Provo mayor race: Incumbent Michelle Kaufusi faces off against former state Rep. Marsha Judkins

Provo • This year’s Provo mayoral race pits two-term incumbent Michelle Kaufusi against politically experienced challenger former state Rep. Marsha Judkins in what is shaping up to be a tight race.

Voters narrowed the field from four to these two finalists in the June primary, with Kaufusi garnering nearly 48%, or 5,655, of the vote and Judkins receiving 45%, or 5,333.

As Provo grows, people are increasingly being priced out of the college town that hosts Utah’s largest private university. Those who live there often struggle through traffic to get from one side of town to the other. Homelessness is also on the rise in Utah County, and most of the region’s homelessness resources reside in Provo.

The Salt Lake Tribune spoke with both candidates about their plans for Provo’s future. Here’s what they said.

Who are the candidates?

Marsha Judkins

Marsha Judkins first moved to Provo to attend Brigham Young University, and she’s more or less stayed since then. She has lived on the city’s west side for the last four decades, in a “starter home” she and her husband bought at the time, watching as the once-lonely area ballooned.

“Places do change,” she said, “but you want them to change with foresight and vision.”

Judkins said right now, Provo has an opportunity to begin projects that could serve the city for generations. To get there, she said, leaders need to plan.

She wants to rethink development by drafting updated master plans for the city, including its transportation and downtown plans — and she said her experience representing west Provo in the Legislature means she has the political know-how and relationships to get it done. The City Council has the ultimate authority on zoning, for instance, but Judkins said the mayor must advocate for what’s best.

“But if you don’t have a vision for the city, if you don’t have the strategic plan with priorities and goals of how you’re going to get to where you want to go,” she said, “it’s very difficult.”

The bottom line: “I really appreciate the service that [Kaufusi] has put in for eight years as a public servant, but eight years is enough to get your ideas and programs in, and now it’s time for fresh ideas. I think it’s time for a change. It’s time for a good hard look at the budget. It’s time for a good hard look at economic drivers, housing, all of the issues — and I’m ready to do it.”

Michelle Kaufusi

Michelle Kaufusi describes herself as a “Provo girl born and raised,” living with her single mother and siblings before she too attended BYU. For a few years after college, she lived elsewhere, but she came back home with her husband to raise a family.

She became the city’s first female mayor in 2017, elected to replace now-U.S. Sen. John Curtis, and said she’s a “compassionate servant leader who gets things done.”

Her proudest achievements so far, she said, have been the “generational” infrastructure projects she’s shepherded — and how little Provo residents have had to pay for them.

Kaufusi told The Tribune that with several big projects on the horizon, including ideas for how to better incorporate the Provo River as a city amenity, she doesn’t want to stop just yet. She feels she has the right connections and staffers eager to “go to the mat for me” and “work really hard on my behalf.”

But, she said, if elected, this term could be her last.

The bottom line: “Honestly, I just feel this momentum, and I think I can accomplish my goals in the next four years, I really do. I think I can close the loop on a few [goals], and then these new ones that I have in mind, I’ve broken them down in timelines, and I think I can get there. So I’m really excited about the next four years.”

The issues

Affordability and housing

Judkins said her Provo story — buying a home and raising a family — is not a reality for more recent BYU graduates. She plans to address that problem with a multi-pronged approach to fixing the city’s current housing issues, where more students are living further from campus, in investor-owned homes that may otherwise support families.

She supports accessory dwelling units, or ADUs. Judkins added that increasing housing density in some areas of the city, such as near BYU, makes sense to help house students closer to campus — and free up properties further away.

She would also advocate for new-built homes to include Covenants Conditions, and Restrictions that would require owners to live in the home for certain amount of time.

“That will give less incentive to investors to buy up those homes. Hopefully,” she said, “that will free up more homes for families.

Kaufusi said that the City Council is responsible for zoning concerning ADUs — and that currently, about half the city can have them. She didn’t like the previous strategy of “spot zoning” — where a person interested in adding an ADU needed to get Council permission on a case-by-case basis. The Council ended that practice, for the most part, in December 2024.

She now hopes people interested in ADUs will choose houses in already approved areas.

Kaufusi said under her tenure, the city has also streamlined its permitting process to cut down on construction costs.

She added she supports density “where it makes sense” and has been working with developers to encourage mixed-income housing. She is excited for a 74-unit affordable housing project meant for essential workers, like police officers and firefighters, that she wants done by 2026.

Those will be owner-occupied, single-family homes, built on city-owned land. If an owner decides to sell, the housing authority gets back the cost of the house, and the owner keeps whatever is left over from the value it accrued.

Local business and the economy

Judkins said that Provo’s largest revenue generator, sales tax, has been flat or declining since the COVID-19 pandemic. When you consider those numbers against inflation, where today’s dollar is worth less than years prior, Judkins said, “you can see a trend line that is decreasing. We are losing spending power.”

With a predicted budget shortfall down the line, according to the fiscal 2026 approved budget, Judkins said Provo must do at least one of three things to make up that difference: 1) raise fees, 2) raise taxes or 3) find a way to generate more sales tax revenue.

She wants to attract more businesses to Provo by rezoning areas — like the west side — to allow retailers into underserved neighborhoods, increasing locals’ quality of life and raising sales tax revenue with more businesses.

Judkins also said she’d like to streamline the building permitting process, so those interested in starting a business can deal with less red tape and see returns sooner.

Kaufusi said that she ensures a balanced budget every year and that under her tenure, the city’s rainy day fund is “higher than any prior administration” at around $30 million, based on assigned and unassigned dollars in the general fund, outlined in the fiscal 2024 Comprehensive Financial Report.

