Come Jan. 6, 2025, John Crofts will take the Oath of Office as the newest Davis County Commissioner. Crofts was elected Nov. 5 and will replace Randy Elliott who did not run again.

“So many people asked ‘why don’t you run?’” said Crofts. “I wasn’t planning on running but when I found out Randy wasn’t running, on the last day I decided to throw my hat in the ring.”

Crofts said his roots run deep in Davis County, clear back to the pioneers. “My ancestor was Christopher Layton. He was a member of the Mormon Battalion. He was called to Utah and settled Kaysville.”

Crofts became interested in what was going on in the world when he was young. “I had five sisters and a brother,” he said. “My mom was dedicated to current events and I was taught early to read the paper.”

The family was also very service oriented, said Crofts. “My parents taught me to serve at an early age. I would shovel everybody’s snow for free. For my Eagle project I repainted all of the WWII widows’ mailboxes and put numbers on them. That commitment to service stuck with me.”

He also comes from a long line of survivors, he said. “My mom had breast cancer at 85. She wanted to live long enough for the next election so she could vote. She beat it. I come from fighters, I get my inspiration from her.”

Crofts works in emergency management. “It's the federal government, state and local entities. I’ve been to flooding disasters and natural hazards. When things go badly as an emergency manager I would run to the problem, try to fix things.” 

When he was dispatched to Hurricane Katrina Crofts said that changed him. “I saw human suffering beyond imagination. I realized that local government is so important on so many levels.”

That is one of Crofts’ goals as a new commissioner – more community engagement. “We need to be humble and to listen to the voters and represent the people who elected us. We need to come back to the local government and have deeper engagement with the 15 cities we represent.”

There has been a lot of discussion about homelessness and Crofts said he wants to find ways to help with the issue. “I know someone who said he was an addict and was homeless for three years. He’s now a successful businessman. He just wants a seat at the table to see what he can do to help. We need to listen to the community and come up with suggestions. We don’t need to attack other people’s beliefs, we need to come together to find solutions."

Another concern is that rent is really high, he said. “A small solution could be if you have a big house you could rent the basement or a room. I want to look for solutions to give people a leg up. I’m committed to help where I can.”

Crofts also believes in transparency. “In my opinion it’s not just a buzz word,” he said. It’s the concrete foundation of trust between elected officials and the people we serve. When we empower voters we empower the community’s future.” 

Crofts said he’s anxious to take on this new role. “I’m so excited to jump into the water and get to work.” λ