Godfrey, 37, had a 181-vote lead at night's end, but the Weber County Recorder's Office planned to begin counting absentee and provisional ballots this morning.

The mayor said late Tuesday that he wasn't yet ready to celebrate. While he expects many of the absentee votes to go his way, Van Hooser said she expects a raft of support among provisional ballots. Dozens of voters cast provisional ballots Tuesday after being challenged as bona fide Ogden residents by Godfrey's supporters.

Van Hooser remained confident late Tuesday that she will pull off an upset.

Van Hooser, 64, a retired schoolteacher and community volunteer who was appointed to the council last year, hit hard during the campaign on what she considered Godfrey's vulnerabilities: his character and the fact that many voters don't like him.

Many saw the race not as between Godfrey and Van Hooser but between Godfrey and anybody-but-Godfrey.

Elected at age 29, Godfrey in the past three years has been pitching Ogden as a recreational hub and recruiting ski companies, an endeavor that has paid off partly because years of economic stagnation led to rock-bottom real estate prices.

The momentum - capped this summer when the American headquarters of Salomon and Atomic skis moved into a renovated historic building downtown - has won Godfrey the hearts of business owners and longtime residents tired of watching their city collapse.

Godfrey boasted of creating 2,500 jobs in downtown alone and attracting investment expected to total more than $1 billion in the coming years.

The mayor did not reveal the results of a poll he commissioned before announcing his candidacy in July. But, shortly afterward, he withdrew his support for a plan to sell the Mount Ogden Golf Course and hillside open space for a housing development.

That sale, which he had trumpeted for nearly two years, was perhaps the most controversial issue in his eight-year tenure. Residents of the east bench largely rejected it, and Van Hooser said it will be resurrected "over my dead body."

Crime - and the candidates' dueling statistics - became an issue and the mayor announced new crime-fighting initiatives as gang violence escalated. He also highlighted Ogden's efforts to become more green, a theme that became increasingly common as the city sought to lure recreation companies. Van Hooser struck a chord with groups of voters angered by Godfrey's tendency to treat the city like a business and his previous support for selling city open space.

She argued that the mayor's focus for eight years was almost entirely on economic development and that he neglected the city's failing infrastructure and public-safety needs.

kmoulton@sltrib.com

Wicks fends off Eccles for council seat C

Councilwoman Amy Wicks beat back a challenge by Royal Eccles, an ally of Mayor Matthew Godfrey, for the at-large seat C on the Ogden City Council.

Political newcomers Caitlin Gochnour defeated Kent Petersen for the Municipal Ward 4 seat, according to unofficial returns Tuesday, and Sheila Aardema had an 18-vote edge over Blain Johnson for the at-large seat A.