She acknowledged that the most recent budget shows that sales tax revenue has slowed since it initially rebounded after the pandemic, which the budget notes is a national trend.

But Kaufusi said sales tax revenue under her tenure has also out-paced past administrations — up by about $10 million from when she started.

“That really takes the temperature of your businesses,” she said, “and tells us that we’re doing fine.”

WalletHub named Provo the “Best-Run” city in America this year, and the Milken Institute named Provo-Orem the “Best-Performing” city for three consecutive years under Kaufusi’s tenure, most recently in 2023.

Transportation and infrastructure

Judkins said Provo needs an updated master plan to guide its growth. She said the city’s current general plan contemplates visions for both downtown and transportation, she said, but parts haven’t been updated in years.

“What are our priorities? What do we want to preserve? What do we want?,” she asked. “Where do we want development to happen?”

Specifically, she said, the transportation plan, adopted in 2020, seems to be lagging. She wants to ease access between different parts of the city and help people, no matter their mode of transportation, get around within their neighborhoods, too.

“It might be that you’re going to have to drive a little slower to get somewhere, but that’s OK,” Judkins said, “because we’re keeping our city what we want it to be.”

Kaufusi said as mayor, she has focused on on “vital, generational infrastructure projects.”

“Infrastructure isn’t a fancy words,” she said, “but for someone that’s a mayor, it’s probably my favorite word.”

She pointed to the growing Provo Airport and the city’s new water reclamation facility. Kaufusi said the city is also in the middle of an aquifer project that she wants to see through.

“All of these projects, I have not had to go to the taxpayers and ask for money,” she said. Going forward, she plans to do the same.

“We need growth,” she said, “that enhances, rather than diminishes, our neighborhoods.” Her focus is on mixed-use development and more density near transit corridors while protecting older, more established neighborhoods from “incompatible development.”

Charm and community

Judkins said Provo is an “amazing” and “unique” place with a constant pool of creativity and energy because of its two area universities. She wants to bring back downtown events, like the Rooftop Concert Series, that she hopes will bridge the city’s divides.

She added that the city has divided itself into five neighborhood districts that meet regularly to discuss development and other issues. She’d like to see an addendum to the model for these neighborhood councils, so neighbors can meet with each other but also with other neighborhoods — “so that different neighborhoods could learn about each other and things that are going on that concern each other.”

As mayor, Judkins said she would argue against what she considers poor zoning decisions that she feels don’t align with her vision for the city, like a recent City Council move to allow warehouses along the Provo River.

She is also a proponent of open government and vows to add a transparency portal — with city budgets, historic City Council votes and other public information — available in one consolidated place on the city’s website.

Kaufusi said that she values “what makes Provo special,” like its proximity to the outdoors, its walkable downtown and strong sense of community.

If she wins another four years, Kaufusi said she would like to focus on developing the Provo River after the success of the new Delta Gateway Park, Provo’s 60th park.

She is looking to do at least five more “major projects” where she said the city would begin to “face the river and engage with river, rather than turn our back on the river,” like she feels Provo has historically done.

She acknowledged the recent City Council decision to rezone land near the river for industrial use and warehouses “goes against” her vision.

Kaufusi said doesn’t have the authority to reverse that change or vote on those decisions — but Council does. “And I think I can get them,” she said, “when they hear my vision and I can be more specific.”

Homelessness

Judkins said that Provo bears the brunt of the county’s growing homelessness issue because most of the resources are there. She wants to evaluate the city’s current approach, including its strict no-camping ordinance, to see if it’s is working.

If not, she wants to work with the county, the state and service providers to find better strategies.

In the meantime, she said, there are real costs to the city hosting the bulk of county services. For instance, when a person is arrested, taxpayers foot the bill. Those arrested are then typically released back into Provo, with nowhere safe to go, creating a cycle.

“We just need to get together, but especially the cities and the county, and figure out what’s what’s our play here, what’s our plan,” she said, “because we can’t just keep giving hotel vouchers out. We can’t just keep giving citations out. ... And we can’t just have Provo doing everything.”

Kaufusi said that she and a task force of other Utah County leaders have reworked the plan for this winter’s warming center, and that individuals using those services will now see enhanced safety measures and access to resources and services.

This year’s center will be located at the red building, 2855 S. State St. in unincorporated Utah County, just outside of Provo. It was one of three rotating sites last year.

Kaufusi said the new model should work better, and those who sleep at the temporary shelter will have access to job training and other employment support, as well as detox and sobriety resources, mental health care and housing services.

She acknowledged that Provo hosts the bulk of the county’s homelessness resources — and said they work for people, providing a “pathway to stability and hope.”

“I tell folks all the time, if you want to get well, come to Provo,” she said. “We have everything you need if you’re ready to leave that life behind and make some significant changes.”

For more information on the candidates visit their campaign websites at marshajudkins.com and michelle4mayor.com.

How to vote

Ballots were mailed to registered voters on Tuesday, Oct. 14, three weeks before the election. All ballots must be received — not postmarked — by 8 p.m. on election day.

Provo voters will also be selecting representatives for three City Council seats: District 2, District 5 and Citywide I.

Those elected, including the mayor, will serve a four-year term, from January 2026 to December 2029.

Voters can fill out and return their ballot in the included envelope. The city recommends mailing in your ballot early to make sure it’s received. Ballots can also be returned to any drop boxes in the county.

In Provo, those drop boxes are located at:

• Provo City Library, 550 N. University Ave., on the north side of the building, near the book return.

• Utah County Administration building, 100 E. Center St. There are both walk-up and drive-through options on the south side of the building.

Voters can also visit any of the county’s voting centers on election day.

A full list of Utah County voting centers and drop box locations is available at vote.utahcounty.gov/voting-locations.