Ricky Hatch for Clerk/Auditor

County Convention Speech-Just One Person

It’s been said that, “Ignorance never stops politicians from saying what they think.” Well, one year ago I said that the Clerk/Auditor’s office was the sexiest office in the county. And you know what? It’s true! I love my duties, I absolutely love my staff, and I really like providing constitutionally sound services to the good citizens of Weber County.

Let me refresh you on the duties of Clerk/Auditor. We handle voter registration, elections, purchasing, Accounts Payable, financial reporting and budgeting, internal audit, Board of Equalization, tax relief, the May Tax Sale, passport applications, marriage licenses, and a lot of GRAMA requests.

In my first 90 days in office, here are some things our office has accomplished. We have established a department mission statement and goals for each area within the office. We’ve made the internal audit function more independent and robust. Using technology, we have eliminated the need to print 15,000 pieces of paper that will save over $6,000 annually. I have performed 64 marriages, and as far as I know, they are still all together…

These improvements were not achieved by just me – they were the result of a great team working together. However, I’m here to tell you that just one person can make a huge difference in the world. Just one person, Lee Iacocca, brought Chrysler back to life. Just one person, Mother Theresa, brought care to children in Calcutta and kindness to the world. She described herself as “…a tiny bit of pencil with which God writes what he likes.”

Just one person, Robert Morris of Pennsylvania, helped turn the tides in the Revolutionary War. In 1776, He loaned $10K to feed and clothe Washington’s starving militia. Mr. Morris personally guaranteed the purchase of the boats that crossed the Delaware. One record stated, “…the campaign which closed the Revolutionary War was wholly sustained on the credit of [one] individual merchant.” After the war was won, the self-made millionaire Robert Morris, spent 3 years in debtor’s prison, his indigent wife and daughter Maria walking from a borrowed little farm to visit him daily. He died shortly after being released from prison.

Closer to home, last month, just one person was instrumental in protecting our rights. A special interest group had been working for months on a non-discrimination ordinance for Ogden City, with language that was detrimental to the freedom of speech. The City Council was ready to pass the ordinance when just one person, a local Baptist Pastor, stood and voiced his concern. As a result, the ordinance was re-examined and altered, with language to strengthen our 1st Amendment rights.

A year ago, each of you made a difference, just one person at a time. As county delegates, you were engaged and committed, researching the candidates, asking probing questions, then voting your conscience. I’m grateful to have been involved in that process, and I hope that today and in the future, I can join you, and be just one more person who makes a difference.

With all 155 precincts reporting, I have received 59.6% of the vote. Thank you for your help and support, and for your vote! Please don’t stop being involved – call/email me with your thoughts and ideas. We can’t slow down. This is the beginning.

To see a video of Ricky’s speech, go to http://www.sentinelnews.net, click on the 2nd video, and go to about the 7th minute.  Ricky speaks right after the doctor.

See the team marching in Washington Terrace’s parade in July.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sect8Ych504&NR=1

It’s nice to be speaking at Weber High. I loved school, and I still love learning. This summer, my wife, who teaches English at Bonneville, went with me to my 25-year high school reunion at Alta High. It was great to see old friends. In high school, my classmates and I voted for “The Most” categories. My friend Jeff was voted “Most Likely to Succeed,” which he did, ending up on the front page of the Wall Street Journal before age 40. Another friend, Weston, was voted for “Most Hair,” which he has maintained to this day, unless you count the hair on top of his head.

The “Most” award that I was given was simply called, “The Most.” The strange thing about this “honor” was that there was no definition of what it meant.

But high school seniors can sometimes be prophetic. How could they have known that “The Most” award that they gave me 25 years ago would serve as the perfect voter’s guide for the office that I am now seeking?

The technical position of Clerk/Auditor overseas your tax dollars and voting. With this office, you want to elect the candidate who has the most education, the most independent certification, the broadest business experience, and the most passion for the Constitution.

Let me tell you why I feel I am the candidate with the most and best qualifications for Clerk/Auditor.

First, the most education: I have Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Accounting, which I obtained from BYU almost 20 years ago.

Second, independent certifications: You want someone with third-party certification that says they can do the job they’ve applied for. I’ve had my CPA license for over 13 years, and have been a Certified Information Systems Auditor for about the same time.

Third, the most experience safeguarding money with large as well as small business. Weber County is a big organization, with a $100 million budget. I worked for 7 years for the world’s largest CPA firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and had many large clients you might have heard of, such as Disney and Kraft Foods.

But I’m not some corporate big wig – I’ve also worked for small companies. I was CFO of a company with less than $1 million in annual sales, and I helped my young children start two of their own businesses, both of which were profitable, if you don’t count dad’s time and labor.

And lastly, the most passion for our Constitution and protecting your rights. I’ve served on Farr West City’s Planning Commission, the Republican State Audit Committee, and the Weber County Republican Party for several years. I love our Constitution. I’ve studied it. I’ve written articles about it. I will stay loyal to constitutional principles.

So when you’re at the ballot box, remember those prophetic high school seniors who recommended your Clerk/Auditor 25 years ago, and then make the MOST of your vote – vote for Ricky Hatch. Thank you.

