Incumbent Weber County Commissioner Jim Harvey seems poised to retain his position on the board.

With the vast majority of votes counted, as of Monday, Harvey (Republican) had a wide lead, tallying 59,334 votes (56.79%) versus challengers Steven Van Wagoner (Democratic) with 37,882 votes (36.26%) and Brian Rowley (Libertarian) with 7,263 votes (6.95%). Vote totals still remain unofficial and are set to be canvassed. 

On Monday, Harvey told the Standard-Examiner that he’s happy and excited about the people choosing him for a third term, saying his reelection shows the people are confident in the county’s current direction overall.

“I had no idea that people would support the way they did,” he said. “It just speaks to that they are happy with how well the county is doing financially, overall. Nobody likes paying property taxes, but the fact that we’re in the top 2% of all counties nationwide and Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch — the big credit rating companies of the world — are the ones telling us we’re in the top 2%. I think people like that.”

He said that it’s not just the financial position of the county residents are excited about.

“People love the quality of the recreation facilities we have here — the conference center, the Ice Sheet, the parks, the archery center and the shooting complex,” he said. “I think they love our public libraries. All in all, they’re happy. I think they’re really pleased with the direction their county is going and I’m honored to be a part of that with the team.”

Harvey said keeping a good trajectory, especially with county staff, is a key priority for him, along with building up the stock of owned housing in his coming term.

“Making sure that we have fair pay for our first responders is important,” he said. “To have attainable housing that people can create wealth with where they can buy.”

He said he also will work on a master plan for western Weber County; work with the residents of Ogden Valley, which just voted to incorporate as a city; maintain quality of life in Weber County; and continue to promote responsible water use for flood control, growth and maintenance of the nearby Great Salt Lake.

Harvey will be sworn in for his third term in January.