Nibley city manager announces county executive bid

Nibley City Manager David N. Zook is seeking appointment as County County executive in a GOP special election slated for Jan. 30.

CACHE COUNTY – David N. Zook has tossed his hat into the ring for a local special election to replace outgoing Cache County Executive Craig Buttars.

“It has been humbling to have so many friends, neighbors and colleagues encourage me to run for this position,” Zook said in a prepared statement. “After a lot of discussion with my family, I have decided to heed their encouragement and volunteer to serve the county that I love.”

A special election is slated for Saturday, Jan. 30 to allow the Republican Party’s local leaders and precinct officials to select a replacement for Buttars, who has been nominated by Gov. Spencer Cox to serve as commissioner of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food.

“Craig has done a great job leading the county,” according to Zook. If selected by local Republicans to serve out Buttars’ unexpired term as county executive, Zook explained that he will focus on administrative efficiency, public safety and dealing with growing traffic concerns.

“I hope to continue the progress Craig has made,” he added. “Through my years of experience in similar positions, I’ve learned how to run an efficient organization. I believe that government should be run like a business and I would lead the county in a way that is efficient, prioritizes customer service and is responsible with the public’s tax dollars.”

Zook is a Logan resident and a graduate of Southern Utah University, where he serves as a professor in the Master of Public Administration program.

He has been city manager of Nibley since 2012. Zook’s previous public experience includes leadership roles with the Cache Chamber of Commerce, the Family Place, the Hyde Park Planning Commission and the Logan Lion’s Club.

He has also served on the central committees of both the Utah Republican Party and the Cache County Republican Party.

The upcoming special election will take place during a GOP County Central Committee meeting at the Cache County Event Center, with usual coronavirus precautions in effect. That gathering will be open to only members of the County Central Committee (precinct chairs, vice-chairs, secretaries and treasurers) and county delegates.

Under state law, local GOP leaders will select a nominee to serve out the remainder of Buttars’ unexpired term as county executive and forward that name to the Cache County Council for approval.

Cache GOP chairman Chris Booth said that the party organization began accepting filing affidavits from perspective candidates to replace Buttars on Tuesday and the filing period will close Friday, Jan. 15.

Under state law, a candidate for a county elected position must be a registered voter and a local resident for one year.

In the case of the upcoming GOP special election for the county executive position, all would-be candidates must be registered Republicans.

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2 Comments

  • Steve Buttars January 6, 2021 at 4:52 pm Reply

    Just what Cache County needs, some California city boy at the helm.

  • Steve Porter January 7, 2021 at 12:19 pm Reply

    Sounds like Dave Zook has to much political background. We don’t need another Craig Buttars like we don’t need another Gary Herbert in Spencer Cox.
    Politicians don’t make good administrators in my opinion. We need someone with good common sense.

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