 Weber 912 Speech Ricky Hatch.mp3

I’m Ricky Hatch, and I’m running for Clerk/Auditor. By the way, when you see my name on the ballot, it won’t say “Richard Hatch” or “Ricardo Hatch.”  It’ll say “Ricky.” That’s what it says on my Utah birth certificate, which I’ll be happy to show you, if you ask.

In 1959, Chevrolet created the El Camino. I’ve always been fascinated with the El Camino because I never knew if it was a car or a truck. Most people think it’s a car, but UDOT considers it a truck. It’s not something I would call “sexy.” Then again, I’ve called stranger things “sexy.”

The office of Clerk/Auditor is kind of like a governmental El Camino: is it a clerk or an auditor? The answer? It’s both, and both positions are very important. The Clerk/Auditor basically wears two hats: one for all things financial (from auditing to managing the Purchasing Department), and one for all things related to elections and voting.

So what characteristics should you look for in a Clerk/Auditor? Like the El Camino, you want someone who has proven that they can do more than one thing well, even if they might look a little funny.

For an Auditor – Look for accounting-related education. I have a Bachelors and a Masters of Accounting.

Look for Audit-related certifications. If you don’t think certifications are important, think about the last time your child broke an arm or was really sick. Would you have taken them to someone not certified as a doctor? You want someone with third-party certification that says they can do the job they say they can do. I have had my CPA license for over 13 years, and have been a Certified Information Systems Auditor for about the same time. This is important because of the county’s increased reliance on computer systems.

Weber County is a big organization, with a $100 million budget. In a budget that big, money can easily disappear. You want someone with experience in big organizations. I worked for 7 years for the world’s largest CPA firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers. I had many clients you might have heard of such as Disney, Kraft Foods, and the California Institute of Technology. These clients have multi-billion dollar revenues.

On the flip side, though, I’m not a corporate big wig – I’ve also worked for small companies, so I know the importance of being hands-on and involved. I was CFO of a company with $1 million in annual sales, and I helped my son start a candy machine business and my daughter a rabbit-raising business and, both of which were profitable, if you don’t count dad’s time and labor.

Now, on the Clerk side, you want a Clerk who is personable and approachable. Believe it or not, they do exist. They just don’t come out of their caves very often.

Look for someone who is involved and who cares about their local community. I’ve served on Farr West City’s Planning commission, the GOP State Audit Committee, and the county GOP for several years. I recently had a letter to the Standard Examiner published regarding the so-called Fair Boundaries and Ethics initiatives.

For perhaps the most important characteristic in a County Clerk, do you want the person responsible for voter issues to share the philosophy of our Founding Fathers regarding the right of the citizens to vote, and the sacred duty of the government to protect that right? I love our Constitution. I’ve studied it. I’ve written articles about it. I commit to staying loyal to constitutional principles as your Clerk/Auditor.

So why do I want to do this? Harold Kushner wrote, “Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Our souls are hungry for meaning, … to live so that …the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it.” I want to help our county be a little bit different, a little bit better. And I need your help and your vote.

So when you’re at the ballot box or electronic voting station and see the governmental El Camino position of Clerk/Auditor, remember how the Clerk/Auditor holds county departments fiscally accountable and safeguards the elections process. And then vote for Ricky Hatch. Thank you.

Lynda Pipkin – Small Business Owner, Ogden, UT

Ricky Hatch was my neighbor.  I have a lot of respect for him.  He is honest and straight forward.  He has high moral values and lives up to them every day.  I have watched how he raises his children.  He takes a personal interest in their education, more than most parents.  He doesn’t just teach his children scholastically, but he also teaches them philosophically, emotionally, and spiritually.  Ricky has a great love for our Country and our Constitution and it shows.  He is highly intelligent and also very wise.  He is not only a hard worker, but is willing to go the extra mile.

“Study initiatives before signing petitions”

The proper role of government is fundamentally one thing:  to protect and promote the unalienable rights of its citizens.  The government is created by the citizens and is granted temporary authority from them.  It can never have more authority than those who created it.  Among these unalienable rights are the right to life (safety), liberty (freedom of speech, religion, movement, voting, etc.), and the pursuit of happiness (property ownership and a free-market economic environment in which they can run a business, make money, lose money, and try again, etc.).  

Frederic Bastiat says it much better:
“Each of us has a natural right – from God – to defend his person, his liberty, and his property.  These are the three basic requirements of life….”

“If every person has the right to defend – even by force – his person, his liberty, and his property, then it follows that a group of men have the right to organize and support a common force to protect these rights constantly. Thus the principle of collective right -–its reason for existing, its lawfulness — is based on individual right.”

The Clerk/Auditor directly impacts our rights to liberty and the pursuit of happiness:

Liberty – The Clerk/Auditor oversees and administers elections, one of the most unique and fundamental processes that make American free.  The Clerk/Auditor also oversees the judicial court clerks, another fundamental institution related to protecting our liberty. Marriage licenses, name changes, and passports also come under “liberty.”

Pursuit of Happiness – The Clerk/Auditor helps to ensure that the county government spends our money in a controlled fashion. The taxes belong to the citizens, not the government, and the Clerk/Auditor should help the government realize that by focusing on high-risk areas and ensuring that proper controls are in place.

These are just a few examples of why the Clerk/Auditor is such a crucial position, as it relates to protecting and promoting our unalienable rights.