By Shaun Delliskave | [email protected]

Think of speed dating for local politics, and that might best describe the process for filling Murray City Council District 5’s seat vacated by Mayor Brett Hales. In a marathon session, the city council heard from 12 applicants at a special meeting held on Feb. 1. After two rounds of votes, the current four city council members chose Garry Hrechkosy to fill the remaining two years of Hale’s city council term.

State law prescribes how a city must replace a city council member. Hrechkosy, along with residents Spencer Craig Casper, Jeff Collette, Laura Spendlove Crapo, George Hamer, Jim Harland, Adam Hock, Lynda Horne, Audra Kasparian, Keith Snarr, Kate Sturgeon and Gary Alfred Weston, were interviewed in front of the city council.

Each candidate had one minute and 45 seconds to answer four questions: Why are you interested in serving as city council member? Why do you feel you are qualified to fill the office of city council member? Name three qualities a council member should have? What do you feel is the most important issue facing Murray City?

After hearing all the candidates, a roll call vote was taken. City councilors Rosalba Dominguez and Kat Martinez voted for Hrechkosy, Pam Cotter voted for Hamer, Diane Turner voted for Hock. State Law requires two candidates on a second vote, so lots were drawn between Hamer and Hock, who had the least amount of votes. Hamer was selected to move to the second roll call vote. City Councilor Turner joined Dominguez and Martinez in voting for Hrechkosy. To finalize the vote, the council passed a resolution unanimously appointing Hrechkosy.

Hrechkosy, a CPA, currently serves as a corporate controller for MX Technologies. Before that, he was employed at PricewaterhouseCooper as an auditor. Active in the Democratic Party, Hrechkosy is listed as treasurer for the party’s 41 precinct.

According to Hrechkosy on the precinct’s website, “I was born and raised in Sandy, Utah. After graduating from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting in 2010, my wife Jill and I moved to Dallas, Texas, where I launched my career in public accounting. After two years in Dallas, we uprooted and moved to Orange County, California. After three years in the OC, we moved back to Utah and planted roots in Murray, behind Wheeler Farm. We have two children—Grace (2) and Ella (9 months).”

In 2018, Hrechkosy challenged Scott Tingley in the general election for Salt Lake County Auditor, where he came up 4.16% short of his challenger. Hrechkosy is the son of Terri Tapp Hrechkosy, who also ran for Salt Lake County Council in District 6 in 2020, and professional hockey player Dave Hrechkosy, who played for the Salt Lake Golden Eagles.

Terri Tapp Hrechkosy recalls, “I remember asking him when he was young what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he said, ‘I want to be president.’”

Other applicants that Hrechkosy was appointed over included Murray City’s former Economic Development Director Keith Snarr, current and former Murray City Board members, and several that have had jobs within state or city (including Murrays) governments.

“My government experience is limited. I ran for office in 2018 and have helped on many campaigns. I have attended council meetings and worked to stay current on local, state and federal issues,” Hrechkosy said.

A point of contention in District 5 is what to do about the former RC Willey site. Currently, there is a proposal for the site to be turned into a mixed-used development of high-density housing and commercial. Hrechkosy said, “I need more time to study the entire issue. I want to hear from citizens. There are so many complexities that come into play, and I would want to thoroughly understand all sides before formalizing an opinion.”

His view on the proposal for downtown Murray has the same refrain, “I need to study the issue more before giving an opinion.”

So what does he want to accomplish in the next two years? “I want to review city ordinances around park strips and ensure that the regulations allow for straightforward water conservation. I want to use my financial expertise to assist with the budget review,” Hrechkosy said.

Mayor Hales, when asked if the city council picked the person he thought was the best candidate to fill his spot on the city council, said, “There were 12 great candidates, and all would have served the city well. Congratulations to Gary Hrechkosy for winning the seat. I look forward to working with him and the other council members. I hope the other candidates will consider putting in their names for the other boards and commission positions in the city.”