This year’s May 17 primary election will see incumbent Jefferson County Commissioner Roger Clark’s seat contested by Hamer native Cathy Shurtliff.
The Jefferson Star asked both candidates the same series of questions and offered them the opportunity to share their answers. Their responses are as follows:
Name: Roger W Clark
Position running for: Jefferson County Commissioner -District 3
Hometown: Menan
Age: 61
Professional or personal background: My wife, Ann, and I have five children and seventeen grandchildren. I grew up farming and ranching in the Menan area and now do so with my two sons. In addition to running my business, I have served on various boards where my duties were to develop budgets, review financials, participate in annual audits, set policy, develop strategy and work with other board members and management.
Why are you running for office: As a Jefferson County native, I personally know our county has always been a great place to live. I’m proud that I raised my family here and that four of our five children have chosen to raise their families here as well. I want to do my part to help manage the growth and make decisions that will help Jefferson County continue to be a place that future generations can be proud of.
In your view what is the biggest issue in the race: Four key points I feel residents are concerned with are growth, water quality, infrastructure, and property taxes. In order to address these issues, I believe it will require effective communication between elected officials and our fellow citizens. I want to hear their concerns and work with people to collectively come up with the best solutions for the residents of Jefferson County.
Why should voters elect you: Serving my community over the last three years as a county commissioner has given me a greater understanding and knowledge of our county, the issues we face, and expectations of our community. This experience has set me up to be even more productive in a second term. I have a good working relationship with county employees and the other commissioners. I plan to build upon the progress that has been made and will continue to be transparent, ask hard questions and give thoughtful consideration of how our choices affect the county as a whole.
Name: Cathy Shurtliff
Position Running for: Jefferson County Commissioner
Hometown: Hamer
Age: 67
Professional or Personal Background: I have raised 11 kids, 7 of them I home schooled. They all graduated high school and are all very successful. I have had a successful seamstress business for many years, where I designed custom wedding gowns. I served a church service mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as a service missionary. I helped meet the needs of the surrounding community and the Navajo Reservation.
Why are you running for office? With my previous experience of meeting people in various positions and needs, I can listen and take their concerns back to the commissioners and work out solutions. We need more community input.
In your view, what is the biggest issue in the race? Organized growth, holding department heads accountable for their yearly budgets, and people who will listen to the needs of the county.
Why should voters elect you? I would like the West side of the county to know that they can count on me to represent their needs and I will listen.