Davis executive to seek seat on commission

The Republican race for the single open seat on the Davis County Commission is beginning to get crowded.

Barbara Riddle, president and CEO of the Davis Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, announced Thursday she plans to run for County Commission this year.

Two other Republicans have also announced intentions to run, including communications consultant Randy Minson, of West Point, and West Point Mayor John Petroff Jr.

Commissioner Alan Hansen, a Republican from Clinton, announced in January that he won't run for re-election to ensure good health and to spend more time with family.

Riddle, a Republican from Fruit Heights, said an election to the commission would be a gratifying way to strategize and plan for the future of the county. If elected, she would be the third woman to serve on the three-member commission.

"I've never been afraid of hard work," she said, referring to the 50- to 60-hour weeks commissioners often put in.

She plans to work with the county's 15 mayors to come up with a strategic development plan for the county that includes commercial development.

She has been the bureau's president since August 2004. The bureau is charged with marketing Davis County and serves as a liaison between event planners and the community.

Riddle has worked for more than 20 years in the hospitality industry, including serving as the executive director of the Ogden Eccles Conference Center, director of sales and marketing for GES Exposition Services in Salt Lake City and director of convention services for the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau.

She's a member of the Davis Chamber of Commerce board of directors and has served on various chamber committees, some of which have allowed her the chance to lobby the Utah Legislature on behalf of the county.

Other board memberships include the McKay-Dee Hospital Board, Zion's Bank Advisory Board, Utah Tourism Industry Coalition Board, Play Utah Golf Committee and the Utah Hospitality Association Board, and she currently serves as president of Friends of Utah State Parks.

Since Riddle took over at the Davis bureau, the nonprofit organization has grown from booking 4,800 sleeping room nights in 2004 to booking over 24,000 room nights in 2007, she said in a news release.

"Our county is experiencing enormous growth and change, and people need to feel that their county government is looking out for their interests with sufficient vision," she said in a news release.

Candidates may officially file for office at the county clerk's office March 7-17 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com