Incumbents say that's a signal from Sandy residents that they are pleased with the council's performance. But challengers Reed Haslam and David Kingsbury say the city's due for a change. They argue their opponents have pushed economic development at the expense of Sandy's quality of life.

Two at-large council members - four-term incumbent Linda Martinez-Saville and one-term incumbent Steve Fairbanks - are running unopposed.

Here's a look at the council races in Districts 2 and 4.

District 2

Reed Haslam: A software engineer, Haslam believes his opponent - five-term incumbent Dennis Tenney - has been on the council too long. Haslam has pledged not to seek more than two terms on the council, if elected.

"[Tenney has] been on the Sandy City Council for 20 years. He's been as responsible as anyone for the focus on economic development and the de-focus on health and safety issues," Haslam says.

Haslam disapproves of Sandy's handling of the Real Salt Lake stadium. He thinks the state, which allocated the $35 million of Salt Lake County hotel taxes toward the $110 million project, should have issued the bonds for the public funds - not Sandy.

"It's a very risky project - as was the [finding] of Salt Lake County's own independent study - but it's too late now. We'll just have to hope for the best," Haslam says.

If elected, Haslam vows to shift the city's focus from attracting more business to bolstering public health and safety and reducing property crimes. He wants to add officers and more training to the police department and take projected revenue from traffic tickets out of the budget so police aren't pressured to write tickets. He would roll ticket revenue that is collected one year into the next year's budget.

Dennis Tenney: Tenney says he is asking his constituents to grant him a sixth term so he can continue with his work "protecting and preserving" neighborhoods and providing "responsive government" to both residents and businesses.

"I want to support a strong, balanced community with a very healthy neighborhood environment and a good-quality business environment, as well," he says. "Economic development is important. It's difficult to keep our taxes down if we don't have a healthy business environ- ment."

Tenney is proud the council was able, a few years ago, to cut the city's property tax rate by 10 percent over a four-year-period, he says. He also points to expanded police and fire departments and RSL's rising soccer stadium at 9256 S. State St. as accomplishments.

The stadium "will ultimately bring several hundred jobs to Sandy," Tenney says, noting he wants to make sure traffic is handled smoothly around the stadium.

"[RSL's development] will provide a subsidy in tax revenue to our residents who otherwise would have to pay for some [city] services through increased taxes" in the future.

District 4

David Kingsbury: Kingsbury says he is running to keep Sandy from being over-developed with new commercial and condo projects. He wants to protect open space and Sandy's tranquil, suburban lifestyle.

"It's not a brand-new growing community. It's an existing community. We live here because we like it quiet," he says. "Just because there is economic development in Utah doesn't mean we need to develop every square inch in Sandy."

Like Haslam, Kingsbury thinks RSL's soccer stadium was a risky investment of public funds. He says a regional retail center that didn't depend on the long-term success of Major League Soccer might have been better-suited for the site.

Kingsbury, who has yet to raise any campaign funds, has promised not to take donations from businesses or "special-interest groups."

With three of his four children in public schools, Kingsbury says he has a "stake" in making sure a Jordan School District split goes smoothly if approved by east-side voters Nov. 6.

He favors creating a new district and notes that none of the current City Council members has school-age children.

"Having a smaller school district allows parents to have a bigger voice in how education is being run," he says. "I have a vested interest."

Chris McCandless: McCandless, a real estate developer, says he brings a valuable perspective to City Council.

"Seventy percent of all the decisions we make are based around real property or private property issues. That's something I have strong experience in," he says, adding that he wants to continue with the city's economic-development push.

"Without solid economic growth, we don't have any revenues in the city from which to continue to expand our excellent police force and services. If we sit back and take it easy, the problem is other people [in neighboring cities] won't."

He was appointed to the council in 2004 to replace a resigning council member, then ran for his seat unopposed in 2005. Now he's in a contested race to win his first full four-year term.

If he is re-elected, McCandless vows, he will implement a housing rejuvenation plan that would buy run-down houses in crime-plagued areas, renovate them and sell the houses at an affordable price to police officers - most of whom currently live outside of Sandy because of the pricey housing.

He also wants to expand the city's after-school program for at-risk youth. And he hopes to ease the division of the Jordan district, if voters approve the split.

"It needs to be handled correctly," he says. "An awful lot of it will be splitting up real assets - that's where I can utilize my expertise."

rwinters@sltrib.com