This time next year, Cache County will have two new elected officials replacing one — as county voters elect a new clerk and auditor, replacing a dual role held by Clerk/Auditor David Benson. And Benson won’t be holding either position.
Benson, who returned to work this week after putting himself on leave amid an “elections-related investigation” of the office, told The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday he decided this past weekend not to run for either seat.
“I think that’s in order to give other people space to come in and fill those two separate offices,” he said, “and perhaps to make a good, nice break between the combined office and the separated offices.”
The Cache County Council voted in October to split the combined office into two, which county officials said they hope adds a layer of accountability amid a turbulent year for the local government.
With Benson out, eight candidates declared their intent to run for either county clerk or auditor during the open filing period, which ended Monday. Here’s who is vying to take over the two county leadership spots.
Cache County Auditor
Four candidates submitted their names to run for county auditor and many are familiar faces around the county government.
The office carries two significant responsibilities: keeping a close eye on auditing the county and overseeing the county’s finances, as the county government voted last year to shift the bookkeeping duty away from the county executive’s office.
Four Uthans are running for auditor:
Dirk Anderson — currently serves as the chief deputy to Cache County Executive David Zook.
Matthew Funk — a former justice court judge in the county and a certified public accountant for over 20 years.
Brittany Kingston — a Cache Count budget analyst.
Dianna Schaeffer — a tax administration supervisor for the county.
Cache County Clerk
The county clerk election comes at an interesting time for Cache County.
The clerk’s office is not only responsible for keeping county records but also serves as the county’s chief elections officer.
In December, Benson and two other clerk’s office employees were placed on leave during what state and county officials called an “elections-related investigation.” Benson and another staffer returned to work recently, while a third remains on leave. The investigation is ongoing.
Four candidates have filed to run for county clerk:
Roger Anderson — a former North Logan city council member, who recently lost his reelection race to the council.
Bryson Behm — a former staffer in the clerk/auditor’s office who briefly served as the interim Cache County Clerk/Auditor before Benson was picked to lead the office.
Sebastian Luu — a River Heights resident.
David Palmer — a Smithfield resident.
This story may be updated with more details about the candidates.
