Election results: Beiermann to council

by Cat Urbigkit

Tuesday's elections in Big Piney and Marbleton brought a few changes.

In the Big Piney municipal election, the mayor's race concluded with incumbent Phillip Smith facing down Wanda Froehlich for the four-year mayoral term with a 61-26 margin.

Two four-year unopposed seats on the Big Piney council were those held by incumbent Kathy Quintard, who received 73 votes, and new councilwoman Glenna Johnson, who received 66 votes.

One two-year seat was available, with incumbent Darren Davison receiving 86 votes, making him the top vote-getter in the election.

According to Town Clerk Alice Griggs, 106 voters went to the polls in Marbleton on Tuesday. Incumbent Gary Rees was top vote-getter, with 58 votes, followed by new councilman Bob Beiermann. Beiermann's 47 votes resulted in incumbent Mike Hughes losing his council seat, since he received only 41 votes.

There was a write-in campaign for Hughes as mayor, challenging incumbent Jim Robinson. Robinson received 57 votes, compared to 30 for Hughes.

Griggs said there were some ballots that were disqualified because voters wrote Hughes in for mayor, then also voted for Hughes on the council. Griggs said voters can't vote for the same person twice, so these ballots were spoiled.

Also receiving votes but failing to win election to the council were Steve Firth with 29 votes and Caroline Firth with 16.

Although the election is over, the Marbleton council will soon have to appoint a new council member. With the recent resignation of Curt Casey, one more council seat is available. The council is expected to make that appointment at its June 13 meeting.

It should be noted that the election results presented here are unofficial and won't be official until the canvassing boards meet and certify the results.