I’m writing to support Malena Stevens for Summit County clerk and hope you will join me.
I’ve spent much of my career in the public sector, working in long-range planning, sustainability, and responsible land use. That experience has given me an up-close view of how public decisions are made and who they ultimately serve.
What I’ve learned over the years is that the best decisions are rarely the ones that satisfy the loudest voices in the room. They are the ones that hold up over time and serve the community as a whole, including the many people who never attend a public meeting.
I’ve gotten to know Malena through her work in local government, shared causes, and the campaigns we’ve worked on together. Throughout those experiences, I’ve seen her consistently consider the broader community, including people whose voices are too often overlooked.
When Malena stepped into the county clerk role following Eve Furse’s retirement, she took on a significant responsibility at an important moment. From what I have observed, she approached the transition with a clear understanding of the role and a willingness to take full responsibility for it.
The county clerk’s work requires more than learning a set of administrative duties. It requires the ability to interpret and apply code, understand legislative processes, and work effectively with people across the county. Malena brings experience in each of those areas, along with the relationships she has built over years of public service.
Public trust is earned over time, through honesty, transparency, careful decision-making, and a willingness to tell people the truth even when it may be difficult to hear.
Malena embodies that approach. She does her research, engages with the community, and thinks carefully about the long-term effects of her decisions before she makes them. My perspective on Malena comes from years of watching how she approaches her work and makes decisions on behalf of this community.
That experience has shaped my respect for her work and for the way she approaches public service. She shows up, does the work, and commits herself fully to the community, even when the decisions in front of her are not the easy ones. That’s the kind of integrity the position of county clerk calls for.
I hope you’ll join me in supporting Malena.
Gretchen Milliken
Park City