The caller, whom Butler doesn't want to identify (he gets along fine with the state now, he said), didn't realize the county surveyor was an elected official, accountable only to the voters. Butler educated him. He also told him to come into his office right away to resolve the problem or he would go to the district attorney and file charges. Eventually, the county collected about $50,000 from the state for ripping up monuments without permission.

Until this moment Butler had been like a lot of you — wondering why it is necessary to elect a surveyor. "It was at that point that my mind changed," he said. "If this office wasn't elected, what would the county surveyor do in that situation? Would he give in to save his job and provide for his family, or would he stand up for what is right?"

And if the county mayor or some other official appointed the surveyor, would that person know enough about the importance of the job to stand up to political pressure, especially if people were trying to finish roads in time for a major event?

Surveying monuments are important. This would become extremely evident the moment they got messed up and you suddenly discovered your neighbor owned part of your land.

Every other minor officeholder can present a similar case. Boiled down, it is this: They need to work directly for the taxpayers, not for some other elected official or bureaucrat.

Sure, when a scandal breaks, this means the county mayor can't simply fire the auditor or any other independently elected person. But the speed with which Sorensen resigned after his problems came to light ought to set aside most fears about that.

The other question remains, though. How do voters decide? If all surveying candidates have to be licensed professionals, does party affiliation matter? No one seems to have a good answer for that one.

In 1994, I moderated a debate among candidates for these jobs. That was Butler's first campaign. As a Republican, he said, he was dedicated to returning "family values" to the surveyor's office.

To this day, I don't know what he meant. He doesn't remember saying it. But the point is it can be as hard to campaign for these offices as it is to decide for whom to vote.

But that isn't a good enough reason to take away your right to do so.

---

Jay Evensen is editor of the Deseret Morning News editorial page. Email: even@desnews.com