This election guide will introduce you to the five candidates running for Moab City Council: Kaitlin Myers, Colin Topper, Tawny Knuteson-Boyd, Brad Woodford, and Patrick Robbins. We asked each candidate the same five questions and published their answers word-for-word, so you can decide who you want to represent you.
City of Moab residents will this year elect three new members to the city council. Moab has a six-person government, which includes the mayor and five city council members.
New members will join Luke Wojciechowski and Jason Taylor on the Council, both of whom were elected last year. Rani Derasary and Kalen Jones did not seek re-election after finishing their second terms on the Council; Tawny Knuteson-Boyd is seeking re-election for a third term. City Council meetings in Moab take place on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month.
Election day this year takes place on November 21, a late date to accommodate a special election that will fill the Utah 2nd Congressional District U.S. House seat. The election will be conducted by mail: registered voters can expect their ballots in the mail starting this week (the deadline to register to vote is November 10). Ballots must be postmarked by November 20; voters can also return ballots in person to the Grand County Clerk’s Office or City of Moab Recorder’s Office as late as November 21. More information on how to register to vote can be found in last week’s edition of the Moab Sun News, or at the city’s election website, moabcity.org/236/Election-Information
According to the “Powers and Duties of Elected and Appointed Officials Handbook,” published by the Utah League of Cities and Towns, city councilmembers “set policy for the city or town and control the finances of the city or town.”
In the Moab Municipal Code, the role of the City Council is defined as such: “The City Council shall review and approve all resolutions and ordinances; appropriate funds and adopt the annual budget and any amendments; set all mill levies or other taxes; review municipal administration as set out herein; and perform all other duties that may be required of it by law.”
Councilmembers in Moab have powers like overseeing master plans, which determine actions taken by city departments; approving the city’s budget; and approving city ordinances. In the past few years, Moab’s city council has approved policies including a workforce housing ordinance, which essentially requires new developments to set aside a percentage of units to house local workers; funding the Moab Area Transit; and a water-efficient landscaping code amendment.
