Challenger Marsha Judkins claimed victory in the race for Provo mayor on Thursday night, unseating two-term incumbent Michelle Kaufusi.
The most recent returns from Tuesday’s election show Judkins capturing 51.2% of the votes, compared to Kaufusi’s 48.8%. Nearly 400 votes separated Judkins from Kaufusi, as of Friday morning.
Although there are still votes to count, Kaufusi conceded, and Judkins announced her victory Thursday.
Judkins told Provo residents on Facebook, “THANK YOU!!!,” noting it was a tight race, and their engagement “shows how much people care about our city’s future.”
The mayor-elect added that she was “grateful and excited for the opportunity to serve,” and thanked Kaufusi for her years of “dedicated service and leadership.”
“I look forward to working with Provo’s dedicated city employees and with residents across our community,” Judkins wrote, “to build on our successes, tackle challenges, and elevate Provo.”
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi says she succeeded in lifting the city.
In a post on her campaign Facebook, Kaufusi thanked residents for allowing her to serve and outlined her successes as mayor.
When Kaufusi was elected in 2017, replacing now-U.S. Sen. John Curtis, she became the city’s first female mayor.
She wrote Thursday that the hallmarks of her administration have been “[g]enerational Provo projects built off non-Provo-resident dollars.” From day one, she said, her goal was to “lift Provo in ways that will be felt not only now but 30 years on.”
“I feel,” she added, “we’ve accomplished that.”
“Thank you again for allowing me this phenomenal experience. What I will miss most will not be the projects and meetings; it will be the great people I have worked with through these eight years,” Kaufusi wrote. “You will always be in my heart.”