CACHE COUNTY – With just a day to go before his scheduled resignation, Cache County Clerk/Auditor Jess Bradfield is now reconsidering that hastily made decision.
Those second thoughts are coming, he said, as a result of numerous local citizens and officials urging Bradfield to stay the course in his county post.
“I would wholeheartedly support Jess if he reconsidered his resignation,” said Chris Booth, the former chair of the Cache County Republican Party.
“The climate in our county government is now much different and far more productive than it was at the time that when Jess announced that he was going to resign,” Booth added. “Our elected officials are now able to work together more amicably and get the work of the people done.”
Bradfield’s abrupt decision to resign was announced at a County Council meeting 90 days ago, after council members had more or less resigned themselves to dealing with his previous decision to revert to a part-time status as county clerk/auditor.
At that meeting on Dec. 13, Bradfield said that he had accomplished every promise that he had made to voters and that it was time for him to step aside.
Since that time, however, the staff of the Clerk/Auditor’s Office has proven that it can effectively adapt to working for a part-time elected official, according to County Executive David Zook.
“Over the past three months,” he explained, “I’ve been visiting (Bradfield’s) office regularly to see how thing are going.
“They’re going well – audits are being performed, thousands of records are being archived and operations are flowing smoothly.”
Deputy clerk Bryson Behm fully agrees with that assessment.
“The clerk/auditors office is in great shape,” he said. “We haven’t missed a step.”
Bradfield’s promise to resign was heavily influenced by a period of political turmoil within the Cache County government.
After resigning from the Logan Municipal Council, Bradfield assumed the role of county clerk/auditor in September of 2020 following a special election by members of the Cache County Republican central committee.
During that polling, Bradfield had promised his GOP colleagues to modernize the functions of the clerk’s office.
Those efforts were initially resisted by some members of former County Clerk/Auditor Jill Zollinger’s staff, resulting in a mass exodus of the office’s previous employees.
Since then, Bradfield has moved many functions of the clerk/auditor’s office online, including the issuance of marriage, business and dog licenses; annexation requests; GRAMA requests; claims notices; and tax administration.
Bradfield has also made innovations and equipment purchases that have streamlined the processing of ballots during federal, county and municipal mail-in elections.
During that same period, however, he was publicly denied pay raises by the members of County Council, along with selected other county officials.
Running unopposed, Bradfield was re-elected by county voters during the general election of 2022.
Shortly thereafter, he announced that he intended to revert to part-time county employment. When that decision came under fire from some members of the county council, Bradfield then proposed that he would resign effective Mar. 13, 2023.
Over the weekend, Bradfield said that he is now reconsidering his options and will announce his decision by the end of the day on Monday.
Among people urging Bradfield to remain at his post is Cache County Republican Chair Shellie Giddings.
“I see no reason for him to resign at this time,” Giddings said. “His staff is well-trained and fully capable. This speaks to Mr. Bradfield’s management abilities.
“As Republicans, we stand for fiscal responsibility,” she added, commenting on cost-savings resulting Bradfield’s part-time status in the past 90 days. “We were told that the estimated savings thus far in 2023 is approximately $10,000. Every Republican should be happy with that result.”
While working part-time, Bradfield’s work has continued to help the county government improve as an organization, according to Zook.
He pointed to the clerk’s office being named as a Center for Elections Excellence in January and a recent audit that revealed that Cache County owns the building that Bear River Health now occupies.”
“I’ve heard from multiple municipal election officials who also want (Bradfield) to stay,” Zook explained. “They are very pleased with how elections have been handled.”
“My hope is that those on the county council, who have shown Mr. Bradfield animosity in the past, will let it go,” Giddings said. “County code allows the clerk/auditor to make the choice (of whether to stay or go).”
“Ultimately, this is Jess’s decision,” said Behm, referring to Bradfield’s now questionable decision to resign. “He has my full support regardless of what decision he makes.”
Clerk/auditor Jess Bradfield has second thoughts about pending resignation - Cache Valley Daily
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