One Utah

Nancy Saxton’s Salt Lake City Council District seat looks vulnerable to me.  Luke Garrott looks like  a strong campaigner who could unseat Saxton come November 6.

Luke’s developed a smart, straightforward platform:

Inclusive Government: Hearing & Respecting the Diversity of District 4

Smart Transportation and Environmental Sustainability

Historical Preservation:  Beauty, Balance, Affordability

A Vibrant Downtown:  Bold, Innovative Ideas for Main St. and Beyond

Local Business First

In addition, his work as a professor has likely given him a core of very loyal, very devoted students and former students who will work their butts off for him.  And I think Nancy seriously underperformed in the primary.

Some history:

2 Years ago, District 3 incumbent Eric Jergensen won the primary with 64% of the vote.  Challenged by Janneke House in the general, he won by slightly more than 200 votes in a close race - 52.4% to 47.6%.  Jill Remington-Love was re-elected the same year - without a challenger.

In 2003, her first reelection campaign, Saxton performed strongly in the primary - winning with 51% of the vote over Dennis Guy-Sell who earned 25% of the vote.   In the general election, Saxton barely improved her vote take - climbing to 54.5% of the vote to to Guy-Sell’s 45.5%.   In the same year with no primary challenge, Dave Buhler swept the general with 71% of the vote.

1999, Saxton’s first run, she won the primary with 41% of the vote, going on to win the general with 51.29% of the vote.

Which brings me to 2007 - Saxton underperformed both her previous races in this year’s primary, earning 39% of the vote, compared to challenger Luke Garrott’s 34% - a bare 200 vote difference.  Garrott seems like a strong campaigner, a smart guy whose not going to make any disastrous mistakes.  He’s also connecting in with the activist community - see his attendance at the People’s Summit on Poverty (a smart move - these are folks who always vote).  I was surprised Nancy Saxton didn’t attend - in the past she’s worked with the organizations who sponsored the summit.  Saxton’s win in 2003 was closer than it should have been, which suggeststo me that Saxton’s just doesn’t have passionate support in her district.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Luke Garrott unseat Nancy this year.

This entry was posted Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 9:56 am and is filed under SLC Politics, This Blog. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.