This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Tom Huynh, a refugee from Vietnam, made history Tuesday by becoming the first ethnic minority elected to the West Valley City Council, beating his opponent by a substantial margin.
And incumbent Corey Rushton kept his seat despite voting in August to approve an 18 percent property tax hike. His opponent, John Huntinghouse, made taxes and the city's financial situation the central issues of his campaign. The third seat up for election was captured by Karen Lang, who beat Dean Whitworth.
West Valley City, the second largest city in Utah with a population of 130,000, has about 45 percent ethnic minority residents. Huynh, a commercial agent for a real estate company, was opposed by Brent Fuller, a construction project manager and a longtime Planning Commission member.
Huynh, 44, who did not speak English when he came to the United States in 1988, said he wants to reverse the property tax increase and improve the city's image.
"I want to cut taxes and I want to work with the Neighborhood Watch and get the crime rate down," he said.
After escaping from Vietnam in 1986, Huynh first went to a refugee camp in the Philippines. He learned English at Portland Community College and later attended Brigham Young University, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in Asian studies.
In other suburban Salt Lake County cities, unofficial results show David Nicponski squeaked out a 430-428 victory over Phil Markham for the District 1 seat in Murray. District 3 incumbent Jim Brass was unopposed. District 5 incumbent Krista Dunn was defeated by challenger Brett Hales.
In Herriman, incumbent Raquel Hamilton DeLuca lost her District 2 seat to Coralee Wessman-Moser, while incumbents Matt Robinson of District 1 and John Michael Day of District 4 retained theirs.
Two incumbents in South Jordan, Kathie Johnson of District 2 and Aleta Taylor of District 4, lost their seats to Chuck Newton and Steve Barnes. In District 1, Mark Seethaler won the open seat over Jim Wright.
Incumbent Morris Pratt in Taylorsville's District 2 was defeated by Kristie Steadman Overson. Incumbent Jerry Rechtenbach beat Dave Ballou in District 3, while newcomer Ernest Glen Burgess captured the District 1 seat over Israel Grossman.
Also losing their seats were incumbents Troy Chisholm, an at-large council member in Bluffdale, and Jim Lems of West Jordan's District 2.
In Midvale, current Planning Commission member Paul Hunt, who earlier this year admitted misappropriating $30,000 from his former employer, beat opponent Alan Anderson in District 3. Hunt, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, claims the criminal case resulted from a misunderstanding. District 1 candidate Robert Hale and District 2 candidate Paul Glover, both incumbents, ran unopposed.
Other unofficial results show the winning candidates in Cottonwood Heights as Mike Shelton in District 1 and incumbent Scott Bracken in District 2, and in Draper, at-large incumbents Bill Colbert, Alan Summerhays and Troy Walker.
The results also showed these winning candidates:
In Alta, incumbent Steven "Piney" Gilman and Harris Sondak, both at large;
In Cottonwood Heights, Mike Shelton in District 1 and incumbent Scott Bracken in District 2;
In Draper, at-large incumbents Bill Colbert, Alan Summerhays and Troy Walker;
In Holladay, incumbents Lynn Pace in District 2 and James Palmer in District 5 and Steven Gunn in District 4;
In Sandy, incumbents Dennis Tenney in District 2, Chris McCandless in District 4, and at-large incumbents Steve Fairbanks and Linda Saville;
In South Salt Lake, incumbents at-large Mike Rutter, Ryan Gold in District 1, Roy Turner in District 4, and Irvin Jones of District 5;
And in West Jordan, Christopher McConnehey in District 1, Judith Hansen in District 2, incumbent Ben Southworth in District 3 and Justin Stoker in District 4.