The Grand County Commission meeting saw a spirited debate over appointments to the Economic Opportunity Advisory Board on February 4, 2025. Seven candidates had applied for four open seats,
with the existing board recommending Chris Wilson, Melisa Jeffers, Jennifer Sadoff, and Aaron Lindberg for appointment.
See our meeting-at-a-glance coverage of the full agenda.
However, Commissioner Brian Martinez proposed an alternate slate of candidates at the meeting, igniting a discussion of representation and political optics.
Martinez suggested shuffling the representative appointments to approve Britney Melton as a private sector representative and moving current board member Ashley Kornblat to the Workforce Services position, a role initially designated for Moab Regional Hospital CEO Jen Sadoff.
Martinez said he felt the board needed more “diversity.”
Opposition to Martinez’s changes was swift. Commissioners Jacques Hadler and Mary McGann defended the original recommendations, emphasizing Sadoff’s expertise.
“Jen’s perspective is invaluable,” said Hadler. “She’s led our largest employer for years and has unique insights into our workforce needs.”
The debate took a political turn when McGann noted that Melton, one of Martinez’s proposed candidates, had run alongside him in the 2024 County Commission election. Melton was defeated by current commissioner Trish Hedin.
McGann pointed out that Melton was the second former candidate from that slate to be added to a board. Howard Trenholme, who also ran in 2024 and was defeated by Jacques Hadler, was reappointed to the Moab Area Travel Council Advisory Board at the January 21 meeting.
“We’re not doing ourselves any favors if this looks like cronyism,” McGann warned.
Martinez defended his proposal, emphasizing that his goal was to diversify the board’s perspectives.
“I’m appointing Aaron Lindberg, who’s publicly criticized us in the past,” he said. “This is about bringing in strong voices, not political loyalty.”
Statutory Considerations
County Attorney Stephen Stocks clarified that the board’s composition must adhere to state statutes that require sector-specific representation.
While Martinez cited private conversations with Colette Cox, the outreach manager for the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, about whether his proposal was compliant with state statute, Stocks seemed surprised by the technical discussion.
“This is not an item I anticipated being called on in,” said Stocks.
Outcome and Significance
Martinez’s motion passed 4-3, along established political lines with commissioners Winfield, McCandless, Martinez and McCurdy in support and Hedin, McGann and Hadler in opposition.
Chris Wilson, Melisa Jeffers, Britney Melton, and Aaron Lindberg were appointed to the board. Lindberg’s term will end on December 31, 2027, while the remaining three will serve terms ending December 31, 2028.
Hedin and McGann raised concerns that disregarding a unanimous recommendation from a board could discourage volunteer participation.
“I want the general public to understand that these are advisory boards of volunteer citizens,” said Hedin. “When the County Commission goes against their recommendations, I think it shows a fairly large lack of respect.”
Grand County Economic Development Director Ben Fredregill, who sits on the Economic Opportunity Advisory Board, defended the board’s recommendations and expressed dismay at the change.
“This means that we lose the perspective of our largest private employer,” he said, referring to Sadoff. “This will have an effect on how the board operates.”
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