CACHE COUNTY – In the third round of balloting at the Special Election held by Cache Republicans on Sept. 11, last-minute candidate N. George Daines emerged as the GOP’s choice to succeed former County Executive David Zook.
During the abbreviated week-long campaign that preceded the Special Election, Daines promised to defend taxpayers from the cycle of county spending increases that has forced repeated tax hikes on Cache residents and to implement strong fiscal oversight to put county government back on stable ground.
“I am running to deliver leadership, protect taxpayers and ensure that Cache County’s best days are ahead,” he pledged.
Those sentiments obviously struck a chord with the county Republican rank-and-file, who gave Daines a 54 percent majority in the third round of balloting on Sept. 11.
The night began with seven candidates seeking to replace Zook, who resigned from the trouble-plagued county executive position on Sept. 8.
In addition to Daines, the other candidates were Dirk Anderson, Craig Anhder, Rhyan Dockter, Mark Hurd, Stephanie Miller and Micah Safsten.
By the end of the first round of balloting, however, only Daines, Anderson and Safsen remained in contention.
In remarks prior to the second round of voting, Anderson described himself as a budget nerd who had spent the past three years working cooperatively with the Cache County Council while Zook “… did his thing.”
In his remarks, Safsen pleaded for unity, emphasizing that government cannot make Cache County great, but has the power to screw things up.
Daines renewed his promise to strengthen local institutions, including opening the Bluebird Restaurant as soon as possible.
In the second round of voting, Anderson was eliminated with only 21 percent of ballots cast, compared to 44 percent for Daines and 35 percent for Safsen.
In the third round of balloting, Safsen claimed 46 percent of the votes cast by Cache County Republicans.
Daines is chairman of the Cache Valley Bank and a partner in the local law firm of Daines & Jenkins, LLP. He is also a former county attorney for Cache County, having served in that role from 2002 to 2009.
At a candidates’ forum earlier this week, Daines emphasized that Cache County government must get back to basics, including fiscal accountability, transparency and service to the people.
Daines will serve out the unexpired term of the former county executive until December of 2026, but stated that he intends to remain in office until his goals are achieved.