Photos supplied

FARMINGTON — Less than a week after Davis County leaders approved change splitting the Davis County Clerk/Auditor’s Office, three hopefuls have emerged to head the Davis County Clerk’s Office, to be on the ballot later this year.

They are Brian McKenzie, a deputy clerk in the clerk/auditor’s office as it is now configured; Katie Witt, the former mayor of Kaysville; and Michelle Scharf, a retiree who most recently worked for a company that assists governments in managing child protection registries. All three are Republicans.

Curtis Koch, the current Davis County clerk/auditor, plans to run for head of the Davis County Auditor’s Office, also on the ballot this year. “I’ve been in government finance for the last 12 years. … It’s my basis, it’s my foundation,” said Koch, also a GOPer, alluding to the financial planning and budgeting responsibilities in the clerk/auditor’s office.

It’s been a whirlwind at the clerk/auditor’s office. Davis County officials had been mulling dividing the office in two, apparently for some time, given increasing demand on the services it provides as the county grows. Auditor’s responsibilities center around managing the county’s finances and budgeting while clerk’s responsibilities center around managing elections.

Then on Jan. 18, county commissioners broached the subject during their regular meeting that day, formally approving the change splitting the office on Jan. 25. The clerk/auditor’s post was already up for election this year, but per last week’s action, two posts will now be on the ballot this coming cycle — for the county clerk’s position and the county auditor’s post.

Photo supplied, Davis County Clerk/Auditor's Office

Scharf actually filed her intent to collect signatures to secure a place on the ballot as a GOPer for the clerk/auditor’s post before the Jan. 25 change. The seeming suddenness of the shift and the fact that the commissioners’ decision came after she had started to gather signatures prompted a rebuke from her.

“This does not look good as far as meddling in the election process, the beginning of it,” she told the Standard-Examiner. In a statement, she said the situation “highlights the need for new leadership in our county. We need leadership and transparency in this office to ensure integrity in the elections process.”

Scharf consulted attorneys, who advised her she would potentially have a case in court were she to challenge the timing of the commissioners’ decision to split the office, after the start of the signature-gathering period. But she doesn’t plan to sue over the matter.

Moreover, in light of the Jan. 25 change, county officials say any signatures she gathered on petitions to get on the ballot for the clerk/auditor’s post can be used to get on the ballot for the clerk’s or auditor’s seat, whichever she decided on. Scharf needs to get 3,326 signatures, had 1,000 as of late last week and said Monday that she’ll vie for the clerk’s post.

Scharf, an unsuccessful candidate in 2014 for a Davis County Commission seat, helped in previous campaigns for Orrin Hatch, the former U.S. senator, and Mia Love, the former U.S. House member.

Witt, who opted not to seek reelection as Kaysville mayor last year after a term in the post, was unaware change was afoot in the clerk/auditor’s office. When she learned of it, though, she gravitated to the clerk’s post. Like Scharf, she’s also filed to seek signatures on petitions to secure a spot on the primary ballot.

Overseeing elections, a key clerk’s responsibility, “is fundamental to our society in America,” said Witt, currently pursing a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Utah. “That’s something that’s very important to me and important to a lot of people.”

McKenzie said he’s been working in the clerk/auditor’s office for nearly 18 years and has overseen everything from the smallest to biggest responsibility. When officials started publicly debating the split in the office, it got him thinking about running. “I know the job. I know it really well,” he said. This would be his first bid for an elective post. He plans to seek a ballot place through the Davis County Republican Party convention in the spring.

Koch is finishing his second term as clerk/auditor. He also plans to seek a place on the ballot through the convention process.

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