Just to clear up any confusion on the part of anyone who visits this site (because I have become aware of a couple of people who misunderstood) – I am not running for the position of Davis County Treasurer. (That would be Mark Altom.) I am running for the position of Republican Party Treasurer within the Davis County Republican Party. In other words, this is not a situation where you go to your local polling place and select my name from a list on a (hopefully familiar) voting machine. In order to vote for me you need to come to the Davis County Republican Party organizing convention which will be held at 8:00 am on Saturday, April 18th at Layton High School.

The more I have come to be involved in the political process the more I have noticed my perception change from the attitude that I find common among many people – that they have little to no power in the political process and that voting is the only way to have any power at all – to the attitude that I find more common among elected officials of all types – that whatever problems we may face, we are not truly helpless to make things better.

I think that a major reason for the difference in attitudes is that those who are elected or otherwise involved in the process have greater understanding about how things get done in the political world than the average person on the street and they see opportunities for progress in places that other people may not be aware of. I also believe that the more people understand about what is happening within parties, legislatures, city councels etc. the more likely they are to feel empowered and become involved in the process. I also believe that the more people we have involved in the process the better the outcomes of the political process are likely to be.

Because of these beliefs one of the things that I would like to do as an elected party official, in addition to fulfilling the basic responsibilities specified for the Treasurer, is to help communicate what happens in party meetings etc. with the citizens of our county so that more people can come to realize how accessible the process is to them if they are interested in participating and helping to make sure that the party is serving the needs of the people they represent.

Let me start off by saying that my choice of running for treasurer is not because of some desire to “hold the purse strings.” My primary purpose in running is to help support the party platform and ideals by sharing those ideals, selecting good candidates to represent the party, and making sure that party officers and representatives are held accountable to their avowed ideals. As such, I was open to any position in which I could be a county and state party delegate and where I would be able to fill the duties of the office and be in a position to get to know and support others throughout the party.

Unlike some of the other positions which met my qualifications, treasurer demands time and attention, but does not have high name recognition. Part of the appeal for me was that I would not need to try to muscle out an incumbent as if they were not doing a proper job (our incumbent treasurer is not seeking re-election).

I have talked with a variety of party officers about the various positions I considered and I feel confident that I understand the duties of treasurer in practical as well as theoretical terms and can fill those duties well and help make sure that the Davis County Republican Party is a useful organization for the citizens of Davis County.

I have decided to run for Davis County Republican Party Treasurer. The final decision was made tonight after the Lincoln Day Dinner. In the coming days I will build up my website here and elaborate on the reasons why I am running and specifically why I am running for this position.

I look forward to serving the county party and by extension the citizens of Davis County.