Crofts was censured and removed from his chair position at last Tuesday’s County Commission meeting in the aftermath of a five-month independent investigation where 26 people were interviewed, including Crofts, regarding Crofts’ alleged behavior.

During the public comment period, which Commissioner Bob Stevenson said beforehand would be limited to 15 minutes, Laurene Starkey of Kaysville, Irene Hill of Layton, Jill Dredge of Kaysville and Lance Hamblin of unincorporated Davis County in the Syracuse area spoke positively of Crofts after Kamalu, of Kaysville, called for Crofts to resign.

After beginning her comments with a prayer, Starkey said she wanted to share a personal story.

“Not long before I met Commissioner Crofts, I had not been intrinsically involved in politics, local or otherwise,” she said. “I had been out of the country, out of the state for several years. County Commission meetings were simply not a part of my life. What brought me here was a feeling shared by many of my neighbors that someone might listen. Commissioner Crofts did listen. He responded and showed up.

“In the 2024 general election, more than 106,000 Davis County voters chose John Crofts to represent them. He advocated for evening commission meetings so that working families could participate in their own government. He worked to reduce spending. During the property tax debate, he was the only commissioner to propose a zero percent increase. He worked to find a solution that respected the needs of the homeless in the Code Blue shelter, instrumental in finding an approved and appropriate location.

“I recognize that allegations described in the independent investigation deserve consideration. My comments today are not about determining whether the allegations are true or false. They are about public confidence in the process. As a citizen, I was not aware that the commission would be voting to censure Commissioner Crofts and remove him from … his leadership positions. Regardless of how either any of us stand on the outcome, our public confidence is strengthened when actions involving elected officials are conducted with transparency, truth and respect.

“Commissioner Crofts’ willingness to engage with the citizens has inspired me and others I know to become involved in county government. I respectfully ask this commission to conduct work in a manner that reflects the trust that the public has placed in each of you. This is more than about one commissioner. It’s about preserving the public confidence that county government is open, it is fair, and worthy of the trust of the people it serves.”

Hill said she also was not really involved in government until 2024 and she also met Crofts.

“He is the only one that I know that was trying to get our taxes not raised,” she said. “I understand the increase on expenses. I do understand that. I have a degree in accounting, so I understand a lot more than a lot of people about stuff like that. But there’s people coming to me saying, ‘I own my house, but I can’t afford my taxes that I’m gonna have to pay … so I have to sell my house that I’ve had, I raised my children in.’ There’s other people that are on a fixed income, Social Security – they can’t afford it. So they’re having to actually cut – and they live by themselves – cut their food to the point they’re losing weight that they can’t even be, according to the doctors, as they call, nutritionally OK to live.”

She said she didn’t understand why the investigation was made public when it wasn’t supposed to be made public, and that the letter was not supposed to be made public either.

“So in fact … he’s trying to do his best for the citizens when we go to him and tell him what we need,” she said. “What people are coming to me about, I go to him about and I tell him what’s going on with these people in my neighborhoods. They’re trying to survive. Raising their taxes is not helping them survive. I just want to say, as far as I’m concerned, he’s the only one on this committee that’s actually trying to do what’s right for the people that live in Davis County and trying to make sure we have a voice in what happens.”

Dredge said she watched last week’s meeting and “was very concerned about it.” She said Crofts was voted in by 70%.

“I think that makes a strong comment,” she said. “I’ve been a delegate. I’ve been involved in politics pretty heavily, more than I ever wanted to be, for the last six years. Seen a lot of things. I’ve been very concerned at what I’m seeing at every single level, because the people want to be heard. The people want to be represented.

“I attended meetings, I’ve listened to Commissioner (Crofts). He’s tried to fulfill the things that he talked about, which were having meetings at night so that more people could attend. He’s been very accessible to the public, and I have appreciated that. Last week’s meeting was super concerning. I would like to know, has Commissioner (Crofts) been able to talk personally with each of the people that accused him? Has he been able to have an interaction with them? I also was concerned when I walked out of a meeting and saw what … seemed like a setup to a lot of the people that were standing there where there was a conflict between two people, one of them being Commissioner (Crofts), and a person was videoing it. And I believe that was used later when we were all kind of standing there. So I think we need to take a step back and think about the things that the people have voted for here. And … I’m getting a lot of people contacting me, as the other lady said, that are very concerned about this and feel that because he was against the tax increase, does this have something to do with it? Because he wanted to look into the spending that was going on, does this have something to do with it? There’s a lot of questions that are being asked out there and people feel like not being answered.”

