Kelcie Hartley, Daily Herald

First-time candidate Renee Tribe is the only challenger against incumbent Amelia Powers Gardner for Utah County Commissioner seat A.

A member of the Lindon Planning Commission, Tribe said she was compelled to run for the position because she believes a new commissioner is needed in the seat.

“I’m a professional, and I’m a great fit to be a commissioner,” said Tribe. “I have vast experience in a variety of industries which allows me to relate to a lot of residents in the county. I believe that whenever there’s an election, we always need options of people to choose from. I felt it in my heart to run, and I just stepped forward. I’m not politically polished, but I’m representing the grass-root people who want another option in that seat.”

Tribe is a businesswoman who wants to use her experience to benefit the county. If elected, she plans to focus primarily on election stability and eliminating government overreach on the public’s liberties and freedoms. Other goals of hers would be addressing the county’s growth, infrastructure and water needs.

Tribe said part of addressing election stability would be bringing back in-person voting and eliminating universal main-in ballots.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

“I really am concerned that we’ve gone down this road of convenience with our votes,” she said. “I want to bring these topics to the forefront and have us be more constitutionally minded as a county. We don’t talk about it very much, but we have a state constitution which would be the governing document for me as a commissioner first and the U.S. constitution second.”

While election security has been a hot topic in local races and the 2022 legislative session, Utah has had zero cases of election fraud since 2008, according to the Heritage Foundation,a conservative advocacy group. Before her time on the commission, Powers Gardner ran elections in Utah County as the Clerk/Auditor.

Tribe said she values transparency and believes Utah County can do a better job of providing information to the public. If elected, she wants to create a resource for people to discover what’s going on within the county.

“I want to see the county have a clear playbook residents can find online to see what the county is working on, things we know are coming, things we’re planning and budgeting for,” she said. “I want people to easily see how commissioners vote on issues in the meetings. I think that takes a little digging right now.”

She also wants to establish closer relationships with all mayors and city council members within the county. She recommended creating an online portal where the public can submit ideas, concerns or comments to the commissioners.

Tribe said she is confident her goals for the county align with what the public wants, and her experience has allowed her to know people personally and learn what they care about.

One accomplishment she points to is her experience starting a lacrosse league in 2011.

“All my children were playing lacrosse,” she said. “It’s a growing sport, and I noticed a need to have more lacrosse access in Utah County. So, I said, ‘We need to start a league right here, and I’m going to do it.’ When kids can play locally, that allows the sport to grow.”

Tribe brought in a business partner to help with coaching and officiating skills while she handled marketing and customer service aspects of opening a league. Tribe said at one point, over 3,500 families were involved in the league.

“I was serving parents, players, coaches, officials, municipalities and vendors,” she added. “There’s a lot of complexity in that, and we did very well. Managing all those logistics is something I can take to the commissioner’s office.”

Tribe said having her children all grown will allow her to dedicate her full time to being a commissioner.

“We need professionalism in that role and someone who is fully engaged in being a commissioner,” she said. “I am fully engaged in being a commissioner and not a traveling politician.”

Tribe also took umbrage with Powers Gardner’s trips to Washington, D.C., saying, “I’m not sure what answers are there for the county, but I think answers can come right here from our populous.”

The two face off in the GOP Primary election, which will be held June 28. At the Utah County Convention in April, Powers Gardner received 55.3% of the vote and Tribe finished with 44.7% in the second round. The two advanced to the primary as neither one received 60% support.

Newsletter