Thank you for trusting me with your stories. Running for office takes courage. Some of you told me you were pressured not to try because the preferred candidate was already chosen. When I filed for Summit County clerk, the outgoing clerk had already recommended Malena Stevens as her replacement and has since endorsed her. That was discouraging. On the radio, Malena dismissed some of my supporters as “failed politicians.” Neighbors who invested time, effort and money to serve, but didn’t win, were labeled failures, while officeholders were viewed as more important. Willingness to try is what gives you a choice. If that is how a clerk speaks of those who fall short, ask how she regards you. Will you be heard? Will you be respected? A clerk’s office is where respect for voters is practiced or abandoned. The Dakota Pacific referendum showed us the second. A clerk’s role on a referendum is deliberately limited: receive petition packets, verify signatures if they meet the plain language of the law, and certify the result. A developer who objects has the courts. Instead, then-Clerk Eve Furse used her own narrow reading of the code and photos of just two volunteers to reject dozens of packets and disenfranchise more than 6,000 Summit County voters. A bipartisan legislative committee unanimously agreed she overstepped and voted for reform. My opponent still defends those actions. I will never use ambiguity against the voters I serve. Democracy means choice. Had no one from another party stepped up, Malena would have run unopposed, just as the previous clerk did. Voters would have seen only one name on the ballot. I filed so you have a choice. The Clerk’s Office should work for you: council votes you can follow, records you can find, elections run by the book. Malena invites you to review her record, which includes a January 2025 column urging residents to think twice before signing that referendum. I cannot reconcile discouraging voters in 2025 from using their best tool for holding decision makers accountable and then promising to champion voters now that her name is on the ballot in 2026. Democracy also means fairness. A party label does not decide whether a clerk is fair. Conduct does. Malena accepted donations and endorsements from officials who will appear on ballots she hopes to oversee, and from people running now. She has campaigned for candidates whose elections she oversees today, and they have endorsed her. Nonpartisanship is a promise you keep before the election, not only after it. Some may question my readiness. For more than a decade I have run a successful Summit County business built on licensing, compliance, reporting, records, budgets, and staff. I also served eight years on the South Summit Board of Education, where I learned public budgets, accountability, policy, and the discipline of staying within an office’s authority. Some may fault me for not seeking guidance from the Clerk’s Office, but that would have been inappropriate. Its staff works for my opponent, and seeking their help would put good people in an impossible spot. So I’ve sought mentorship from other county clerks as well as studied election code, licensing rules, and how records are kept. If elected, I will work with current staff from day one to ensure a smooth transition. I will build on the staff’s good work. I will track and summarize council votes in one place, so you can see how your councilors vote and judge who reflects your priorities. I will improve communication with residents and business owners. The county hired a full-time employee for an unprecedented number of records requests under GRAMA, a sign people cannot find what they need. Better tools, not another salary, are the answer. More standard records online reduce unnecessary requests, save staff time, and spare you the cost of filing one, while private information stays private. A robo-text from my opponent’s campaign falsely claims I benefit from tens of thousands of dollars in Republican money. The local GOP gave me some money, as it did every candidate it supports, just as the local Democratic Party supports Malena. I also believe the clerk is overpaid. Utah law bars salary reduction until the final year of a term, so until then I will donate a portion to local causes. Will you be heard? Will you get the truth every time? In my office, yes. I pledge to serve with warmth, rigor, and respect for every voter. I would be honored to have your vote for Summit County clerk. Suni Woolstenhulme Candidate for Summit County Clerk, Oakley The post Respect for voter appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less