New Utah County attorney writes to-do list

PROVO — Jeff Buhman's New Year's resolutions aren't about weight loss or exercise plans.

Instead, come Tuesday, the man who defeated his boss, the longtime incumbent, to become Utah County attorney, wants to re-energize the office of attorneys who prosecute crime cases on behalf of the people in the county.

Buhman will be sworn in as the county's top legal adviser, bringing to the table more than a decade of courtroom experience and an optimistic to-do list for strengthening and improving relationships both in and out of the office.

"I never saw myself here 10 years doing the same thing," Buhman said, referring to his years as a deputy to Republican Kay Bryson, who was county attorney for four terms. "But I've definitely enjoyed prosecution. I'm not doing it because there's nothing else to do. I'm doing it because it's a good job."

Buhman, a California native, arrived at Brigham Young University in 1984 to earn an undergraduate degree in economics and returned for four years of law school after serving a mission for the LDS Church in Mexico City.

Law school changed his life in more than a few ways.

On the first day of law school — and during his first class — he met a fellow student, Camille Waldron. The two became friends as they studied together, and by the end of the first year they were engaged. They were married the following summer.

Now, four children and two pets later — children Madeline, 11; Emma, 9; Sarah, 7; and Isaac, 4; the beagle, Charlie and a calico cat, Nellie — the Buhmans are stepping into the new, very public role with excitement.

"It's a great opportunity for us to serve," said Camille Buhman, a full-time mom. "It's a slightly more public role, but we're excited for the chance to serve. This is my home, it's where I want to contribute. He was there for me, it's really easy to be there for him."

The Buhmans both practiced law in Seattle after they graduated from BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1993.

Returning to Utah in 1995, Jeff Buhman took the Utah State Bar and worked in a private law firm before joining the Washington County Attorney's Office.

In 1997, he was hired at the Utah County Attorney's Office where he's been since. To the surprise of many, Buhman beat Bryson — whose very public divorce made headlines in the previous year — during the Republican convention with a resounding 69 percent of the vote.