ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) – The Primary Election results for the St. George mayoral race are in, narrowing it down to four candidates.
Michele Randall, the current mayor, is leading the race for mayor in St. George at 50%. Jimmie B. Hughes, who holds a current city council seat, is about 28%.
“She was amongst 23 candidates that were put forth in front of council and she was elected, and that was back in January and Jimmie Hughes also put his name forth to be appointed to be mayor, so they both have had interest to be mayor for a little while,” says Vince Brown, the director of the Institute of Politics at Dixie State University.
According to Brown, they both have an emphasis on growth, as St. George is labeled as one of the fastest growing cities in the country.
“Michele Randal is very often emphasized maintaining the heritage and history of the city and Jimmie Hughes has talked about welcoming people, so it’s a difference on emphasis, but whenever you watch or hear the city council or the mayor, or candidates for mayor, you can always trace back the issues to growth in the area, which has been extraordinary,” he says.
There’s also Woody Woodbury at 15% and Brett Tolly at 6%.
“Mr. Woodbury is coming in at 15%. He is very unconventional candidate, spoke about the communist agenda and the tyrannical government, and free enterprise solutions, and Brett Tolly, as near as I can tell, spoke a lot about Critical Race Theory, cancel culture, law enforcement, he was self funded,” says Brown.
Brown says while some residents in Washington County could be interested in those topics, many people don’t realize change happens at the local, municipal level. Only 27% of Washington County residents voted in the primaries.
“You can make an extraordinary difference. I tell this to students all the time too, just think of the number of people who vote in municipal elections is so small,” he says.
This is why, Brown says, it’s important to pay attention to the topics politicians are focused on, and support them by donating or volunteering to make an impact in your community.
Dixie State University is looking to hold a mayoral debate in St. George before the General Election on Nov. 2.
For more information on the St. George mayoral candidates, see below:
Brett Tolly does not have a website.
