is impossible to know why residents voted the way they did.
For his part, Bennett attributes his fifth-place standing to money, not ideology. He noted he ran a frugal campaign and lacked the money and other resources enjoyed by the top three candidates. Despite that shortfall, he is holding out hope.
“I think there’s still statistically a path to win,” he said. “I don’t see it being super likely at this point.”
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