Close Summit County council primaries nearly decide Districts 4 and 5

Christie Babalis’ 15-vote edge over John Kucera and Canice Harte’s 14-vote lead over Meredith Reed left two Summit County Council primaries nearly settled after the June 23 vote, with the outcome poised to shape the county’s next fights over growth, land use, transportation and spending.

Unofficial results showed Babalis ahead 310 to 295 in District 4 and Harte ahead 294 to 280 in District 5. Countywide turnout reached 30.55 percent, with 4,425 ballots cast out of 14,483 registered voters. Democratic turnout was 33.89 percent, compared with 29.50 percent for Republicans, a sign that the Democratic ballot carried the decisive weight in these two contests.

The races mattered so much because no Republicans or unaffiliated candidates filed in Districts 4 or 5, making the Democratic primaries effectively decisive once canvass and certification are completed on July 7. In District 4, the vote covered the central Snyderville Basin, while District 5 includes lower Pinebrook, Summit Park and Jeremy Ranch, neighborhoods where traffic, housing pressure, open space and public investment routinely collide.

Those are also the places where Summit County’s redistricting changed the stakes. The county said its new five-district council map was required under Utah law, which limits the population difference between the largest and smallest districts to 10 percent. Summit County has said roughly two-thirds of its voting population lives in unincorporated areas such as Snyderville Basin, Silver Creek and eastern Summit County, giving those communities outsized influence over council choices that will affect the county’s fastest-changing corridors.

The map was drawn by a commission made up largely of county mayors, and council members were then randomly assigned to districts under the new system. Under that assignment, Chris Robinson represents District 4 and Harte represents District 5, which means the June 23 primary is effectively choosing the next occupants of two of the county’s most development-sensitive seats. Babalis and Harte emerged with only slight leads, leaving the future council shaped more by narrow margins than by broad mandates.