Stevens touts experience, transparency in bid for Summit County clerk

Summit County’s clerk oversees much more than Election Day. The office handles elections, official records and land-record functions that shape how ballots are counted, how public documents are maintained and how residents interact with county government.

That is the post Malena Stevens is now seeking in a full-term race. The Summit County Council appointed Stevens interim county clerk on April 8 after Eve Furse resigned, and the appointment runs through Dec. 31, 2026. Furse had been appointed clerk in 2021 to replace Kent Jones, giving the office a recent history of turnover just as the 2026 election cycle is taking shape.

Stevens is making her case as someone who knows local government from the inside. A former Summit County Council chair with a master’s degree in public administration, she has cast her bid around election integrity, transparency and the day-to-day administration that keeps county business moving. Her argument is that the clerk’s office should be run by someone who understands both the mechanics of government and the public’s expectation that elections and records be handled accurately.

That broader view matters in Summit County because the clerk’s office is tied not only to voting, but also to property records, land surveys, official documentation and other public-record functions housed under the county recorder and surveyor services. For residents in Coalville, Park City and Oakley, that can mean anything from filing and retrieving records to navigating election notices, candidate filings and voter information.

The November 2026 ballot will be especially consequential. Summit County voters are set to choose a county clerk, auditor, sheriff, attorney and two County Council members, all under newly approved districts. That means the clerk’s office will be operating in the middle of a broader realignment of county political boundaries while it continues to manage election administration and public access to records.

Stevens has framed the job as a practical public service role, not a place for partisan theatrics. Her campaign centers on secure elections, public access and collaborative government, a message aimed at voters who want the clerk’s office to be steady and responsive as ballots, records and election reporting move through the county’s system.