Newly-inaugurated Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi made history Tuesday when she was sworn in as the city’s first female mayor in a small ceremony at City Hall.
“Our city was ready for a woman mayor,” Kaufusi told The Salt Lake Tribune in a December interview. “It needed a mayor that could come in and be a bridge builder with the city council and have those working relationships, and it also needed a fresh start, a fresh set of eyes.”
In Salt Lake County these included Sandy Mayor Kurt Bradburn, a state attorney who defeated longtime incumbent Tom Dolan; Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, a former councilman who defeated Mayor Bill Applegarth; West Jordan Mayor Jim Riding, who defeated Mayor Kim Rolfe; Taylorsville Mayor Kristie Steadman Overson, who defeated Mayor Larry Johnson; South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey; Midvale Mayor Robert Hale, who won the seat after the retirement of 20-year Mayor JoAnn Seghini; Mayor David Watts in Herriman; Mayor Mike Peterson in Cottonwood Heights; Murray Mayor Blair Camp; and Mayor Harris Sondak in Alta.