Jensen, Martines win GOP nod in commission races

50 county Republican delegates nominate favorites for upcoming party primary election
    The Carbon County Republican Party nominated Tony Martines and Larry Jensen Thursday night as the party’s official nominees to replace Jae Potter and Jake Mellor on the county commission.
    Potter, the first Republican elected to local office since the 1940s, is vacating his seat to pursue the Utah House of Representatives Dist. 69 seat currently held by Christine Watkins.
    Mellor is hoping to retain his seat, though more than 60 percent of local GOP delegates voted to go in a new direction.
    Jensen defeated local GOP chairwoman Kendra Seeley in three votes and Chamber of Commerce President Ryan Murray in two to win the party’s nomination to Potter’s commission seat.  Candidates Jay Daugherty and Amber Sparks did not get past the first round of voting.
    Jensen is a retired executive with the Price River Water Improvement District.
    He told delegates he is seeking the seat to improve the county’s finances.
    “I am concerned about our debt and about being able to pay for that debt. And though economic development is a crucial part of that, and bringing new business in, I am unwilling to count on that until it is here.
    “So I am unwilling to borrow another dime. And I am unwilling to spend any additional money that comes in through mineral lease for anything but things that have to be purchased,” he told delegates before the first vote.
    While it took three votes for Jensen to earn his party’s nomination, Martines did it in one. He earned 33 votes in the first round, more than the requisite 60 percent to move on to the primary election in June.
    Martines told delegates that his top priority was the county’s budget.
    “The budgets, the spending, we have got to get a hold of that. That needs to be a top priority. That is my top priority; that is your top priority. The other things we need to do is economic development,” he said.
    He added that in his first year if elected he would push to cut spending by 5 percent.
    Mellor wasn’t the only candidate to lost the party’s nomination to Martines. Paul Riddle, a local businessman, also lost in the first round of voting.
    Though dozens of candidates, delegates and party faithful attended the convention, which was held at the county administration building in Price, the nominations hold less value than in elections past. Most candidates, if not all, will still appear on the primary election ballot after obtaining the requisite number of signatures, which were due to party officials two weeks ago.
    The commission races are expected to be highly contested given the anxiety generated by the county’s poor financial picture, recent layoffs at the county level and tax increases that went into effect last year.
    Another race being closely followed this election season is that of county clerk/auditor. Seth Oveson announced he was leaving that position in August for a state job. But instead of his seat going to a Democrat, as expected, Oveson surprised the local electorate by switching parties and giving Republicans the chance to name his replacement ahead of the general election in November.
    Three GOP candidates sought the local party’s nomination for the seat Thursday. Wellington’s city recorder, Glenna Etzel, faced off against Seth Marsing and David Petty in a purely advisory vote.
    The winner’s name was expected to be submitted to the GOP central committee for possible appointment as Oveson’s successor.
    Etzel was beaten in the first round of voting by Marsing and Petty. In the second round, Marsing earned 28 votes and Petty 22, leading to them both earning spots as the party’s nominees to run in the primary.
    “What I am asking tonight is for an advisory vote. This body is not the one who puts forth that name, it’s the central committee, which is made up of precinct chairs and vice chairs. However, as an official of the party, I would think it would be in our best interest if the name we put forward is the name that comes forth after we have a Republican nominee,” explained Greg Dart, local GOP vice chairman, to the delegates before the vote.
    Whoever is named to Oveson’s seat will serve until an elected clerk/auditor is seated in January.
    Again, however, the nomination process is perfunctory at best given that most candidates will still compete in the primary after having collected signatures to be placed on the ballot.
    State and national office candidates did not need to go through the convention voting process. Still, many were on hand or sent representatives.
    Potter and Watkins addressed delegates.
    Potter said he is leaving the county commission because he promised voters he would only serve two terms.
    “I’d like to take what I’ve learned over the last eight years and take it to a state level,” he said. “I often fear those on the Wasatch Front don’t know what it takes to live in rural Utah, what it takes to be part of a rural community. I’d like to change that.”
    Watkins, the incumbent state representative, said retirements in the legislature this year will create seniority positions for her that will benefit Carbon County.
    “This year an unusual number of legislators retired and some left for open senate seats. I now have more seniority in the legislature than any other legislator in Southeastern and Eastern Utah,” she said.
    Watkins said she is the only rural woman legislator, and that is a plus for her constituents.
    “I know how to roll up my sleeves and get things done. I am your voice in the legislature. But better than that, I am the boots on the ground getting things done for you.”
    Not all county races are contested. County prosecutor Jeremy Humes is running for County Attorney unopposed, as is Sheriff Jeff Wood.
    On the national level, races are much more crowded. A number of little known candidates were at the convention, pitching voters on their platforms.
    Steve Stromness, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives District 3 seat held by John Curtis, spoke to delegates, as did Tim Jimenez, a U.S. Senate candidate seeking to fill Orrin Hatch’s vacated Senate seat. Competitor in that race,  former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney sent local delegates a video asking for their support. Dr. Mike Kennedy, another candidate for Hatch’s seat, sent one of his daughter’s to address the convention.