John Dougall (politician)

Dougall was born in Hollywood and raised in Portland, Oregon. He graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering, and he earned his Master of Science in electrical engineering from BYU the following year.{{cite web |title=Biography John Dougall, Utah State Auditor |url=https://site.utah.gov/auditor/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2019/02/JDougallBio-2.pdf |website=Office of the Utah State Auditor |access-date=April 23, 2020}} He earned his Master of Business Administration from BYU in 2000.

Dougall has worked at various technology companies in Silicon Valley.

Dougall was first elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 2002, winning against a crowded field of Republican Party primary opponents. During his 10-year tenure in the House, he sponsored various bills related to transportation, government transparency, and tax reform, including tax cuts in 2006 under governor Jon Huntsman.{{cite news |last1=Gehrke |first1=Robert |title=Huntsman's legacy in Utah: tax reform |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=52598654&itype=cmsid |access-date=May 17, 2020 |publisher=The Salt Lake Tribune |date=October 2, 2011}} He also sponsored the controversial HB477, which would have amended the Government Records Access and Management Act to increase restrictions on public access to government documents. The bill was signed into law in March 2011 by governor Gary Herbert, but it was repealed two weeks later after public backlash and harsh criticism from The Salt Lake Tribune.{{cite web |title=Editorial: Is Herbert for secrecy or accountability? |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=13882278&itype=storyID |website=The Salt Lake Tribune archives |access-date=May 17, 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Gehrke |first1=Robert |last2=Davidson |first2=Lee |title=Utah lawmakers repeal HB477 |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=51503737&itype=CMSID |access-date=May 17, 2020 |agency=The Salt Lake Tribune |date=March 26, 2011}} Despite this, Dougall has generally been regarded as an advocate for transparency in the Utah state government.

Dougall was elected Utah State Auditor in 2012, defeating fellow Republican incumbent Auston Johnson.{{cite news |last1=Davidson |first1=Lee |title=New state auditor won't be a CPA — is it a problem? |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=54649123&itype=cmsid |access-date=May 17, 2020 |publisher=The Salt Lake Tribune |date=August 12, 2012}} As state auditor, Dougall has led audits that have revealed mismanagement and unethical or illegal behavior at various levels of government in Utah,{{cite news |last1=Davidson |first1=Lee |title=Audit rips Utah League of Cities and Towns, calls for criminal probe, recovery of public funds |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4838650&itype=CMSID |access-date=May 17, 2020 |publisher=The Salt Lake Tribune |date=January 20, 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Gorrell |first1=Mike |title=Audit says former fire authority leaders misused funds; criminal probes recommended |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4834326&itype=CMSID |access-date=May 17, 2020 |publisher=The Salt Lake Tribune |date=January 19, 2017}} and some of his investigations have targeted members of his own party. For these actions, he has earned bipartisan praise as state auditor.

Dougall briefly considered challenging Mitt Romney in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in 2018, but ultimately decided against it.

In 2020, it was announced that Dougall would be running for Lieutenant Governor of Utah as Aimee Winder Newton's running mate.{{cite news |last1=Wood |first1=Benjamin |title=Aimee Winder Newton picks Utah Auditor John Dougall as her running mate in the governor's race |url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2020/03/24/aimee-winder-newton-picks/ |access-date=May 17, 2020 |publisher=The Salt Lake Tribune |date=March 24, 2020}}

In 2024, Dougall as Utah State Auditor rolled out an online complaint form to report trans people in bathrooms per law HB 257, resulting in nearly 4,000 complaints that appeared to be fake.{{Cite web |title=Utah trolled with 4,000 hoax reports of trans bathroom ban violations within days of reporting form launch |url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2024/05/03/utah-trolled-with-4000-hoax/ |access-date=2024-05-05 |website=The Salt Lake Tribune |language=en-US}} Following online backlash against the form and the barrage of fake complaints, Dougall released a statement indicating that the State Auditor's office only posted the online complaint form to be in compliance with the way the HB 257 was written requiring their office to have the form available to the public though the State Legislature did not consult with the State Auditor's office about the implementation and enforcement of the form. The statement included that Dougall's office will not be investigating any individuals and will only be investigating claims of government entities not meeting the compliance plan outlined in HB 257 because "many Utahns feel trampled by an invasive and overly aggressive Legislature that too often fails to seek input from those most affected."{{Cite web | title=Utah auditor blasts 'invasive and overly aggressive Legislature' for making him trans 'bathroom monitor' |url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2024/05/07/utah-auditor-blasts-invasive/ |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=The Salt Lake Tribune |language=en-US}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://auditor.utah.gov/about-us/directory/ Office of the Utah State Auditor]
• [https://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/50312/john-dougall#.WoYyS-ZzLIU Project Vote Smart – John Dougall (UT)] profile
• [https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=40575 Our Campaigns – John Dougall (UT)] profile
• [https://ballotpedia.org/John_Dougall John Dougall at Ballotpedia]

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{{s-bef|before=Auston Johnson}}

{{s-ttl|title=Auditor of Utah|years=2013–2025}}

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Category:1966 births

Category:21st-century members of the Utah Legislature

Category:21st-century Utah politicians

Category:American electrical engineers

Category:Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections

Category:Living people

Category:Politicians from Los Angeles

Category:Politicians from Portland, Oregon

Category:Republican Party members of the Utah House of Representatives

Category:State auditors of Utah