West Point Mayor John Petroff is not officially your commissioner yet. But given that he just snagged the Republican nomination and that Davis County hasn't elected a Democrat in almost two decades, the November election may just feel like a minor formality.

"We're red, we're proud," declared Davis County GOP Chairman Ben Horsley.

So unless that crimson shade fades, 10 GOP candidates on this fall's county ballot can start practicing their oaths of office. In fact, the closest contest may be the county's one Republican primary.

Bountiful residents Dan Liljenquist and Ron Mortensen will square off June 24 in a Utah Senate primary after besting six other GOP hopefuls at Saturday's county convention.

Mortensen and Liljenquist were the only District 23 candidates to address illegal immigration in their speeches.

Liljenquist called the influx a "drain on our resources," while Mortensen touted his unpaid lobbying during this year's Legislature to fight "illegal immigrants stealing children's IDs."

The winner will take on Democrat Richard Watson and Constitution Party hopeful Jorgina Hancock to see who succeeds departing officeholder Dan Eastman to represent Bountiful, West Bountiful, North Salt Lake, Woods Cross and parts of Centerville.

For his part, Watson touted his main issues as education, ethics and taxes - and pointed to that last one as his possible ticket to the Legislature.

"I know the Republican Party always talks about [taxes]," the Bountiful resident said, "but they sure have a weird way of dealing with it."

Despite the GOP's overwhelming electoral edge in Davis County, Horsley said the party won't rest easy.

"We will vigorously fight for those seats to ensure they stay Republican," he said.

But underdog Democrats see room for hope in Davis County after a recent uproar over soaring property taxes - a spike some blame partly on one-party domination.

"What's inherently wrong is there is not a broad-based perspective when everyone is of the same party," said J. Dell Holbrook, Petroff's opponent and the last Democrat to serve in a Davis County office (as commissioner in the early 1990s).

Things must be pretty bad, he added, when even Republicans are asking him to run for Commissioner Alan Hansen's seat.

Holbrook pledged to properly manage the budget and taxes, as well as economic and transportation growth.

Petroff acknowledged the bump in property taxes, but quickly pointed out that West Point's taxes haven't gone up during his mayoral tenure.

"By keeping the spending under control," he said, "we can keep taxes under control."

To most political observers, Petroff's election appears a safe bet, but he isn't taking any chances.

"Davis County is a pretty conservative county," he said, "but I'm not going to take anyone for granted."

mariav@sltrib.com