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If you want to help your community, here's your chance.

The filing period for candidates for municipal office begins Friday and runs through July 15. The elections are nonpartisan and the terms of office are for four years.

Tim Chambless, a University of Utah political science professor, said municipal office is the government level closest to people. Working in the trenches can be hard, he said, but is worth it.

"At times, candidates feel it's a thankless job but in hindsight, they usually say it was one of the highlights of their lives," Chambless said.

Chambless spent more than two decades either on the Salt Lake City Planning Commission or the Board of Adjustment. Those jobs took a lot of time but the political science professor got satisfaction out of the work.

"I really encourage people to do more than the minimum, to serve on citizen boards and committees and try to improve their neighborhood and the state," Chambless said.

During her 16 years on the West Valley City Council, Janice Fisher dealt with all kinds of big and small issues — and enjoyed every minute of it.

"I love government that's close to the people," said Fisher, now a Utah state representative. "They know if they have a problem, they can call their council person. It's really fun to have people say 'You helped me.' "

Fisher made her campaign a family affair. Her husband and children (and eventually her grandchildren) put up signs, handed out fliers and helped any way they could.

"Get out there and run," Fisher said. "You could still have a life. My husband and I still had our own interests and we still raised kids and we still had our church jobs. It's really enriched our lives."

She added: "I wish people would step up and do community service because you really get a lot of satisfaction out of doing it."

Genevieve Atwood, a former state legislator for Salt Lake City, also recommends that people get involved. If it's not the right time in their lives to run, people can volunteer to help with a campaign, she said.

"What's so neat about the municipal ones [elections] is they're nonpartisan," Atwood said, adding, "It's a terrific experience to be an elected official."

In addition to the desire to serve, some candidates also are spurred to run by a particular issue. Barry Topham was part of the drive that led to Holladay being incorporated in 1999, then successfully ran for a spot on the city council in 2007.

A big motivation was the Cottonwood Mall redevelopment project, which grew increasingly controversial because of its size and the fact that millions in future tax dollars could be used to fund infrastructure upgrades. Topham supported commercial development but opposed the hundreds of housing units in the plan and a tax incentive for the developer.

Topham has been outvoted on those issues but despite those losses, the councilman — who said earlier this month that he will not run for re-election — is still encouraging others to run for office.

"I hope we can get some civic-minded people who are practical and willing to put in some time," he said.

Candidate information

The filing period to run for a city office is July 1-15. A primary election is set for Sept. 13 if there are more than two candidates for an office. The general election is set for Nov. 8.

Candidates file declarations of candidacy with their city recorder's office. All terms are for four years.

In Ogden, the mayor's seat and city council seats in Wards 2 and 4 and one at-large council seat are up for election. For more information, visit bit.ly/mgNuW0.

The following cities each have three at-large city council seats up for election: Bountiful, Centerville, Clearfield, Clinton, Farmington, Kaysville, Layton, North Salt Lake City, South Weber, Sunset, Syracuse, West Bountiful, West Point and Woods Cross. Fruit Heights does not have a filing period. Instead, the city will use a nonpartisan caucus system later in the summer to pick six candidates to run in November for three at-large seats.

For a list of city recorders for these municipalities, visit bit.ly/jBpQww.