With only a single business day left in which candidates for local offices can file, six of ten races for posts in the Cache County government remain uncontested.
CACHE COUNTY – With a single business day left to file, candidates aren’t exactly beating down the door to toss their hats in the ring for local political races in 2024.
As of Jan. 6, six of ten races in Cache County are so far uncontested. The candidate filing period for those contests is due to close on Monday, Jan. 8.
The four county races showing sign of life will be for the county attorney post; Logan Seat 1 on the Cache County Council; the North District Seat on the council; and the newly created post of county auditor.
So far, the race for county attorney is between incumbent K. Taylor Sorensen and Cameron Cox, a local lawyer in private practice.
Former county attorney Dane Murray nominated Sorensen, the county’s chief civil attorney, as his replacement when Murray resigned in December to accept a position in the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Sorensen will face off against Cox, who is also a Republican with more than two decades of prior experience as a litigator, prosecutor and city attorney.
The Cache County Attorney’s Office has been dogged by recent allegations of financial irregularities involving former County Attorney James Swink and former prosecutor Tony Baird.
In the race for Logan Seat 1 on the Cache County Council, long-term incumbent Karl Ward is currently facing Keegan Garrity, a persistent critic of the Logan City Council who has now shifted his attention to the county government.
Cache County Council chairman David Erickson will also compete to retain his North District Seat on that panel with Mike Monson, the principal of Sky View High School in Smithfield.
Three candidates are so far vying for the open seat of Cache County auditor, which the Council Council recently voted to split from the county clerk’s office.
They are Dianna Schaeffer, the current county tax administrator; Brittany Kingston, the county’s budget analyst; and Dirk Anderson, the chief deputy to County Executive David Zook.
Among the uncontested races so far is the contest for the Cache County clerk’s position.
As of Jan. 6, the only candidate who has filed for that contest is Bryson J. Behm, the county’s former chief deputy clerk.
The incumbent clerk, David Benson, is on administrative leave pending the completion of an investigation into election irregularities in 2023. Although no state law or policy precludes Benson from filing his candidacy while on administrative leave, he has not done so yet.
The other county uncontested races so far include incumbent Brett Robinson for county assessor; incumbent Barbara Y. Tidwell for Logan Seat 2 on the county council; incumbent Nolan P. Gunnell for the South District Seat on the county council; incumbent Tennille Johnson for county recorder; and incumbent Craig McAllister for county treasurer.
The official filing period for county candidates will close at 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan 8.