Seven candidates sign up for interim county attorney position
Prosecutor Tim Taylor gives his opening statement to the jury on day one of the trial of Martin Bond at the Fourth Judicial District Court in American Fork Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013. Bond is accused of killing former BYU professor Kay Mortensen in November 2009. MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald
ASHLEY FRANSCELL/Daily Herald Prosecuting attorney, David Sturgill, talks to the media after a hearing for David Ragsdale Wednesday, November 26, 2008 in the Fourth District Court in Provo. Ragsdale pleaded guilty to aggravated murder for killing his wife in January 2008 outside of a church building in Lehi.
Prosecutor Craig Johnson discusses the case of Lonnie Johnson, a convicted sex offender, who is charged with 21 counts of sex abuse charges, five of which are rape of a child, five are sodomy and seven are aggravated sex abuse of a child. Prosecutors convinced a judge to have a new evaluation of Johnson's competency, which will be presented to a judge on Friday. ASHLEY FRANSCELL/Daily Herald
Seven candidates have signed up to fill Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman’s position while he is deployed for active military duty. The candidates range from longtime employees of the county attorney’s office to local civil attorneys.
The Utah County Republicans, who will select three candidates to send to the county commission, which then selects one person to fill Buhman’s job while he is gone, have something to think about when they consider the interim county attorney: keeping the status quo or shaking things up?
Four of the seven candidates are already working in the county attorney’s office. One candidate, Scott Card, is a private attorney; another, Paul Maxfield, deals in real estate while the third non-county employee to apply for the job, Ben Stanley, is a semi-retired commercial litigator .
“If I wasn’t applying, I would certainly want someone with the same ideals as Jeff leading the county attorney’s office while he is gone,” said David Sturgill, one of the seven candidates and a deputy county attorney in the special victims division.
Tim Taylor, Buhman’s chief deputy over the criminal division, shares the same sentiment. He said he wouldn’t make any dramatic changes to the office while Buhman fulfills his 10-month assignment with the Utah Army National Guard.
“I think we have done a good job prosecuting and defending the interest of the county,” he said. “There are no policy changes that I would look at enacting.”
Taylor noted there have been times when Buhman was been out of the office and he has been called upon to be the acting county attorney. He said he performed well in those assignments and the public and county staff could expect the same should he become the interim county attorney.
Craig Johnson, another deputy county attorney from the special victims unit, may be looking to mix things up some at the office if he were chosen. He said he thinks Buhman runs the office well, but noted a different person would add a different perspective to the office. He said he would bring his style to the office while leading it.
“My ultimate goal is to make the Utah County Attorney’s office the shining beacon that it can be in the county,” he said. “I just want the delegates to give me a chance over the next 10 months to show what I can do with the office.”
Kent Sundberg, who is the chief deputy for the civil division, and Card, who works for Fillmore Spencer in Provo, did not return a phone call on Thursday night. Maxfield and Stanley submitted their names right at the filing deadline on Thursday evening to be considered for the position. Stanley, who has never worked as a government attorney, said it was his outsider’s perspective that would make him a good fit to run the office while Buhman is gone.
The Utah County Republican Party central committee members will select the top three candidates on Feb. 2. County party chairman David Acheson said the party is quite pleased with the qualified candidates who have submitted their names to be considered for the position.
