Austin Gray, candidate for Davis County commissioner, vows spending cuts, opposes public infrastructure districts

Austin Gray, a paramedic of 15 years and a candidate for Davis County Commissioner, Seat A, told the Davis County Conservatives he is running to restore representative government and rein in what he called “outrageous” taxes.

Gray, who said he holds a master’s degree in business administration and served on the Clinton city council before moving to Syracuse, said fiscal restraint is his primary focus if elected. “I would vote no against anything that creates added expenditure onto our taxpayers,” Gray said.

He criticized the county’s use of one‑time federal funds for ongoing services and pointed to capital projects that he said could be scaled back. “We spent a lot of money on pet care and managing that,” he said, adding that the Bountiful Library project, which he described as an $8 million project, could have been smaller. Gray suggested multi‑year plans and modest annual reductions to constrain spending, noting a hypothetical 5% reduction as an example for department budgets while preserving life‑safety functions.

On social services, Gray said the county must balance care for elderly and struggling residents with fiscal responsibility. Answering a question about social‑service budgets, he said he would work with department heads and seek efficiencies and alternative providers, including nonprofits, rather than automatically expanding government programs.

Gray expressed opposition to what he described as state overreach into local decisions, saying local officials “know what’s best for our community.” When asked about public infrastructure districts, he called them “taxation without representation,” saying they create separate taxing entities that lack direct electoral accountability and can impose disproportionately higher taxes on targeted areas. “I’m not in favor of those,” he said.

Asked about a proposed homeless shelter in Davis County, Gray drew on his experience working in Salt Lake to argue that an accessible shelter can attract people from outside the county. “If you do make a shelter in Davis County, more people are going to come to Davis County,” he said, and recommended prioritizing programs for current residents and policies that improve affordability to reduce homelessness.

Gray also told questioners he supports reforms to the Truth and Taxation process to improve transparency, referencing a bill he said Representative Karen Peterson is proposing to change budgeting procedures. He emphasized open communication with constituents and said he would not hesitate to deny department requests that exceed the county’s budget constraints, preferring phased plans and prioritization over immediate approvals.

Gray closed the interview by thanking the group and providing his campaign website, electawgray.com, for further contact.

The interview was conducted by Tina Horlocker of the Davis County Conservatives and included questions from several members of the group; no formal motions or votes took place during this conversation.