Hamblin said he found it “very ironic and pathetic” that one of the three commissioners was being accused “of being hostile, rude, not telling the truth, whatever.”

He said he didn’t expect answers but he had recordings and pictures, taken by him, that validated what he was about to say. He questioned whether Commissioner Lorene Kamalu got signatures at a Davis County public event related to the discussion of the master plan, though all of his words were not completely intelligible. Prior to Hamblin speaking, the microphone was knocked over and seemingly damaged, and Hamblin’s comments were subsequently not as clear.

Hamblin asked Stevenson if Stevenson said “They’re just words; they don’t mean anything.”

Said Hamblin: “Those words are written, and you told me they don’t mean anything.”

Hamblin added:

“Hostility can be perceived when someone doesn’t agree with the craziness that’s been going on. Integrity is what John Crofts is bringing to this County Commission. There are a lot of unhappy residents in this county by what’s been going on, the spending that has occurred by one-time funds that now is a lifetime of payments. I think the real concern here is why is John Crofts trying to be shut down while the other two do whatever they want to do to the county in their last six months of term?”

Hamblin said Crofts was bringing “integrity, a lot of sensibility and a lot of honesty to what we as residents have needed for a very, very long time.”

As Hamblin walked away, he expressed frustration with the amount of time allowed for public comment.

“We got a big meeting here – limited on public comment,” he said. “Awesome. Good timing.”

The support for Crofts came after Layne Kamalu, husband of Lorene Kamalu, spoke against Crofts to lead off the public comment period.

He started by saying he was “not here at the behest of” his wife. He said it was “completely” his “own decision” and he was there “to set the record straight.” He said he had prepared some comments.

“One would expect a newly elected commissioner to commit to working collaboratively with fellow commissioners in pursuit of the county’s best interests,” he said. “Unfortunately, Commissioner Crofts chose a very different path upon taking office 18 months ago. Almost immediately, he told numerous county leaders that his primary goal was to prevent the re-election of several officials. Since then, Davis County leaders and employees have endured repeated slander, verbal abuse and bullying. Commissioner Kamalu, in particular, has been the target of persistent defamation and unfounded attacks. These behaviors have affected many others as well, including myself. As a result of the investigation, I was stunned to learn that I had become the subject of Commissioner Crofts’ false and damaging accusations, despite not knowing me well. His actions have needlessly exposed both himself and the county to potential litigation.

“This pattern of conduct is unprecedented in Davis County, a community long known for its strong reputation among residents and state leaders. The perceived discord within the commission has not been mere disagreement among officials, but rather a relentless cycle of attacks by Crofts met with efforts to protect what is good and functional in our local government. One individual – one – has created a toxic work environment that permeates the entire organization. Because he cannot be fired, the damage has been significant. Under Commissioner Crofts, the workplace became so hostile that several valued employees chose to resign rather than continue enduring hostility. Beyond the human cost and loss of institutional knowledge, his actions have generated substantial financial burdens for the county, including extensive hours from HR professionals and attorneys, as well as formal investigations driven by mounting liability concerns.

“The recently released investigative report, which is publicly available, makes a compelling case for resignation. While some of Commissioner Crofts’ supporters may dismiss the report and last week’s censure as politically motivated, the facts do not support that claim. Discussions about the need for an investigation began early in his tenure, long before budget negotiations or any election cycle. More than two dozen witnesses were interviewed independently. Their accounts painted a consistent picture of serious concerns. The likelihood of coordination among so many individuals is zero. The HR director and attorneys carefully invited witnesses who had filed confidential complaints. Commissioner Crofts has claimed these accounts are unsubstantiated and anonymous. That is simply not true. The investigator knows the identity of every witness who courageously came forward. Their names were withheld from the public report solely to protect them from retaliation – retaliation that has nevertheless occurred in some cases.

“At this point, continued support for Commissioner Crofts is just foolish. The county has suffered long enough. I urge you to join me in doing what is right for Davis County. I call for Commissioner Crofts’ resignation.”

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