There are bound to be some changes in Wasatch County following the Nov. 2 election.

After two years of its new council/manager form of government, Wasatch County Council has four of seven seats up for grabs. At least two incumbents won't be returning - Bill Young was defeated in a primary and Howard Ford is not seeking another term.

Seat B (at large)

For at-large Seat B, incumbent Annie McMullen, a Democrat, is running against challenger Steve Farrell, a Republican.

McMullen, a marketing representative for a travel company, spearheaded a countywide survey that revealed a majority of Wasatch County residents want to preserve open space.

"If I'm re-elected, I'll continue to bring that up," McMullen said. "We need to protect our green space before it's all gone."

McMullen, who previously sat on the Wasatch County Board of Adjustment, is also running on a platform of economic development. "Destination tourism is a big issue. We have so much to offer and we hardly give the Chamber of Commerce any money for marketing."

Farrell, a real-estate appraiser for the Utah State Tax Commission, said that he would foster a more cohesive council. "We need a team approach," he said of the County Council that has made headlines for its squabbling.

If elected, Farrell said, he would take a leadership role to bring various entities together. "We need to sit down with Midway and Charleston and Heber and the school district and come up with a community vision: What do we want this community to look like in five years, in 10 years?"

Seat D (south Heber)

In the race for Seat D in south Heber, incumbent Wayne Hardman, a Democrat, is seeking re-election against Republican challenger Kendall Crittenden.

Hardman, an electrical engineer for UTA's TRAX line in Salt Lake City, said he is seeking re-election to continue his work on the Blue Bench Landfill and the Jordanelle Special Services District.

"I want to stay involved with these projects and our new government," Hardman said. "I feel like I can't leave these projects undone."

Wasatch County has a lot of open space, Hardman said. He doesn't want to burden taxpayers with its preservation. "We need to make developers aware of open space and [zoning] commitments."

Crittenden, a 26-year veteran educator for the Wasatch School District, said he would like county government be more fiscally prudent in the face of rising property taxes.

"We need to take a more conservative direction," he said.

Although many Wasatch residents have voiced support for a recreation center, Crittenden said the county should hold off on any such plans. "I'm not sure we've got the money for a rec center."

Seat E (Midway)

In Midway, the race for Seat E pits Democrat Valerie Jean Kelson, who upset incumbent Bill Young in a primary, against Republican Mike Kohler, a former Wasatch County commissioner.

Kelson is emphasizing economic development in her campaign to broaden the county's tax base. "We need to go after clean jobs - businesses that can come in here, like computer software companies."

Kelson, who helped found the Wasatch and Summit County Children's Justice Center, says she is asking for votes based on her status as "not a member of the good ol' boys" network. "I'll work for what's best for everybody."

Going up against Kelson, Kohler said he will use the experience he gained over four years in the old commission-form of government to bring direction to the council.

"I hope to create some unity, so we spend our time working on issues, rather than posturing for each other."

Kohler, who owns and operates Midway Floor Coverings, said county government could work with the Wasatch School District to solve shortcomings on facilities. "For example, we could work with the district to build a school gymnasium that might also be used for a community rec center."

Seat G (south county)

Headlining the race for the south county Seat G are Democrat Lambert Deegan and Republican Kip Bangerter. Bangerter, who served on the county's Planning Commission and works in maintenance at Wasatch School District, said he would emphasize working with municipalities in the county to broaden business activity. "We need to get all the towns together to get people to come here and broaden our tax base."

Bangerter said his major concern is providing water for the burgeoning population. "There are thousands of houses going in. And I'm worried about the water and where it's going to come from."

Deegan is a retired construc- tion firm executive who says he would like greater accountability within county government.

"Some departments are overworked, and some departments are sitting around with their fingers twitching," he said.

Deegan said he would like to be known as the " 'why' candidate."

"Why is our library only open for four hours on Saturday? Why did the county's parks department take over the old senior center? Why weren't the problems surrounding the $1.5 million bond for the events center brought up before now? Around here, people are afraid to bring up a subject. I'm not."

csmart@sltrib.com