Editors Note: This article was originally published in the Jan. 10, 2024 issue of the Chronicle Progress. Some information may be outdated.
Wright gets set of challengers for commission seat; Arnold declines run for treasurer
Six days is all candidates had to decide whether to run for multiple county and school board seats up for election in 2024.
That didn’t stop a number of candidates, who had until 5 p.m. Monday, to declare their intent to seek public office.
Incumbent County Commissioner Bill Wright filed to run for reelection. He will be opposed by two Republicans and a Libertarian in that race.
Current Fillmore City Councilman Curt Hare is running for the commission seat as is Oak City resident Russell Finlinson. A fourth candidate filed at the last minute Monday to challenge Wright—Dean Draper, a former commissioner, filed to run as a Libertarian.
Wright and Hare marked on their declarations that both will be going the convention route to get on the ballot. Finlinson chose to leave his options open, either taking the convention route or gathering signatures to get on the ballot.
Hare said he was running to see more eastside representation on the commission. He said he’d like to focus on economic development within the county as well as bringing a more conservative perspective to how county finances are governed.
The only other county seat that looks contested is Deb Arnold’s treasurer’s office. Arnold has told coworkers she is retiring at the end of her term. Arnold’s current chief deputy, Kristine Camp, filed to run as a Republican. She is a Fillmore resident.
Current Delta City treasurer Jody Anderson declared her candidacy for the treasurer’s seat as well. She is running as a Republican as well. Anderson lives in Delta.
County Recorder Sierra Dickens and Assessor Lora Fitch, both Republicans, declared their candidacies, but no one filed to run against either of them. Dickens is a Holden resident, while Fitch lives in Delta.
Three school board seats are up for election in the Millard School District. Multiple people declared candidacies for each contest.
In District 1, where Adam Britt currently serves, Mark Huntsman, a former state school board member, faces former Fillmore City Councilman Ian Adams and local engineer Devan Shields.
Ironically, Shields is an employee of Sunrise Engineering in Fillmore, where Huntsman is president and CEO.
Shields said Monday he didn’t know he was running against his boss until after he filed.
In school board District 2, incumbent David Lund, who currently serves as board president, will face Jim Stephenson, a Holden resident.
The most contested school board race, however, looks to be in District 3, where incumbent Jenni Finlinson faces opposition from three announced candidates. Hans-Erik Stegeby, from Abraham, joins Diane George of Delta and Michael Lovell of Leamington in that contest.
Finlinson currently serves as vice president of the school board.
While March 5 is the official primary election day in Utah for the presidential contest, the other federal, state and local races will feature a June 25 primary election. Only one candidate from each party can continue on to the November general election.
In school board races, the top two candidates for each seat go on to the general election.
Just like there was a fast deadline to file declarations of candidacy, there was also a shorter deadline to change party affiliation—Tuesday Jan. 9 was the last day to change parties. This is important because the Republican Party generally hosts only closed primary elections, meaning voters have to be registered Republicans to participate. This also means most primary contests featuring only Republican candidates will decide the race in June rather than in November.
Multiple federal, state and legislative races will be decided also in 2024. Multiple candidates have filed to run for Mitt Romney’s U.S. Senate seat. All of Utah’s congressional House seats are up for election. Attorney general, governor, state auditor and state treasurer seats are also up for contests. Numerous state Senate, state House and state school board seats are also being contested this year.
Voters can find more information about this year’s elections by visiting the county’s election page at millardcounty.org/your-government/ elected-officials/clerk/elections/2024-elections/
