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There are five hopefuls to fill the District 13 Utah House seat to be vacated by Rep. Paul Ray. They are, clockwise from top left, Karen Peterson, Erik Craythorne, Jordan Peterson, Beverly Macfarlane and William Swank. A winner is to be selected on Dec. 18, 2021.

WEST POINT Five hopefuls are interested in finishing Rep. Paul Rays term as the District 13 representative to the Utah House, including a mayor, a city council member and a staffer in the administration of Gov. Spencer Cox.

Ray, a Clearfield Republican, is to step down as a state rep on Dec. 15 after 10 terms to take over as assistant director of legislative affairs in the Utah Department of Human Services. The Davis County Republican Party has launched efforts to find a replacement, and five candidates have come forward, interested in filling out his term.

They are West Point Mayor Erik Craythorne; Beverly Macfarlane, a member of the Sunset City Council and a former mayor there; Karen Peterson, director of legislative affairs for Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson; Jordan Peterson, who runs Interim HealthCare in Layton; and William Swank, a recent retiree.

The deadline to file to run was Wednesday and the 70 or so Republican Party delegates representing District 13 will make a pick among the five candidates at a special election scheduled for Dec. 18 at West Point Junior High School. The winner, whose name will go to Cox for formal appointment, will fill out the rest of Rays current term, through the end of 2022.

District 13 sits in northern Davis County and covers portions of Clearfield, West Point, Sunset and Clinton, though the boundaries will shift next year due to redistricting.

Photo supplied, Utah Department of Human Services

Utah Rep. Paul Ray, a Clearfield Republican, has been picked to take over as assistant director of legislative affairs for the Utah Department of Human Services starting Dec. 16, 2021.

Since the GOP delegates make the selection, Craythorne said they would be the likely focus of campaigning by the candidates. The District 13 seat comes up for election next year, and voters next November will make the pick on who fills the two-year 2023-2024 term, a separate process.

Here are a few details about the candidates to fill out Rays term:

Erik Craythorne: Craythorne is finishing up as mayor of West Point. Hes served in the post for 13 years and his current term goes through the end of the year. He didnt seek reelection last November.

Northern Davis County has had great leadership in Salt Lake City over the years, Craythorne said, and he wants to continue to provide that strong leadership.

He helps run Craythorne Construction, a family-owned business, and served seven years on the West Point City Council prior to serving as mayor.

Jordan Peterson: Peterson, seeking public office for the first time, is chief executive officer of Interim Healthcare, which provides home health care services in Davis and Weber counties. Hes from Clinton.

He was drawn into the contest, in part, by what he sees as excessive divisiveness in politics. Bring decorum and civility here, he said, stating one of his missions.

William Swank: Swank, from Sunset, recently retired from a civilian post with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the retailer on military bases.

He couldnt run for public office before because of his job with AAFES, but now he can. Now I thought Id get involved. I think I can bring an everyday mans view to the Legislature, he said.

He unsuccessfully ran for a Utah House seat while living in Midvale about 25 years ago. This is his first bid for public office since then.

Karen Peterson: Peterson, from Clinton, previously served on the Clinton City Council but stepped down from the post at the end of 2020 to take the post in the Cox administration.

She has also served as an adjunct professor at Southern Utah University and as an education policy advisor to former Gov. Gary Herbert, according to SUU.

She couldnt immediately be reached for comment.

Beverly Macfarlane: Macfarlane served a term as mayor of Sunset and opted not to seek a second term in 2017 in order to run for a seat on the Davis County Commission instead.

She lost in the 2018 elections for a commission post but subsequently won election to the Sunset City Council, where she currently serves. She also vied unsuccessfully for a county commission seat in 2016.

Prior to being mayor, Macfarlane worked for 29 years for thestate of Utah, serving as a contract analyst, among other responsibilities.

She couldnt immediately be reached for comment.

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Utah House race to fill District 13 seat draws five hopefuls - Standard-Examiner