This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • In April, Steve White's chances for getting on the ballot for a third term as a Utah County commissioner seemed almost certain.
White was introduced to delegates by state Sens. Curtis S. Bramble and John L. Valentine and Rep. Rebecca Lockhart, who flanked him as he spoke to the delegates at Mountain View High School.
"I was kind of concerned when he stood up with the entire hierarchy of the Republican Party behind him, and here I am with nobody to nominate me," Douglas Witney, White's challenger, said at the time.
But the former county GOP chairman's hopes for at least forcing a primary were dashed when delegates gave Witney 65.8 percent of the vote, almost 10 percent more than needed to bump White into lame-duck status.
Sitting in a borrowed office — White's colleague Larry Ellertson is taking his corner office in the commissioners' suite in the County Administration building in January — White sees himself as a victim of tea-party politics and campaign mistakes on his part.
White said tea party people considered the support of Lockhart, Bramble and Valentine a detriment — Valentine had been booed off the stage, unbeknownst to White, because he had supported Sen. Bob Bennett. "What it made me look like was the party crony, the establishment guy," he said.
Also, a bout of bronchitis and laryngitis kept him from reaching out to delegates in the run-up to the convention, including those in the rapidly growing communities of Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs who represented almost a third of the convention delegates.
But White is not bitter about his reversal of fortune.
"I have no regrets. I'm not upset with anybody. It's time for a change in my life," White said during an interview, wearing a flannel shirt, blue jeans and cowboy boots instead of a suit and tie.
White, who ran an office supply store in Provo before this 2002 election, gained a reputation on the commission for being quick to speak out against anything he believed went against the best interests of the county — or that would raise taxes. Sometimes, that put him at odds with his fellow Republican commissioners.
"There were times when we were of different opinions," Ellertson recalled. "And they were not always easy to work through."
One of his more famous disputes was over Utah County's participation in Mountainland Association of Governments (MAG), the regional planning agency for Utah, Wasatch and Summit counties.
As White saw it, urban Utah County was not getting what he thought was its fair share of the federal Community Development Block Grant money MAG was charged with doling out. Instead, he saw money going to rural Summit and Wasatch counties, which had far fewer people.
"[Critics] didn't realize that 55 percent of the money was going up the canyon, while 80 percent of the population was here," White said.
The county pulled out of the social-service elements of MAG for nearly two years, until an agreement was reached that let Utah County alone apply for grant money two out of three years. The agreement came after Gary J. Anderson replaced Jerry Grover — who supported White's call to get out of MAG — on the commission.
Marian Monnahan, former Utah County GOP chairwoman, said White was driven by a desire to do what was right for taxpayers, with little heed to the personal consequences.
"It's not about being popular, but it is about doing what is right," she said of White.
Ellertson and Anderson said White's contrarian views didn't hobble the commission. Rather, they said White brought another perspective to bear on an issue — along with a sharp intellect and a hard-driving work ethic.
"He picks up things quickly and he has a head for numbers," Anderson said.
And White, they said, wasn't so firmly set in his ways that he couldn't be persuaded to change his mind — or at least find middle ground.
"He really has a soft center," Anderson said.
White's passion as a commissioner has been to rein in spending. He's quick to point out that the county's tax rates have stayed relatively low.
"Have I been the Grinch who stole all the inefficiency out of Utah County government? No," White said. "Have I tried? Oh yeah, but it takes two votes to get things done."
But White's tenure was about more than bean counting.
During his eight years, the county implemented a mental-health court, to help people with mental illness get treatment instead of jail time.
He also pushed for a way to stretch mental-health funding to cover more people, and for contracts with private companies to set up group homes and halfway houses for the mentally ill and recovering addicts.
In the 2006 election, after winning the party's nomination, White used his campaign funds to drum up support for the sales-tax increase needed to bring FrontRunner commuter rail to Utah County.
White said approving that sales tax and committing to develop commuter rail was a factor in putting reconstruction of Interstate 15 on the fast track.
Monnahan and others said White's departure is a loss for Utah County. But they don't think the county has heard the last of him.
"I expect we will still see Steve White around in the community, and whether it is in the political arena, we will have to see," Ellertson said.
Monnahan hopes he'll remain politically active. "I'm not going to lose track of him," she said.
White said he will still be involved in politics — which he described as a self-defense move for any business owner.
But he's planning to wait before deciding on another run for office. Right now, his first priority is a South American cruise and restarting his business.
twitter.com/donaldwmeyers —
Swearing in
Douglas Witney will be sworn in to replace Steve White on the Utah County Commission at noon Monday in the Commission Chambers, 100 E. Center St.