Primary Election

All -

I really want to tell you all about something that I consider to be really important. There is a primary election coming up in our state that not many people know about. It's a little bit of a low-key affair because, for most people, there will be only one race to vote for in the primary. And, you guessed it, it's for State Treasurer! Some of you know that my dad, Ed Alter , has been the State Treasurer for the past 28 years. He's done an incredible job and has earned the state a Triple A bond rating (no easy task). He's also earned millions of dollars for the tax payers through his savvy investing. He's done a great job. But, he's ready to retire and spend more time with his grandkids (wahoo for me). His Deputy Treasurer, Richard Ellis, is running in his place. Sadly, there is another republican running for the job (and hence the need for a primary election) who is not qualified for the position. His name is Mark Walker.

I'm sure Mark is a nice guy – but, he is not qualified to serve as the State Treasurer. He sold furniture at RC Willey for a while, lucked into a legislative seat (by 18 votes) and then landed a sales job at Zion 's bank. He doesn't even have a degree in finance (no MBA either) and has no experience with the type of investing and managing that are the daily routine in the Treasurer's office.

Richard Ellis, on the other hand, has a finance degree, a Masters of Business Administration, and has 22 years of experience in the industry. He's worked as the deputy Treasurer for 8 years, has been the Treasurer for Draper City , was the Finance Director for a water district, and served as the State Budget Director under Gov. Olene Walker for 3 years. He really knows his stuff, and he's a wonderful person. Richard has the qualifications and the practical know-how to keep the state's finances in incredible shape.

It scares me to think that someone with no notable finance training or other qualifications could end up managing $12 billion of our state's money. Having watched my dad do it for so long, I know how important the job is, and I really care about having a qualified, capable person doing it in the future. Richard Ellis is the right person for the job. If you want to find our more you should visit his website: http://www.ellisfortreasurer.com/

The primary election is on June 24th - next Tuesday. PLEASE go cast your vote for Richard Ellis. Because of the low profile nature of this primary, I'm afraid that there will be a low turn out. We need everyone to vote on Tuesday to ensure that Richard Ellis wins the primary. If you don't know your polling location, you can call the county clerk at 468-8683 or visit http://www.clerk.slco.org/. If you are outside of Utah County you'll need to contact the county clerk for your county. Davis County: http://www.co.davis.ut.us/clerkauditor/default.cfm Utah County: http://www.co.utah.ut.us/Dept/ClerkAud/Index.asp

Thanks!

Ashly Hutcheon

PS – Also, PLEASE feel free to copy this and post it on your blog. We need to get the message out about this important but not-so-well-known election. Vote Richard Ellis!