At the Annual Convention for the Utah League of Cities and Towns, Kaufusi was elected by representatives from across the state to serve as the group’s second vice president.

“In just her first term as Provo mayor, she has built relationships of trust and respect with her city colleagues. She has been a strong voice for Provo’s unique challenges and opportunities within the League and at the Utah State Legislature,” ULCT Executive Director Cameron Diehl said in an email.

Kaufusi began serving on the League’s executive board four years ago.

“Mayor Kaufusi now becomes one of the League’s core leaders where she will participate fully in high-level decisions affecting cities across the state,” said South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey, the League’s current president, in the email. “The following year, 2023, Mayor Kaufusi will serve as first vice president and will chair the League’s Legislative Policy Committee, which is where much of the League’s work gets done.”

Kaufusi will be involved with helping communities take their concerns to the Utah Legislature. Items such as accessory dwelling units have become big issues for many cities throughout the state as they seek help this upcoming legislative session.

“A core philosophy of the Utah League of Cities and Towns is that the government closest to the people governs best,” Kaufusi said. “Just as Utah doesn’t like federal government overreach into state issues, Utah cities and towns don’t like undue state government interference into local issues. The League’s tagline ‘Cities Work’ illustrates the idea that local communities — citizens and local elected officials — should be free to decide the best course for their city, not the state who can’t possibly understand it as we do.”

“Every year at the Utah Legislature, measures are introduced that would limit the ability of cities and towns to govern themselves,” Diehl said. “Some members of the legislature look to impose one-size-fits-all measures on all cities and towns. This is not a situation unique to Utah; it happens all over the country. A classic example is how the California Legislature recently banned single-family residential zoning statewide.”

Diehl notes the importance of having League leadership who have the respect and expertise necessary to advocate on behalf of not only their city, but all Utah cities.

“Mayor Kaufusi leads a city that is home to a historic and growing downtown, a large university, key transportation and water infrastructure, a variety of housing types, social and community services, and access to the outdoors,” Diehl said. “She brings those valuable perspectives and experiences and her proven leadership to statewide policy discussions, and the state is better for it.”

Much of the focus of the League is on legislation at the state capitol. Every year, representatives of Utah’s cities and towns spend many hours at the Legislature advocating for the interests of municipalities. The Legislative Policy Committee helps set policy and priorities for League staff and League members so members can act with one voice. As an officer for the League, Kaufusi will now also participate in regular meetings with the governor’s office and other statewide leaders.

Founded in 1907, the Utah League of Cities and Towns is a nonpartisan, inter-local government cooperative. The League usually counts every one of Utah’s 248 cities and towns as members. A primary purpose of the League is to defend municipal interests at the state Legislature.

But the League is more than an advocacy group. “Think of how daunting it is to become a new elected official at the local level,” said Nicole Martin, communications director at Provo City and a former city council member in her hometown of Herriman. “You’ve generally had little experience and are in no way fluent in the language of government, with its unique policies and procedures. Not to mention the unfamiliar ‘alphabet soup’ acronyms.”

“The League is dedicated to making local government work better for the citizens it serves — through training, networking, policy management and, most importantly, giving the citizen a powerful voice by being united in purpose,” Martin added.

Kaufusi said she is excited for this new opportunity, one that will eventually make her the elected “face” of the League, prominently representing the City of Provo.