Commissioner Bob Stevenson made a motion to, effective at the end of the meeting, cycle the commissioner rotation, which would result in him becoming the chair, Commissioner Lorene Kamalu becoming the vice chair and Crofts becoming the third commissioner.

Kamalu seconded the motion.

Crofts then took time to speak, after which he called for a vote, with Stevenson and Kamalu both stating “aye.” Crofts abstained from voting.

The actions came as a follow-up to a five-month independent investigation in which 26 individuals, including Crofts, were interviewed regarding alleged behavior by Crofts.

The Standard-Examiner previously reported on the allegations, which included claims of “hostile work environment,” “political favoritism,” “religion concerns,” “LGBTQ discrimination,” “defamation” and “fitness for duty concerns.”

On Tuesday, Kamalu stood and read a public censure statement, which said “staff, former staff, public officials, and the public deserve transparency and they deserve action.”

Crofts called the investigation “a political hatchet job, plain and simple” during Tuesday’s meeting and said it came after he opposed tax increases.

“We had a sales tax increase in 2019, we had a tax increase, you know, for animal care services, and then we had this last (property) tax increase,” he said. “But people are at the breaking point, and I voted against the taxes, and I think that that magically turned a lot of people in the county, employees, you know, very unfavorably towards me. … I really didn’t want to have financial difficulty or have layoffs or anything like that, but the taxpayers and the community made their wishes known to me, and as elected officials, we do represent the people that put us into office.

“So the tax increase did go through, but I think there’s a lot of people that were very unhappy about that. I think there were a lot of employees that were very unhappy about that.”

Reading the letter in its entirety, Kamalu said:

“Beginning in January 2025, Davis County employees began reporting inappropriate behavior by Commissioner John Crofts to the Human Resources Department. County employees and other elected officials reported that they felt unsafe around Commissioner Crofts. A number of valued county employees who had been working for Commissioner Crofts terminated their employment.

“County employees formally raised numerous allegations involving a variety of unlawful conduct by Commissioner Crofts. In response to these allegations, and in order to assess potential liability for the county, the former HR director, through the county attorney’s office, commissioned an independent investigation with respect to Commissioner Crofts’ workplace behavior.

“The independent investigation took five months and included interviews with 26 individuals, including Commissioner Crofts. Following completion of the interviews, the investigation resulted in a final report. The report confirmed essentially uniform complaints of egregious and unacceptable workplace behavior by Commissioner Crofts.

“All commissioners were given the report to read in April. The report identified and verified complaints in the following six categories: hostile work environment, political favoritism, religious discrimination, LGBTQ discrimination, defamation, fitness for duty.

“After reviewing the report by the independent investigator, the commissioners held appropriate closed meetings to allow for verbal and written responses by Crofts.

“Commissioner Crofts failed to produce any evidence rebutting the claims of egregious behavior or to otherwise defend himself.

“Staff, former staff, public officials, and the public deserve transparency and they deserve action. To protect the county and the remaining staff, changes will be made effective today.

“First, we will take a vote to consider the chair and vice chair responsibility.

“Second, the legislative body will remove Commissioner Crofts from supervising any county employee. This action does not require a vote by the board. Directors of county facilities, golf courses, public works, human resources, and the Senior Services Advisory Board duty will be reassigned. The commission office manager’s annual performance review will not be performed by Commissioner Crofts.

“There will be additional changes to various other boards and committees.”

Earlier in the meeting, Crofts read from a statement in addressing the report.

“I’m speaking today because taxpayers of this county deserve a commission that works for them, not one captured by intrigue, pettiness and personal agendas,” he said. “Recently, extensive time and significant taxpayer dollars were spent to create a false narrative against me. That effort concluded exactly as it should have, with absolutely no findings of wrongdoing. It was a political hatchet job, plain and simple. The bar was set incredibly low, and yet it still failed because the accusations were fabricated. Unfortunately, this stems from a toxic culture of gossip that has plagued this body for too long. To show how deep this runs, just one day after I was sworn into office, my sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and she passed away only a month later. Even during that time, my dying sister was not off limits. A culture of gossip was actively weaponized against me during a period of profound personal grief. It was cruel, it was unprofessional and it needs to stop. This is the behavior of career politicians, not public servants. I’m grateful that our meetings are public so that taxpayers can see exactly who is prioritizing personal politics over the good of the county. I’m calling on my fellow commissioners to respect the voters, put an end to the gossip, stop wasting taxpayers’ time, and move on and return to the dignified, productive business of governing. All I have been doing is sticking up for the taxpayer.”

