FILE PHOTO: Ballot enclosed. Photo by Joshua Woroniecki
CACHE COUNTY – Local residents of the communities of Lewiston, North Logan, Smithfield and Trenton participated in primary balloting on Tuesday. But residents in Lewiston must wait to find out which candidates will advance to the general election.
LEWISTON
Residents there voted to choose between six candidates for three city council seats. They were Regan Wheeler, Sigrid R. Roderer, Brenda K, Link, John H. Morrison, Kade B. Tarbet and Ned K. Simpler. However, after all 377 votes were tallied every candidate was listed as “Disqualified” on the evening of Tuesday, August 10th.
The reasons for the disqualifications were not made public Tuesday evening, though Lewiston City officials are working through what may have caused each candidate to be disqualified. Further details about the city’s next steps, and how it affects candidates for its city council, will be revealed later.
In addition to Lewiston, voters trimmed slates of candidates for city council seats in North Logan and Smithfield and also winnowed the ranks of mayoral candidates in Trenton.
NORTH LOGAN
Voters in North Logan chose between five candidates for two city council seats during the primary balloting. In the running were Brad Crookston, Bruce W. Lee, Emily Schmidt, Darrin Buttery and Joni Kartchner. The top four candidates will advance to the general election.
Of the 1,277 unofficial ballots cast, the result was:
Brad Crookston – 530 votes 22.96%
Joni Kartchner – 520 votes 22.53%
Emily Schmidt – 517 votes 22.40%
Bruce W. Lee – 477 votes 20.67%
Darrin Buttery – 264 votes 11.44%
SMITHFIELD
Two city council seats were also in primary contention in the adjacent community of Smithfield where Bart Caley, Jamie Anderson, Sue Hyer, Wade C. Campbell and Andrew Lillywhite have filed as hopefuls. The top four candidates will advance to the general election.
Of the 1,652 unofficial votes cast, the result was:
Jane Hyer – 763 votes 25.62%
Wade C. Campbell – 732 votes 24.58%
Andrew Lillywhite – 596 votes 20.01%
Jamie Anderson – 553 votes 18.57%
Bart Caley – 334 votes 11.22%
TRENTON
In the mayoral race in Trenton, primary voters chose two candidates to advance to the November election from incumbent Mayor Lynn G. Payne and challengers Deyette K. Bradley and Rachelle Ludwinski. The top two candidates will advance to the general election.
Of all the primary elections taking place in Cache County, the voter turnout in Trenton was the highest with 55.18% of registered voters participating.
It is clear that incumbent Mayor Payne will advance, but unofficial results of the Trenton mayoral primary make it too close to call for the other candidate. Of the 165 votes cast, the result was:
Lynn G. Payne – 92 votes 55.76%
Rachelle Ludwinski – 37 votes 22.42%
Deyette K. Bradley – 36 votes 21.82%
County Clerk Jess Bradfield explains that the outcome of similar races for mayoral and city council posts in 11 of Cache County’s other communities will be decided during the Nov. 2 general election balloting.
In the meantime, the official deadline for candidate registrations in Newton, Nibley and River Heights has been deferred until Aug. 17 because those communities have opted to skip the primary and use ranked choice voting in their municipal elections.
Per new state election laws, balloting in the upcoming general election will primarily be conducted by mail.
Voters will be able to return their ballots via the U.S. Postal Service, which requires payment of postage fees, or by depositing their completed ballot forms into strategically placed drop boxes in their communities.
Eric Frandsen contributed to this report