When Millcreek's first mayor Jeff Silvestrini announced his early retirement, the one thing his colleagues, constituents and community knew for sure, were that his shoes would be tough to fill. Over the course of two and a half hours, a special election was held  Nov. 3, and the Millcreek City Council voted for who would carry out the rest of Silvestrini's term.

There were five candidates in the running, each of whom had to submit a resume and lengthy questionnaire to the council prior to their appearance at the meeting. Millcreek Councilmember Cheri Jackson was one of the candidates, along with Gardner Reid, Curtis Larson, Millcreek Planning Commissioner Jacob Richardson and Millcreek Community Councilmember Jamie Walker.

To give each candidate a fair chance, the council asked each candidate to step out of the room until it was their turn to be interviewed. Each interview lasted about 20 minutes, with each councilmember getting approximately five minutes to ask their desired questions. The general public was allowed inside of the meeting, but as this was a special election, the final vote for mayor would be decided by the councilmembers (excluding Councilmember Jackson as decided by Resolution 25-37.)

As the only person to serve as mayor of Millcreek, Silvestrini asked questions tailored to the struggles facing the mayor and inquired about the candidate's opinions regarding the city of Millcreek itself. He inquired about their opinions on Millcreek's incorporation, if they should stay affiliated with Unified Police, and what each candidate would do if the city received a 10% decrease in property tax revenue, providing insight into real-life scenarios they could be faced with while in office.

Walker was interviewed first, and he discussed how his background working in real estate development and serving on the Community Council has prepared him for this moment. While he emphasized his goal for improving affordable housing in Millcreek, Councilmember Thom DeSirant was interested in how Walker planned on dividing his personal business interests from his work as mayor. At one point Walker joked that he "was not a politician," to which DeSirant reminded him that if selected as mayor, that's exactly what he would be. Silvestrini lightheartedly added that being a politician was one of the "more shocking things you have to adjust to" when serving on the council.

Reid went next, and when asked what things he would do differently than Silvestrini by Councilmember Sylvia Catten, Reid said he wanted to make Millcreek more inclusive, innovative and multi-generational, citing Artificial Intelligence and focusing on the needs of senior citizens to be his priorities. He stated that he'd like to see more open forum discussion with the council available, to which Councilmember Bev Uipi asked what feedback he had for events previously hosted by the council, and Reid replied by suggesting more multi-generational events to give people a voice. 

Reid was followed by Richardson, who was upfront about his vision for the next 10 years including addressing affordable housing, making Millcreek a family-friendly city, and addressing the needs of people outside the council halls. Uipi followed up by asking what challenges Richardson has witnessed in his District, to which Richardson answered, "housing is the number one expense for the vast majority of families," and suggested providing housing opportunities for community members at all stages of life.

Following his interview was Jackson, who detailed how her nine years serving on the council had prepared her for the responsibilities and challenges expected while serving as mayor. She discussed housing affordability as a top priority, citing the variety of trickle-down consequences of this occurring such as public schools shutting down. She stated her desire to continue "fighting against deterioration" of city infrastructure and her goal to bridge divides between communities of Millcreek. Jackson said she also wanted to examine the city's general plan and find areas for growth within Millcreek, emphasizing that as a city "if we're not growing, we're stagnating."

The final candidate was Larson, who cited wanting to increase the educational attainment of Millcreek residents and increasing measures for environmental stability as being his areas of interest. Catten inquired as to times Larson had to use conflict resolution during a difficult situation, and Larson recalled times while serving as Assistant Vice President of student affairs at Salt Lake Community College where he responded to the needs of students.

Once the candidates gave their closing remarks, the council deliberated in front of the public 

(Jackson stepped out of the room to avoid a conflict of interest). Silvestrini expressed his need to be open about his thought process, saying "the gravity of the decision isn't lost on me." He said he wanted a candidate that would work with city staff effectively to ignite change, adding that while he is proud of his legacy and what he accomplished, the city must continue its work and keep moving forward "as a progressive problem-solver, not a stick in the mud." 

"The one person I know able to do that," he said, "is Cheri Jackson."

The mayor also stated that while this vote is up to the council, Jackson has received over 70% of the vote all three times she's been elected. And due to redistricting changes over the years, Jackson has served more areas of Millcreek than any other person on the council aside from the mayor himself.

Catten also provided an explanation ahead of the vote, stating, "we don't know what the next few years will hold, and because of that the council must pick somebody who can handle the potential challenges and changes," before announcing she'd be voting for Jackson as well.

While Uipi and DeSirant did not share who they would be voting for, once the ballots were collected, a unanimous victory for Jackson was announced. She was invited back into the room and was greeted with a round of applause and standing ovation. Jackson then had the opportunity to address the room as mayor elect for the first time, where she thanked the sitting mayor and councilmembers for placing their trust in her to serve the city of Millcreek. 

Jackson was sworn in after taking an oath of office at the council meeting on Nov. 10. Following this, an election for a council representative for District 3 will need to occur to choose someone to carry out the rest of Jackson's term.

Cheri Jackson receives a standing ovation after winning. (Alexandra Straumann/City Journals)