By Jenny Brundin
Salt Lake City, UT – Next Tuesday, voters go to the polls in a series of municipal elections across the state. Each morning through Monday we'll talk to the candidates in the three Salt Lake City council races and the race for the Mayor of Sandy. Today, we'll spotlight Salt Lake City's District #1 race, which includes the west side neighborhoods of Rose Park, Fairpark, and Jordan Meadows. Leslie Benns is taking on incumbent Carlton Christensen. She's 64, a Democrat, and she works with court-referred clients along with teaching substance abuse prevention classes. One of the issues Benn's is concerned about is the cultural divisions between newcomers who don't speak English and the area's long-time residents.
Leslie Benns is a candidate for the capital's northwest District1city council seat. She's running against incumbent Carlton Christensen. He's 39, a Republican, and a business analyst for Zions bank. He's running for his third 4-year term. One of Christenson's main issues is to develop a master plan for 6,000 acres west of the Salt Lake City International Airport that could one day house up to 20,000 residents.
Incumbent Carlton Christensen squares off against challenger Lesley Benns for Salt Lake City Council's District 1 seat. Tomorrow, we'll talk to the candidates in Salt Lake City's District 3 - the Avenues and Capitol Hill -- incumbent Eric Jergensen and challenger Janneke House. Voters go to the polls for these races next Tuesday. I'm Jenny Brundin.