St. George gets new mayor, Washington keeps the old

ST. GEORGE/WASHINGTON CITY – Election night saw the election of a new mayor in St. George and the re-election of the current mayor of Washington City.

St. George

City Councilman Jon Pike won against incumbent Mayor Dan McArthur as he garnered 61 percent to McArthur’s 38 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results Tuesday.

“It’s hard to know what to say, but I am very humbled by the results,” Pike said following the election.

He and the new Council members – Michele Randall and Joe Bowcutt – will be following in great footsteps, Pike said, speaking of McArthur and the previous City Council.

Randall received 31 percent of the vote while Bowcutt earned 23 percent, according to Tuesday’s results. Tara Dunn received 22.2 percent, and Ed Baca received 22.17 percent.

“We’ll try to build on the great foundation that the mayor and the council have left,” Pike said.

As the next mayor, Pike said he will move forward with encouraging more citizen involvement in city affairs, supporting business development and planning for the city’s future.

As election night wore on, McArthur noticed Pike’s lead in the polls and decided to start packing up his campaign signs around town.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve the residents of St. George,” McArthur said. “We’ve done some great things together.”

Under McArthur’s administration, St. George has seen tremendous growth and progress, along with the continual revitalization of the downtown area and creation of the Town Square.

He also congratulated Pike and the new  council members who will be coming in at the beginning of next year.

“It’s been a real honor,” McArthur said once more, adding that old politicians don’t necessarily die off as much as they fade away after leaving office.

McArthur has served as the mayor of St. George since 1994. Though he will be exiting the mayoral office at the end of the year, he will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Washington County Water Conservancy District.

Washington City

In the Washington City Mayoral race, incumbent Mayor Ken Neilson was re-elected to another term, garnering 1,410 votes, representing 54.5 percent Tuesday,while challenger Sherrie Lou Reeder gained 45.15 percent with 1,168 votes.

“I want to thank the citizens of Washington City for supporting me for another four years,” Neilson said following the election results.

Among the items Neilson said he is looking forward to tackling in his next term is growing Washington City economically, specifically in regards to Exit 13, off Interstate 15, and bringing public transportation to the city streets.

“We’re going to improve where we need to improve and move forward,” he said.

Neilson also congratulated those who won in the City Council race. Incumbent City Councilman Thad Seegmiller won another term with 29 percent of the vote while Garth Nisson gained 26 percent, beating Daylene Ure who earned 24 percent of the vote and incumbent Bill Hudson who had 19 percent. Neilson remarked that he felt the way the municipal races were run in Washington were quite positive.

“(Everyone) ran a really good, clean campaign,” he said.

“I think Kenny will do a good job and I will continue to support him,” Reeder said. “It was a good race.”

Reeder said she will likely run for public office again, though for now she will continue to volunteer and serve the people of Washington City where possible.

She also congratulated the winners in the City Council races, and said that, overall, Washington City would be well served by any one of the candidates who ran.

She felt more work could have been done leading up to the election to get the word out about the mayoral and city council races, Reeder said, adding that voter turnout was low. There wasn’t as much focus on Washington because the races weren’t as heated as they were in St. George, she said. It is something she intends to address and hopes to change the next time around.

Despite the low voter turnout, Reeder said running for mayor was a great experience overall.

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19 Comments

  • HomerT6 November 6, 2013 at 12:56 am

    The fact that we got rid of McArthur just makes me happy!! Out with the OLD and in with the NEW!

    • Ken November 6, 2013 at 6:54 am

      Congrats to Pike! Now Esplin needs to go, he has plundered and dictated enough!!!!!

    • Zeke November 6, 2013 at 7:36 am

      Yea! Hope and Change wins again. Wait, why are we celebrating again?

  • Justin Aiken November 6, 2013 at 6:50 am

    Michelle Randall?

    St George, you’re doing it wrong.

    • Ken November 6, 2013 at 8:50 am

      Your opinion should matter more then those who voted for her, why?

    • Craig November 6, 2013 at 1:46 pm

      You can Thank Urquhart for Randall’s votes.
      His arrogance sent my vote to her.

      • Ken November 6, 2013 at 9:32 pm

        Mine and some others I know changed our votes to Randall from Dunn after her good buddy political photo op with Urquhardt over the Zion closing!

    • simone November 7, 2013 at 3:30 am

      Look at it this way, at least we don’t have to deal with McArthur for another 4 years. 🙂

  • DoubleTap November 6, 2013 at 8:06 am

    The “new” should also get rid of the “old” subordinates, (city manager and asst. city manager…who actually run the city).

    • Truth November 6, 2013 at 9:33 am

      Absolutely right with that one. Only I wouldn’t call THEM the subordinates. More like the other way around.

  • Jon R. Cocktoasten November 6, 2013 at 11:07 am

    I agree with Justin… Really Randall??? She left the city high and dry because she lost the ambulance bid! If it wasn’t for Gold Cross stepping up and starting early, people could have died… Now she claims to love the people of St. George and wants to serve them? WOW!

    • John Russell November 6, 2013 at 1:05 pm

      Clearly the people of St. George have spoken! Look at the numbers, they say it all. I have personally seen the so called “care” Gold Cross offers and I am worried for the citizens of St. George. I hope the new mayor and council will step up and do something about the less than adequate services provided. Granted Dixie Ambulance will never return, but what we have now is unacceptable!

      • DoubleTap November 6, 2013 at 2:07 pm

        Good luck with that. It was Pike who helped orchestrate Dixie Ambulance’s demise. With his association with Steve Urqhart (a state Senator) representing Gold Cross as their attorney, they were able to bring in Gold Cross to St. George. Pike was just the lessor of two evils…..how welcome of a change is yet to be seen. I am happy to see McArthur gone as he had worn out his welcome at City Hall, and his arrogance towards the citizenry had reached its peak. Pike needs to always remember to listen to his constituency at all times if he wants to do good for the city.

  • tyler November 6, 2013 at 11:12 am

    It is so amazing that the elderly retired folks voted in a property tax hike. These geezers don’t even have kids in the schools anymore but they voted for us all to keep on paying high property taxes. Thanks old folks for taking all the good parking and keeping us all paying more taxes.

    • HUH!! November 6, 2013 at 7:24 pm

      I hate to say it Tyler but the prop 9 is to build buildings for our kids and it isn’t much more but hey if you want crowded classrooms and so many more kids in the schools then fine but maybe you need to put on your big boy pants and not blame the old folks because I am not old. And I voted for it.

    • Ignorance!! November 6, 2013 at 7:31 pm

      Let me ask you something Tyler, who is going to take care of you when you are an old folk. If you have 50 kids in one classroom the kids aren’t learning. These kids are the future. Prop 9 is to go for building new buildings and help remodel others. And just so you know, it is time to buck up and put on your big boy pants and stop hashing the old folks. One day you be one, and then where will you be. I am not an old folk and I voted for it.

  • Clint c November 6, 2013 at 5:44 pm

    Congrats to pike, well done Dan you have been a great leader.

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