Most of the candidates have spent less than a month campaigning -- a sharp contrast to months of buildup in last year's election for county offices and state legislative seats. And whereas the 2006 election featured a blizzard of direct mail campaign ads and street signs, this year's candidates have kept the signage and mailings minimal. Some have gone door-to-door and a few have set up Web sites to get their name out into the community, but on the whole the campaign has been a quiet one.
Incumbent Tooele City Councilman Mike Johnson said this election has been low-key and low-money compared to others he has been a part of, including past city council and county commission races. He said part of the reason for that was simply low voter interest.
"In years past, there's been a lot more public interest in the election," Johnson said, adding that he was only invited to one meet-the-candidates event this year.
Johnson, the top Tooele vote-getter in the September primary election, is relying primarily on his track record rather than a major campaign to get re-elected.
"I've been a city councilman for eight years and people know me," he said. "I hope they think I'm doing a good job, and if they do then I should get re-elected. There's probably not a whole lot I could say to sway people one way or the other."
Johnson said he's spent about $800 dollars on campaigning, excluding newspaper advertising. He won't be doing any last-minute campaigning as he has business in California and will be out of town on election day.
Sole Grantsville City Council incumbent Todd Castagno said he has done less campaigning this time around than when he first ran for the Grantsville City Council four years ago. He has put up about 75 signs, and talked to people in person and over the phone.
"I've done a limited amount of going door-to-door, but have done more just talking to people as I've run into them," he said.
But Castagno has done something different with his signs to help them stand out among the others. He posted messages on pieces of paper on the signs that he changes occasionally.
"Some say 'please vote,' and others let people know about early voting," he said. "I think the signs almost blend in for a while -- you've seen it so many times you don't notice it -- but I've heard people comment on the changing messages. It's drawing more attention and focus."
Castagno said the only last-minute campaigning he'll do is just making phone calls and reminding people to get out and vote.
Another Grantsville candidate, Mike Johnson, won't be doing any last-minute campaigning. He is currently hunting in Idaho and won't be home by the time election results come out. However, Johnson, who put up 50 signs around town over the last few weeks, said he'll check in to see if he won or lost.
"I'm sure I'll be getting a phone call from my wife," he said.
Christy Achziger is unchallenged for an open seat on the Stansbury Greenbelt Service Area, so she hasn't done any campaigning. However, she said if someone had been running against her, she would have posted about 100 campaign signs, gone door-to-door, sent out mailers and targeted those who consistently vote.
"On a small campaign like the Service Agency, you want that personal contact," she said.
Achziger said this year's election has been a nice break from campaigning, especially after her failed run for a state senate seat last year.
In contrast, Dave McCall, a candidate for Tooele City Council, said he has spent close to $1,400 on his campaign, putting up 150 signs and three large banners, and placing newspaper ads. He said most of his campaigning involved word-of-mouth tactics.
"I attended pretty much every event I could to hand out fliers," McCall said. "It's been interesting -- especially trying to hold down a regular job."
McCall visited with the senior citizens, as well as other groups like the Board of Realtors to get his message out. As for any last-minute plans to gain extra votes, McCall said he'll probably just be making phone calls today.
"I had planned to take a day off work and try to do a last-minute push as far as door-to-door, but I'm not going to be able to do that," he said.
Steve Pruden, another Tooele City Council incumbent, said his strategy has been to use a combination of signs, fliers and door-to-door advertising.
"I'm a firm believer in signs," he said. "I've also distributed several thousand fliers door-to-door."
Pruden said he has spent around $500 on campaigning, but he's held costs down by re-using signs from his previous city council election. He added that his election night plans involve going to the County Courthouse to watch the returns come in.
Tooele County Clerk Marilyn Gillette said 743 early voters turned up at the county's three early voting locations this year. Early voting was available from Oct. 23 to Nov. 2.
Gillette said the numbers from this year's early voting are about the same as last year, which was the first time early voting was offered in the county. She added that early voting turnout should be higher next year because of the presidential election.
Gillette said she suspects the city council races may be so low-key this year because "nobody's throwing dirt."
Polls are open until 8 p.m. Results of the general election will be posted at http://www.co.tooele.ut.us/clerk.htm.
Municipal elections are also being held in Ophir, Rush Valley, Stockton, Wendover and Vernon.
swest@tooeletranscript.com
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