Most likely, his running mates JoLynn Ford or Brad Daley would only pick off an incumbent, or possibly two.

But when the results came in Tuesday, the trio of challengers had routed incumbent Councilmen Brent Burdick, Steve Hanson and Larry Skinner.

"I was stunned. I didn't think there was any chance to get in," Hancock said Thursday.

Unofficial returns show Ford in first place with 1,832 votes; Daley, a former councilman, was second with 1,704; and Hancock, a member of the city's Planning Commission, took third with 1,630 votes.

Hanson attributed part of his and his colleagues' losses Tuesday to a flier about the city using part of a recreation bond for the Gladstan Golf Course - instead of devoting it to a water park. Burdick and Skinner could not be reached Thursday for comment.

Hanson said the flier was full of misinformation.

"There were out-and-out lies and half-truths about the funding for the golf course," Hanson said, adding that the incumbents were opposed by downtown business people and city employees.

One of those business people is Bill Morris, who runs a quilting shop in downtown Payson.

"I didn't like what they were doing down there," Morris said simply, declining to elaborate.

Ford said she doesn't believe the funding question was a significant issue, but that the controversy was a sign of a population shift toward younger people who may be tiring of the old guard.

She said new people are less likely to vote for someone just because they are a longtime resident, but rather look for candidates who are willing to address issues.

Hancock said one key issue he campaigned on was improving the city's economic-development efforts.

The city does not have an economic-development director and has withdrawn from the Utah League of Cities and Towns.

That position, he believes, hurts economic growth.

With the election behind them, Hancock said one challenge facing the new council members is to demonstrate that their actions represent what is best for the city - rather than pushing a personal political agenda because they control a majority of the council's seats.

dmeyers@sltrib.com