By Justin Adams | [email protected]

Sandy Mayor Kurt Bradburn announced on his Facebook page last month that he won’t be seeking re-election this year. 

“While it has truly been the honor of my professional life to serve the amazing city of Sandy, I have decided not to seek a second term as Mayor,” Bradburn said. “This decision did not come lightly, and I will greatly miss working with the Sandy City staff and serving our wonderful residents.”

The post pointed primarily to his family responsibilities as the reason to step away.

“My family comes first, and this change will afford me time to focus more on them,” he said. 

Bradburn cited “improved transparency, communication, and modernizing the city through innovative technology” as some of his accomplishments achieved during his sole term in office.

Some of the technological improvements include things like digitizing city records and processes, rolling out apps that allow residents to connect with the city easier and digital budgeting tools that have improved the city’s budget process.

He also helped push through the city’s first property tax increase in years, which was used to bolster the pay and staffing numbers of the city’s Police and Fire Departments.

Bradburn’s time as mayor was also marked by controversy from the very beginning.  

Within weeks of taking office, Bradburn sparked a public backlash by increasing his salary by $15,000. (The raise was later reversed and in fact lowered to less than the original amount.)

Other hiccups included concerns over his office’s hiring practices, an at-times dysfunctional relationship with the city council and his administration’s handling of a water-contamination event. 

Bradburn won’t be going anywhere until next year. On his Facebook post, he said that he “look[s] forward to accomplishing even more for Sandy during this final year of [his] term.”

His departure should make for an interesting mayoral race this campaign season, the first in decades that won’t include an incumbent. Hopefuls will have until the beginning of June to file their candidacy. Two members of the city council, Kris Nicholl and Marci Houseman, have already thrown their hats in the ring.