After less than a year in office, Cache County Clerk/Auditor David Benson tendered his resignation on Mar. 18. Benson was the third person to hold that elective office since August of 2020, following former clerks Jess Bradfield and Jill Zollinger.
CACHE COUNTY – The “revolving door” of the troubled Cache County Clerk/Auditor’s office has claimed another victim.
David Benson resigned from that post effective Monday, Mar. 18. His brief letter of resignation simply cited “many” reasons for his departure from that elective position, but primarily the need to attend “… to family health matters.”
Also in that letter, Benson recommended that members of the Cache County Council appoint Dianna Schaeffer, the county’s current tax administrator, as his replacement until such time as the local Republican Party can schedule a special election to fill the vacancy left by his departure.
Benson’s tenure in the office of Clerk/Auditor has been anything but tranquil.
He was selected by fellow members of the Cache County GOP to replace former Clerk/Auditor Jess Bradfield during a special election in June of 2023, making Benson the third person to occupy that post since the resignation of Jill Zollinger in August of 2020.
Faced with supervising local municipal elections in November of that same year in the midst of an abrupt turnover of personnel from his office, Benson’s administration quickly drew fire from the office of Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson.
Although state investigators found no evidence of fraud in the Nov. 21 election results or a subsequent recount of ballots, Henderson nevertheless issued a scathing report that was highly critical of Benson’s leadership.
“Under your watch, the 2023 Cache County municipal primary and general election fell unacceptably short of … statutory obligations,” Henderson wrote.
Ryan Cowley, the state’s director of elections, added that among the state officials’ “deeply troubling” findings were the fact that county employees falsified the results of a legally required logic and accuracy test of voting tabulation equipment and failed to maintain an accurate chain of custody of election ballots.
As a result of that probe, former county election supervisor Dustin Hansen was charged by prosecutors from Cache County Attorney’s Office and is scheduled for arraignment in District Court on Apr. 1.
In January, Benson signaled that he would not seek re-election to his office in 2024.
“Serving in elective office is extremely challenging,” said County Executive David Zook in the wake of Benson’s resignation.
“I commend those who have served and those that are yet willing to serve … I call upon our public – and especially other elected officials – to diligently strive for unity and cooperation, that we might better serve our citizens.”
“It has been my pleasure to serve the residents of Cache County,” Benson wrote in his letter of resignation.
“I have especially been privileged to work beside dedicated, professional and friendly people willing to offer their talents to benefit their community.”