Sandy residents will have to wait to see who their next mayor is after the Sandy City Council voted Thursday night to not certify the election results.
Sandy City Councilwoman Monica Zoltanski currently holds a thin, 21-vote lead over Jim Bennett. But after two motions Thursday — one to reject the results that failed by a 4-2 vote, and one to certify results that failed by a 3-3 vote — the council approved a motion to send the results to the Salt Lake County clerk to conduct a recount.
Mayoral candidate and Sandy City Councilwoman Kris Nicholl initially voted against rejecting the results, but then voted against accepting the results in the second motion.
When asked for comment, Zoltanski pointed to a statement on her Facebook page, in which she says she abstained from voting on the first two motions.
“As much as I wanted finality, I could not in good conscience be the deciding vote with a divided council, to certify my own election,” she said.
However Zoltanski threw her vote behind the third motion, and Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen will now be tasked with a recount.
“Out of respect for every resident who took time to exercise their solemn right to vote, if a second recount would satisfy the council then let it be done, and quickly. ... Although I could’ve ended it by casting my vote on the second motion of the night, I chose not to. It will be the people of Sandy and not my own vote as an interested council member, that will declare me mayor-elect,” Zoltanski said.
Sandy decided to pilot ranked choice voting, meaning the city skipped a primary which ultimately resulted in a crowded field of eight mayoral candidates, including several current and former City Council members.
However the field quickly dwindled to Zoltanski and Bennett. Though the unofficial vote tally remained close, Bennett called Zoltanski on Nov. 4 to concede.
“The Sandy City Council did the right thing last night,” Bennett told the Deseret News. “I don’t expect a recount to change the results, but I do think it will provide a level of confidence in the integrity of the election that the voters of Sandy deserve.”
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On Wednesday, Swensen’s office conducted an automatic recount, which was essentially a retabulation of the ranked choice process. Zoltanski held onto her lead.
“Despite assurances from our city attorney and the City Council attorney that the computerized recalculation was valid under the new ranked choice voting statute, some council members wanted more,” she said.
The legality of the City Council’s request for a recount is murky, and state statute notes that “traditional recount rules don’t apply to (ranked choice voting),” Zoltanski said.
“There is nothing the City Council can do to force the clerk to interpret or apply the law in a new way. The clerk is applying state law, not a Sandy ordinance or the will of the City Council,” she said.
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November 19, 2021 at 11:19PM
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Utah elections: Sandy mayor’s race not certified after city council vote - Deseret News
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