At an online candidate forum hosted by the Utah County Republican Party, incumbent secretary Kirby and challenger Jean described competing visions for the party secretary’s role and for how the county party should run its delegate records, outreach and meetings.

Kirby, the incumbent secretary of the Utah County Republican Party, said the office has moved “the delegate list out of spreadsheets and moved it into a database oriented a real program” and described work to make delegate rosters and meeting attendance more transparent. “It also allows, even more importantly, candidates to get the accurate delegate list without having to call the secretary and ask and wait for a week,” Kirby said.

Jean, a candidate for the same post, emphasized event planning and membership growth, pointing to the county’s Lincoln Day dinner as a model. “This is the kind of events I want to help plan and run…if everyone could be at an event like this Lincoln Day dinner, our…membership would go through the roof,” Jean said.

Why it matters: the county secretary maintains delegate records, helps run conventions and produces rosters that precinct chairs and candidates use during endorsements and primaries. Both candidates tied their proposals to the Utah County Republican Party’s capacity to recruit activists and influence nominations ahead of the party convention scheduled April 26 at Salem Hills High School.

Key proposals and claims

- Record keeping and technology: Kirby described adopting a database-backed platform (VotoClick) to replace spreadsheets, saying the system lets precinct and district chairs update delegate records and automatically notifies affected parties when changes occur. Kirby said the move allowed candidates and leaders faster access to rosters and helped increase meeting attendance, adding that “our attendance has actually increased 30% over previous years.”

- Voter outreach and events: Jean said she would focus on event planning and public education to grow membership. She described herself as a “people organizer” and said training and clearer explanations of the convention’s purpose would make the party more accessible to new volunteers.

- Precinct training: Both candidates supported more training for precinct officers. Jean said training could demystify terms like Robert’s Rules of Order and caucus procedures and thereby increase volunteer participation. Kirby described an existing leadership structure and an education officer role in the bylaws; he said the party must give precinct officers more substantive tasks so they feel integral to party strategy.

- Ballot methods: On paper ballots versus electronic systems, Kirby said voters should use paper ballots for public elections but supported verifiable electronic voting for internal party business when properly auditable. “When you have software that can be totally verified and proven to be accurate, I think electronic balloting is perfectly fine in a private organization,” he said. Jean said she preferred paper ballots and voiced concerns about fraud.

- Guarding caucus integrity: Both raised measures to discourage party-shopping. Kirby suggested state-level rule changes or time requirements for party registration (for example, requiring someone to be a registered Republican for a set period before participating). Jean said she favored tightening rules and a waiting period to prevent strategic registration.

Differences in emphasis

Kirby framed the role as operational and rules-driven: moving records to a database, adding check-in tools and streamlining administrative duties so other officers can pursue outreach. He emphasized past party experience and technical plans—an app for meeting check-in and improvements to VotoClick, as well as archived change logs for delegate records.

Jean emphasized recruiting, event quality and training precinct leaders. She described herself as a manager at a veterinary clinic with experience organizing volunteers and training people on software systems, and said the job “fits my life circumstances” and plays to her organizational strengths.

Forum context and next steps

The forum included party leaders and hundreds of delegates on the call; a participant noted roughly 89 people were present. Organizers reminded attendees of two upcoming events: a “meet the candidates” session on April 21 at Mountain View and the county convention on April 26 at Salem Hills High School. The forum recording will be shared with delegates.

Both candidates said they are available to answer follow-up questions and encouraged delegates to contact them through phone, text, email or social media to discuss details ahead of the convention.

The forum covered operational and procedural aspects that the party secretary manages—delegate rosters, training, meeting logistics and the mechanics of internal balloting—rather than party platform positions.