Gov. Spencer Cox: Joel Ferry’s name to remain on November ballot

Gov. Spencer Cox remarked casually on the dust-up with state Democrats over former representative Joel Ferry during a visit to Cache Valley on Sept. 1.

LOGAN – The Governor of Utah displayed an “aww shucks” attitude when asked about a political controversy swirling around a recent political appointment.

“That’s just something we have to fix in the Legislature,” Gov. Spencer Cox said, referring to the brouhaha with state Democrats over former representative Joel Ferry remaining on the House 1st District ballot for the November election.

Cox’s comments came on Sept. 1, during a whirlwind tour of Cache Valley that included stops at Adams Wealth Advisors, Logan High School and Utah State University.

“The problem is that, under current law, if you’re on the ballot in an election,” he explained matter-of-factly, “and you decide to take a new position in government, your party can’t replace you if you take your name off the ballot.”

No big deal, right?

But those are fighting words to the Democrats, whose state party leaders are threatening legal action to force Ferry to remove his name from the ballot.

Ferry, a rancher from Corrine, has represented District 1 in the Utah House of Representatives since 2019. That district includes the Cache County communities of Clarkston, Cornish and Newton as well as significant portions of Box Elder County and the West Desert.

“Some of you may know Joel,” Cox told his Cache Valley audience. “He was born in Utah, a Box Elder County boy. He’s a rancher, a businessman, holds an advanced degree. Great guy.”

The dust-up with Democrats started in June, when Ferry was nominated by Cox to serve as the state’s new director of the Department of Natural Resources. The “loyal opposition” party immediately demanded that Ferry resign from his 1st District seat in the Legislature and remove his name from the ballot.

The state Democratic Party argued successfully that Ferry could not hold a position in the state’s executive branch and retain his House District 1 seat in the Legislature, a precedent that has been supported by a decades-old ruling by the attorney general.

Ferry resigned from the Legislature in August after his nomination received tentative approval from a Senate committee while waiting for full Senate confirmation.

“Now, they want him off the ballot in November as well,” the governor said.

When Democrats called on Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson to remove Ferry’s name from the ballot last week, Henderson politely declined, saying that there’s no statute that prevents a state executive from running for a legislative post.

If Ferry took his name off the ballot, the Democratic candidate Joshua Hardy would likely cruise to victory in a district that about 85 percent Republican, according to Cox.

“But there’s nothing that says that Joel can’t keep his name on the ballot and work for me,” Cox said with a shrug of his shoulders. “So, he’s going to stay on the ballot.

“If he gets elected, he will resign and the (Republican) party will get a chance to select a replacement.”

Then the governor and Legislative leaders will change Utah election laws to address this issue during the upcoming General Session of the Legislature.

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2 Comments

  • Frank September 6, 2022 at 2:57 pm Reply

    Come on Joel Ferry, have a spine. It is okay to be a republican and still have morals sometimes

  • Reavers September 7, 2022 at 6:19 pm Reply

    Cox needs to step down, he obviously puts his loyalties towards his party over the constitution.

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