Monica Zoltanski to be Sandy’s first female mayor

SANDY — The Sandy City Council voted unanimously on Monday night to certify the election results that made Monica Zoltanski mayor-elect. 

The mayoral race in Sandy resulted in Zoltanski winning over opponent Jim Bennett by only 21 votes.

Bennett conceded the election on Nov. 4, two days after the results were released. Mayor-elect Zoltanski said in a Facebook post, that Bennett called her in the evening to congratulate her on her win.

She mentioned that she understood the results would not be certified until November 16th. She did not, at the time, know the city council wouldn’t certify the votes on the expected date. 

The city council did not certify the election until Monday night, Nov 22. The city council held off because of the slim margin in votes between Zoltanski and Bennett. 

The results, however, did not qualify for a recount as some expected. Lt. Governor Diedre Henderson’s office confirmed the city’s results and asserted that the threshold for a recount is a marginal difference of 19 votes or fewer. 

Mayor-elect Monica Zoltanski told reporters after the certification that she’s humbled and ready to serve. 

UPDATE: Sandy City Council votes unanimously to CERTIFY the election results.

Monica Zoltanski is officially the mayor-elect.

State officials told city that results don’t qualify for recount.@KSL5TV @kslnewsradio @KSLcom pic.twitter.com/gNlhWAjqPF

— Ladd Egan (@laddegan) November 23, 2021

When Zoltanski takes office January 3rd, 2022 she will be Sandy’s first ever female mayor. 

Mayor-elect Zoltanski told the people of Sandy in a Facebook post on Tuesday morning, “You can be sure I won’t go one day without appreciating the opportunity you’ve given me to lead.”

She assured them, “I will always stay close and accessible to the people of Sandy – you are my special interest – and I am honored by your trust.”

Tuesday morning, Mayor Zoltanski spoke with Utah’s Morning News hosts Tim Hughes and Amanda Dickson. 

Zoltanski told Tim and Amanda she was proud to cast her vote as one of the 7 city council members to certify the election results. She said, with the election results’ approval by the Lt. Governor, the Attorney General, the County Clerk, and all the elections officials in the state, she did so without without any reservations. 

Ranked-choice voting

The complex election results followed the use of ranked-choice voting. As Mayor, Zoltanski plans to conduct extensive research and surveying of the Sandy City community about their experience with ranked-choice voting and the election this year.

“There’s definitely some housekeeping we need to do in our state to improve how [ranked-choice voting] is conducted… I’m more of a traditional one person, one vote. So, for a general election I much prefer the top two strongest candidates going head-to-head.”

She added, she saw a survey that claimed ranked-choice voting had 90% approval. However, Zoltanski explained in polling door-to-door she spoke to many in Sandy who felt confused and even resistant to ranked-choice voting. In relation to the 90% approval figure, Zoltanski concluded, “I can tell you, that’s not the sentiment in the Sandy.”