Val Potter launches bid to reclaim legislative seat

Former state representative Val Potter of North Logan has announced that he will campaign to reclaim his seat in the Legislature.

NORTH LOGAN – Former state representative Val Potter has announced a bid to reclaim his seat in the Utah Legislature.

“I’m running because I care about Cache Valley,” Potter said Jan. 18, as the 2022 General Session of the 64th Utah Legislature was getting underway in Salt Lake City without him. “I’ve decided to serve again after listening to many people that asked me to run because they feel the people of this valley deserve better representation.”

After serving in several local elected positions, Potter represented constituents in North Logan and surrounding areas in the state House of Representatives from 2017 to 2020.

While running for a third term in the Legislature, Potter lost the GOP nomination for his seat to challenger Mike Petersen in state primary balloting on June 30, 2020.

Petersen had campaigned against the incumbent lawmaker by arguing that Potter’s support for Utah’s abortive 2019 tax reform initiative demonstrated a disregard for the will of the people.

Petersen then defeated Democratic candidate Holly Gunther in the November 2020 general election.

But Potter now says that some of his former constituents are dissatisfied with Petersen’s performance as a lawmaker after only one year at the state Capitol in Salt Lake City.

“Sadly, the good people of our valley are currently represented at the Capitol by someone who … doesn’t answer their phone calls, text messages or e-mails,” according to Greg Nielson, a North Logan resident and former Republican precinct chair.

Nielson also accuses Petersen of not keeping his local constituents informed of what he’s doing in the Legislature.

“We need someone who cares more about the people of Cache County than the special-interest groups he appears to support,” Nielson added.

“I have a proven track record of listening to constituents, seeking public input and delivering for Cache Valley,” Potter insists. “I’m someone who knows how to get things done and who wants to work for the people of Cache County, not take directions from special-interest groups.”

Potter is a fifth-generation resident of Cache Valley and a graduate of Utah State University with a degree in Business Administration.

His professional experience includes starting several small businesses. After 23 years in the private sector, he now works for the USU Extension service.

Potter’s public service experience began when he joined the North Logan City Council in 1992. Since then, his service to the valley community has included terms as mayor of North Logan, a member of the Cache County Council and two stints in the Utah Legislature.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

8 Comments

  • Donnie January 19, 2022 at 8:56 pm Reply

    Thanks, Val. We look forward to having you back, if you can swing it. Please learn from what made you lose last time, in order to improve. But please, whatever you do, get rid of the crazy that is Mike Petersen. He’s hanging out with Phil Lyman of all people. Granted, listening to the podcast they do together, Petersen sounds completely clueless, but he is there supporting Lyman in his crazy-show. We don’t need more extremists in the legislature. Val Potter is a voice of reason. Mike Petersen vacillates somewhere between right-wing extremist and clueless, neither of which are good options.

  • Charity January 20, 2022 at 11:13 am Reply

    I have appreciated Mike Peterson and what he has done to make things better. We don’t need new laws, we have enough laws. We need less government and their laws. Mike Peterson has done what he said he was going to do and that is why we voted him in. I voted for him the first time and would do it again, because he is for the people, which is hard to find in a politician these days! Thanks Mike Peterson for doing what you said you would, even under pressure and ridicule of some.

  • Ashley S. Baker (Smithfield) January 20, 2022 at 1:01 pm Reply

    I have appreciated very much getting to know Rep. Petersen in person the past three years, first with standing up against the 2019 tax laws that Herbert-Cox tried to pull over everyone’s eyes. Potter also supported those new tax laws, which would have continued the Big Government policies that Utah has been adopting the past several decades under psuedo-conservative governors.

    I have attended Petersen’s townhalls and spoken with him in person, via email, and text since his campaign and election win. I appreciate his stance for making better the current laws on the books, and his forward looking views for ways to reverse Utah’s course back to a limited government. Potter’s voting record while in office does not support a limited government, but just more Big Brother policies.

    Worthwhile improvements take time, it can’t be done all at once. Fully striking a bill off the books is much more difficult and making better what’s there already, and continually whittling away the bad things over the long run. It took more than 200 years for the colonists to see and work out independence from Great Britain. It took eight years to finalize the U.S. Constitution. It took 80 years for the states to remove the legality of slavery in America.

    We must see in our life that if we want true and pure government we need principled representatives willing to make changes for the better–we don’t need those who want to line their pocket books with backroom deals and shady sponsorships.

    • Alan Weatherstripping January 21, 2022 at 5:02 pm Reply

      Nice that at least one of Petersen’s supporters knows how to spell his name. Now, next time you see him, ask him politely to stop hanging out with Lyman, and that will be a huge step in the right direction.

  • Alan Weatherston January 20, 2022 at 9:03 pm Reply

    I support Mike Peterson he has been responsive to my emails. He has just donned a sunday white shirt and tie and expected a vote from me. I feel Peterson has listened to me I’m happy with his representation.

    • Alan Weatherston January 20, 2022 at 9:05 pm Reply

      I support Mike Peterson he has been responsive to my emails. He has NOT just donned a sunday white shirt and tie and expected a vote from me. I feel Peterson has listened to me I’m happy with his representation.

  • Alan Weatherston January 20, 2022 at 9:04 pm Reply

    I support Mike Peterson he has been responsive to my emails. He has NOT just donned a sunday white shirt and tie and expected a vote from me. I feel Peterson has listened to me I’m happy with his representation.

  • Wendi January 21, 2022 at 1:38 pm Reply

    Mike Petersen has replied back to emails in a timely manner in my personal experience. I also very much appreciate his integrity. He promised when he ran that he would uphold the constitution when considering bills and he has done just that. As far as special interest groups go….what special interest groups? Mike is about as far away from special interest groups as one can possibly get. He is one of very few politicians, in my opinion, that actually votes his conscience, and not for the big money or the “what can you do for me?” factor. I hope and pray he will continue to represent us for another two years!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.