Crofts’ statement came after the public comment period, which included Jenna Nelson, former housing specialist with the Davis Community Housing Authority and former jail administrator with the Davis County Sheriff’s Office, speaking out against Crofts.

“Throughout my career, I have believed that public service is about treating people with dignity, solving problems and earning the public’s trust,” she said. “I have dedicated my career to serving the people of Davis County, which is why I’m here today. I didn’t come because of headlines or social media. I came because I personally experienced conduct from Commissioner John Crofts that caused me to question his judgment and his integrity and ultimately his fitness to continue serving the people of Davis County.”

Nelson said she left the Davis Community Housing Authority in December 2025 “after filing a grievance and multiple complaints” related to her supervisor. She said the situation took “a significant toll” on her physical and mental health and leaving was one of the hardest decisions she has ever had to make.

She said Crofts contacted her after she left and during two separate phone calls said he wanted to remove the executive director, the deputy director and the board of directors and install her as the executive director. She said despite her concerns about his ability to follow through, he said he would make it happen.

“Those conversations left me deeply concerned, as decisions involving the county leadership should be made through transparent, lawful processes, not through private conversations or promises that suggest one elected official can simply replace leadership because he wants to,” she said.

She also alleged that Crofts made comments during those conversations expressing dislike of a Clearfield City Council member because he is openly gay.

“Every elected official has a duty to represent every resident with fairness and respect, regardless of sexual orientation,” she said. “Hearing those comments raised serious concerns for me about his ability to serve all members of our community equally.”

She also referenced the investigation, mentioned that Crofts was supporting a candidate for Seat B on the commission “who is asking to cut the employee budget” and asked that he resign.

“In my view, a censure alone is not sufficient to restore public trust or demonstrate the accountability that the people of Davis County deserve,” she said.

Crofts said that he disagreed with “many of the things” that Nelson said and that a commission meeting is not “the proper forum or place to address those concerns.” He said he was “disappointed” in the comments.

“But as public officials, we are open to criticism, and as public officials, we are open to welcoming feedback, even if it is untrue, blatantly or otherwise, and I do respect and honor the public’s right to express their opinions publicly, and I categorically disagree with some of those assertations that were made with that,” he said.

After asking if there were any more public comments and nobody stepping forward, Crofts returned to addressing Nelson and her comments.

“It is disappointing to hear those comments because I do believe that they’re untrue and unfounded,” he said. “And I will say this; I have not made derogatory comments. I don’t have problems with the LGBTQ community. … But it is disappointing because I considered us to be friends, and I do believe that you did a good job. And I was not directly involved with your previous position or what you did, and the assertations you made are unfounded, so I’m disappointed to hear that. But I would invite you to come and visit with me any time you’d like.”

Included in Crofts’ objections was his claim that he was not made aware of the censure statement, which he said he believed included “many misstatements.”

He said the investigation involved anonymous employees and was “very far-reaching,” going back as far as 23-plus years to interview people, he believed.

“And it was interesting because this was a report that was supposed to stay internal,” he said. “Somebody leaked it to the press, or somebody leaked the information of it, and there was a GRAMA request made for it. I believe that that may constitute a Class B misdemeanor for whoever released that to the press, to do a GRAMA request for it. So it was an issue that could have stayed internally within the commission, but it was intentionally released to the public. I did have a member of the press that approached me and did give me the name of the person that released that to the press. And I asked for an investigation to look at that.”

Neither Stevenson nor Kamalu provided personal thoughts on the investigation or action items during the meeting, and Stevenson referred those with questions to the investigation report.

Contact Standard-Examiner editor Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net.