WASHINGTON TERRACE — The candidate-winnowing process for the 2022 election cycle is quickly proceeding and the Weber County Republican Party is holding a series of forums starting Tuesday to help get word out about the hopefuls.

The gatherings, starting Tuesday at the Pleasant Valley Branch library in Washington Terrace, are geared mainly to Weber County Republican Party delegates, who hold a nominating convention on March 26 to pick their preferred hopefuls. But the broader public is invited, said Jake Sawyer, chairman of the county party.

“It’s for the delegates, but they’re definitely open to whoever wants to go and meet candidates,” Sawyer said. All Republican candidates in Weber County have been invited and the hopefuls attending will have a space where they can set up a table to meet with visitors one on one.

Among the focuses of the Weber County GOP delegates on March 26 will be races for two seats on the Weber County Commission, the race for the District 10 seat in the Utah House, the Weber County sheriff’s contest and the race for the District 2 post on the Utah State Board of Education.

“Ask questions. Ask difficult questions,” Sawyer said, alluding the the three planned candidate forums. “This is a time for people to get to know candidates.”

Tuesday’s gathering at the Washington Terrace library, 5568 Adams Ave., starts at 6:30 p.m. with another to be held on Thursday at the Southwest Branch Library at 2039 W. 4000 South in Roy, also starting at 6:30 p.m. A third forum will be held March 23 starting at 6:30 p.m., again at the Pleasant Valley Branch library.

Numerous races are on the ballot this cycle, from the U.S. Senate post now held by Mike Lee to several seats on the Weber and Ogden school boards. The races that’ll be the focus of the March 26 Weber County Republican Party convention are those with multiple GOP candidates for posts serving jurisdictions solely within the county.

The delegates will vote on their preferences, selecting which candidates they want on the June 28 Republican primary ballot, notwithstanding efforts of some hopefuls to get on the ballot via collection of signatures on petitions.

The March 26 convention will be held at Weber High School in Pleasant View. The contests getting attention will be the races for:

The District 10 Utah House seat: Lorraine Brown and Jill Koford are both running as Republicans, hoping to unseat Rosemary Lesser, the incumbent Democrat. The district covers portions of southern Ogden and South Ogden and reaches into other locales in southern Weber County.

The District 2 Utah Board of Education seat: Four GOPers are running for the seat, including incumbent Scott Hansen along with Craig Pitts, Lewis Johnson and Joseph Kerry. Adi Finsen, a Democrat, is also running. District 2 covers almost all of Weber County.

County Commission, seat A: Incumbent Gage Froerer, a Republican, faces a challenge from fellow GOPer Shanna Francis. John Thompson is running as a Democrat.

County Commission, seat B: Four GOPers are running for the seat: Sharon Bolos, Phil Swanson, Bill Olson and Bren Edwards. Brian Rowley, a Libertarian, is also running for the post, now held by Scott Jenkins, a Republican not running for reelection.

County sheriff: Incumbent Ryan Arbon is facing a challenge from Kevin Burns. Both are Republicans and no others are on the ballot.

County clerk-auditor: Incumbent Ricky Hatch is facing a challenge from Toby Mileski. Both are Republicans and no others are on the ballot.

Several other races for posts that cover portions of Weber County but cross into other counties as well, including several Utah House seats, are also on the ballot this cycle. Republicans will select preferred candidates in those races, if required, at the Utah Republican Party state convention set for April 23.

The Weber County Republican Party convention rules give the edge to candidates seeking a spot on the primary ballot solely through convention, not via petition. Regardless, a number of candidates declared their intent to seek primary ballot spots via petition, as allowed under state law.

Brown, the District 10 Utah House candidate, and Bolos, the county commission hopeful, both went the petition route and have garnered enough signatures to get on the primary ballot, according to the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office website.

Mileski, the clerk-auditor candidate, also declared his intent to collect signatures, but still didn’t have enough of them as of Monday, according to the lieutenant governor’s website. Bren Edwards, the county commission candidate, initially declared his intent to collect signatures but later withdrew it.

The Weber County Democratic Party will hold its convention on April 9. Even so, no individual races within the county feature multiple Democratic hopefuls.

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