Kaysville resident alleges county commissioner discouraged candidates from public forums; request for sanction unanswered

Jennifer Savage, a Kaysville resident, used public comment at the Davis County Commission meeting on March 31 to allege that “commissioner Rob Stevenson has been contacting candidates running for public office and discouraging them from participating in select public forums and open civic engagement.” Savage said such conduct would undermine transparency and called on fellow commissioners to take the allegation seriously and consider sanctions.

Savage said she was urging action because, she added, “encouraging individuals to avoid public discourse runs directly counter to the openness and engagement our community deserves.” She also criticized commissioners who did not second a March 24 motion to start future meetings with a word of prayer, singling out Commissioners Kamalu and Stevenson for not supporting the motion.

Commissioner Bob Stevenson immediately challenged the allegation in the meeting, asking, “Can you tell me what did you say I was doing?” The presiding officer offered to make commissioners available to speak with the commenter after the meeting; no on-the-record denial, investigation, or sanction motion was made during the session.

The exchange was brief and contained no detailed evidence presented at the mic; Savage asked other commissioners to “reaffirm our commitment to open, transparent, and fair civic engagement.” The commission moved on to its agenda without taking any formal disciplinary action or referring the allegation to staff for follow-up during the meeting.

Why this matters: Allegations that elected officials have discouraged candidate participation touch on voters’ ability to observe and engage in local democracy. The meeting record shows the claim was raised publicly but not resolved at this session; any formal response, investigation, or follow-up was not recorded in the minutes for March 31.

Next steps: The meeting concluded without an explicit follow-up motion. The meeting host said commissioners would try to be available after the meeting.