This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Mayoral candidates in South Salt Lake and West Valley City have decided to seek recounts in primary election races whose final tallies, released Tuesday, came in incredibly close.
Former South Salt Lake Councilman Shane Siwik finished third in the Aug. 13 primary, just two votes behind political newcomer Derk Pehrson. In a Facebook post Wednesday, Siwik said he will proceed with a recount to be fair to the election process and his supporters.
"I am expecting the results to stay the same, however," Siwik said in his post. "And if they do, I am asking all of you to rally around Derk Pehrson."
The winner of the South Salt Lake recount will advance to the Nov. 5 general election ballot to face off against incumbent Mayor Cherie Wood, who finished first in the primary.
In West Valley City, No. 3 finisher Don Christensen requested a recount after the official tally narrowed the gap between him and No. 2 finisher Karen Lang to 13 votes.
The recount winner will go up against former state legislator and primary first-place finisher Ron Bigelow in November to determine who replaces Mayor Mike Winder to lead Utah's second-largest city.
Winder did not seek re-election.
Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen said both recounts will take place Thursday morning; the results should be available by early afternoon.
Elsewhere in Utah, Cedar City's unofficial results on primary election night indicated the four candidates who would vie for two open council seats in the general election were, in order of vote totals, Ron Adams, Darin "Dutch" Workman, Scott Jolley and Ralph M. McAffee.
However, final results show Fred C. Rowley received more votes than McAffee, 869 to 850, so Rowley will advance to the Nov. 5 ballot in place of McAffee.