money St. George swears in Mayor Michele Randall, first-time councilmembers Larsen and Tanner
During a historic ceremony at the St. George city hall, the winners of the 2021 St. George municipal election were officially sworn in on Monday.
The ceremony placed two first-time city councilors, Natalie Larsen and Michelle Tanner, onto the council for the next four years and gave the current mayor, Michele Randall, her first full term.
Randall said to the packed city council chamber this was a historic moment for St. George.
"Everyone in this room: you just witnessed history. We've never had three councilwomen on the council before," she said.
The five-person council is now led by a majority of women, with Larsen and Tanner joining Dannielle Larkin, who was first elected in 2019. The 2021 municipal election was also historic for the city since it was the first time all the winning candidates were women and the first time the city elected a woman to serve a full term as mayor.
This past election for city council was a tight race with just under 720 votes — around 2% of the vote total — separating the winners from the losers. The mayoral election saw Randall beating the challenger Jimmie Hughes, a sitting city council member, by 2,180 votes, which was around 10% of the vote total.
Larsen and Tanner unseated two incumbents on the council — Bryan Smethurst and Vardell Curtis — who were both appointed to their council seats and were also looking to get their first full term on the council.
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These terms are four years, with the next municipal election cycle in 2023. Hughes, Larkin and Gregg McArthur will have their seats up for election that year.
The top vote-getter in the primary city council election was Tanner, fa small business owner and nurse practitioner who campaigned saying she wanted to fight for residents' individual liberties. One of these fights included protesting vaccine mandates outside of the St. George Regional Hospital in November.
But speaking to a largely maskless room on Monday, Tanner didn't bring up liberty but rather her appreciation for the support she got from the community to elect her to the council and noted that working within city government will be a novel thing for her.
"I know that this is a new thing for me, and there will be many learning experiences," Tanner said. "But I am truly excited and passionate, and know that this is where I'm supposed to be to serve in this capacity."
Larsen got her first term in office after being the top vote-getter in the general city council election. She has a professional background in real estate, she has spent the past two years on the city's planning commission. She spoke briefly after she took the oath, saying she loves the history of St. George and hopes to add to it as a member of the city council.
"I don't take this lightly. It is a public service," Larsen said. "I love this community. I believe in the residents here. I believe in the police officers, the firemen, all the people that make the city function."
This is the second time in two years Randall was sworn in to be mayor since she served a limited term of one year in 2021 after the former mayor Jon Pike's term resigned to take a position in Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's administration. In her remarks, she thanked her family, especially her husband who she said inspired her to run and couldn't attend her first swearing-in ceremony last January due to medical conditions, as well city staff and the voters while also mentioning her goal during her first full term.
"And my goal is to not only make those who came before me proud — but my family, the residents that live here proud and to keep this community, the community that we love," she said.
Randall also brought up the pioneer heritage of St. George, saying she hopes to continue the legacy of her ancestors who were some of the first families sent down by Brigham Young to grow cotton in the area.
"My great-great-great-grandparents came here in 1861, with 308 other families today two of their great-great-great grandchildren are being sworn in as members, one here in Washington," she said.
At the same time as Randall was being sworn in, Washington city was holding its ceremony putting first-time mayor Kress Staheli into his position. Most municipalities formally swore in elected officials at noon on Monday.
More: Washington elected a new mayor for the first time in 12 years. Here is his vision for the future
After touching on her family history, Randall said she hopes to make her predecessors proud and to keep the spirit of city the same, even in the face of immense population growth.
"When those first families came here, you know, wasn't a place you wanted to be," she said. "And now we can't keep people out. And I just hope that as we grow and go forward, we always continue to keep that small-town feel, that we treat each other with kindness and respect."
Sean Hemmersmeier covers local government, growth and development in Southwestern Utah. Follow on Twitter @seanhemmers34. Our work depends on subscribers so if you want more coverage on these issues you can subscribe here: http://www.thespectrum.com/subscribe.
This article originally appeared on St. George Spectrum & Daily News: St. George officially swears in mayor, councilmembers
