M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

Ellis Ivory’s Run for Salt Lake County Mayor
By Richard Lambert and Clint Day

Ellis Ivory, a recently retired Utah homebuilder, little knew what a difference a day would make when he went to bed on a Friday night in late September of this year. 

Very early the next morning he awoke with the idea of running for Salt lake County mayor In the upcoming election.  It was something he had never before even considered as his time was fully occupied serving on boards of directors, for several important civic and business organizations, as a LDS stake president, and pursuing his passion for golf. 

When he woke up his wife Katie to run the idea past her, he was met with disbelief.  Both were aware the Salt Lake County mayor’s race had been mired in controversy, with the incumbent mayor facing felony charges.  Additionally a series of scandals had rocked county government.  With only a few weeks to go before the election and no apparent chance to get on the ballot, Katie’s skepticism seemed more than justified.

After an early Sunday morning meeting, a friend handed Ellis a copy of a Meridian Magazine article describing the successful write-in candidacy of California Congressman Ron Packard. Reading the article inspired Ellis with the hope that a campaign was possible.  Katie also read the article, and while still concerned, pledged her full support. 

A week later, on Tuesday October 5^th, Ellis Ivory announced his candidacy as a write-in candidate for Salt Lake County Mayor.  (Salt Lake County consists of over a million people, has a budget of 750 million dollars, and employs about 7,000 men and women, full time and volunteer.)  With a scant four weeks to go before the election Ellis launched his unique campaign.  Because he saw money at the core of the county scandals, he adopted Four NOs: No salary, No county car, No county credit card, No campaign contributions.  Later he added four YESes: Yes to lower taxes, Yes to better service, Yes to intergovernmental cooperation, and Yes to a planned future.

With now just a day to go before the election, the past four weeks have been a real roller coaster for candidate Ivory.  After deciding to run, Ellis quickly assembled an outstanding team of advisors, and volunteers, largely drawn from family and friends.  Billboards, pamphlets, and newspaper ads soon appeared promoting Ellis as THE WRITE CHOICE for county mayor, with a drawing of a yellow pencil representing the write-in effort.  A converted school bus was similarly decorated to be used in the campaign. 

Unexpectedly within a few days of Ellis entering the race, the County Republican Central Committee withdrew its support from the incumbent mayor and declared Ellis their candidate.  Soon after the embattled mayor withdrew from the race.  The Republican Party then unsuccessfully tried several times to get Ellis Ivory’s name on the ballot but was prevented by procedural roadblocks.  Finally, last Wednesday morning, less than a week before the election, the county clerk certified Ellis as the official Republican party candidate, and directed poll officials to place his name on the ballot.  Only seven hours later a state judge ordered him off the ballot.  The next day the Utah Supreme Court in an extraordinary special session, telecast throughout the state, heard arguments on the matter.  Two hours later it reversed the lower court order and reinstated Ellis Ivory on the ballot.  Throughout this process Ellis refused to be drawn into the legal controversy or run a negative campaign.  Whatever the voters decide tomorrow, for Ellis and Katie, the experience has been worth it. They want to make a difference. 

Biography

Ellis Ivory, 64, was born in a small brick home that still stands in Fountain Green, Utah.  His father, Clark, moved the family to Salt Lake County when Ellis was ten years old.  The Ivories lived in a basement apartment.  By the time he registered for his junior year at Granite High School, Ellis had already attended four other schools in four years.  His first political victory came in his senior year at Granite High, when he was elected student-body vice president.

Ellis was the first member of his family to attend college, using a scholarship and a variety of part-time jobs to pay his way.  In 1963, one of his fraternity brothers lined him up on a blind date with Katie Stohl.  The date was an resounding success.  A courtship followed and Ellis and Katie were married on February 4, 1964.  They are the parents of seven children and nineteen grandchildren.  Their first child, Clark, was born in February of 1965, and that June, Ellis graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Political Science. 

After college, Ellis went into the real estate business with his father.  His sales commissions for the first year totaled just $550, but the business grew substantially in the following years.  With his brother-in-law, Roger Boyer, Ellis formed Ivory & Boyer Company, a real estate brokerage firm specializing in land sales and development.  One of their premiere projects was the Bloomington development near St. George.  They sold the first 58 Bloomington lots in a week.  By year’s end, the total was 1200!  In 1970 Ellis founded Ivory and Company, which enjoyed unprecedented growth in the 1970’s. 

The 1980’s were another story altogether.  The rough economic times of the early 80’s took a toll on Ivory and Company.  Before 1983, Ivory and Company was primarily focused on real estate brokerage and home site development.  But the changing marketplace demanded that Ivory and Company become a homebuilder.  Soon after, Ivory and Company became Ivory Homes, which has been the number one homebuilder in Utah for 17 consecutive years.  In 2001 Ellis sold the company to his son Clark, and no longer has a management role in the business. 

Church Service

Ellis has served the Church as a fulltime missionary (Northern States Mission), as a bishop, stake president (twice), regional representative, and mission president (Manchester England Mission).  While his commitment to his church is obvious, a governing principle has always been community service and a strict separation of church and state. 

Hanging In The Kitchen

On the kitchen wall of the Ivory home hangs three items.  They represent the reasons Ellis Ivory is running for Mayor of Salt Lake County.  The first is a framed family mission statement written in 1996 that gives real insight into the values that Ellis and Katie hold and helps explain why Ellis wants to give his time, talent and money to serve the people of his community: 

·         · BELIEVE – Always, in good times and bad in:
     God
     Church
     Self
     Others (especially family)
      Country

·         · GIVE – Creatively, don’t wait to be asked.
     Time
     Talent
     Money

·         · BALANCE – A lifetime project
      Physical
      Mental
      Spiritual

·         · Quality – Caring about . . .
      Ourselves: understand self, accept self and make the most of what we are.
      Our things: make the best of the little piece of the world under my control.
      Our relationships: understand, accept and build others.

Beneath the mission statement is a framed, full-color photograph of the seven Ivory children. 
On the opposite wall is a photograph of the Ivory grandchildren, who are all growing up in Salt Lake County.
Ellis may be contacted at web site www.ivoryformayor.com

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