JANUARY 3, 2025|
Photo – Carbon County Clerk webpage
With the resignation of the county clerk, the Carbon County Republican Party must now select three candidates to fill the open position. Long time county clerk Gwynn Bartlett was elected to serve on the board of county commissioners in November. Bartlett’s appointment to the board requires her to resign her current position as county clerk.
At the December 17th Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting, Clerk Bartlett submitted her resignation letter. Commissioner Travis Moore read the letter, where Bartlett expressed her wish to continue serving the people of Carbon County as a member of the board.
Clerk Bartlett was elected to serve alongside returning commissioners Sue Jones and John Espy during November’s general election. She will take the position currently held by Commissioner Garrett Irene.
In her resignation letter, Bartlett said she has been training Deputy County Clerk Lisa Smith to take her place and asked that Smith fill the position until the board appoints a new clerk.
Commissioner John Espy moved to regretfully accept Clerk Bartlett’s resignation and appoint Lisa Smith as interim county clerk. Commissioner John Johnson thanked Bartlett for the assistance she has provided to the board over the last 27 years.
Commissioner Johnson continued, saying that he is excited to have Bartlett join him and the other commissioners on the board. Commission Chairwoman Sue Jones echoed Johnson’s sentiments and said that Bartlett’s experience as clerk will give her an advantage as a commissioner.
The next step is for the Carbon County Republican Party to recommend three clerk candidates to the board. Clerk Bartlett explained that the Republican Party will hold its meeting on January 18th. Afterwards, the board of commissioners will select one of the three candidates to act as county clerk until the next election cycle.
The process of selecting a new county clerk will be similar to what occurred when Commissioner Byron Barkhurst resigned in 2023. At that time, the Carbon County Republican Party interviewed eight commission candidates, and selected three to recommend to the board. Of the three candidates, the county commissioners selected Elk Mountain Firefighter Garrett Irene to serve the remainder of Barkhurst’s term, which ends this month.
Commissioner Irene did not win reelection in November. Instead, Carbon County voters chose Gwynn Bartlett as the next county commissioner.
At the December 17th meeting, Clerk Barlett informed the board that she will draft a letter to the Republican Party asking them to begin the process of selecting three county clerk candidates on January 7th. Party officials will have 11 days to collect nominations and choose their candidates.
However, Carbon County Republican Party Chairman Paul Metevier is already accepting applications for county clerk. To be considered as a nominee, applicants must have been registered as a Republican before last month. Additionally, a Nominee Packet must be downloaded from the Carbon County Republican Party website and returned by noon on Sunday, January 12th. The packet must include a letter explaining why the candidate wants to be the county clerk and why they would be the best nominee to fill that role.
A special meeting to select three candidates to nominate to the board of commissioners will be held on Saturday, January 18th, at 11:00 a.m. in the Platte Valley Community Center in Saratoga.
If you have any questions about the nomination process, send an email to CarbonCountyRepublicanParty@gmail.com.
