Who’s running for Utah State Auditor?

Editor’s note: As the Nov. 3 election draws near, the Daily Universe is exploring different national and local issues impacting voters in a series of stories.

Three individuals are vying for the office of Utah State Auditor in the November 2020 election. The incumbent candidate is John Dougall of the Republican Party. Running against him are Jeffrey Ostler from the Constitution Party and Brian Fabbi from the United Utah Party.

According to the Office of the State Auditor, the responsibilities of a state auditor include conducting “independent assessments of financial operation, statutory compliance, and performance management for state and local government.”

John “Frugal” Dougall
Fifty-four-year-old Dougall has been a resident of Highland, Utah for 24 years. He was a Republican member of the Utah House of Representatives until 2013, when he assumed his current role of Utah State Auditor. His platform focuses on strict fiscal conservatism; he supports lower taxes, increased privatization, and limited government. His profile on Utah’s voting website lists him as the “taxpayer’s watchdog.” He is running on making certain that government officials spend taxpayer money efficiently, and he co-sponsored the largest tax cut in Utah’s history.

Jeffrey L. Ostler
Ostler is a 70-year-old audio engineer and has been a resident of Utah for 39 years. He currently lives in Layton. His party, the Constitution Party, places high importance on the United States Constitution and the principles it outlines. He was the National Delegate for the Utah Republican Party in the 1996 presidential election and ran to be the Utah Treasurer under a platform of returning gold and silver as legal tender as advised in the Constitution. He also ran for the Utah House of Representatives in 2014.

Brian L. Fabbi
Fabbi is a 36-year-old accountant who lives in West Valley City. He is a member of the United Utah party, which is a moderate third-party that seeks to end extreme partisanship. Fabbi pledges to hold state officials accountable for how they are using taxpayer money, and also publishing all state audits. As an accountant, he states that he has the experience needed of a State Auditor, and has run the accounting for a large business in Salt Lake City.