Paul Butikofer secures victory in Jefferson County Prosecutor rematch
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RIGBY — In the race for Jefferson County prosecuting attorney, former prosecutor Paul Butikofer won by a sizable margin over incumbent Mark Taylor.
Butikofer received 3,108 votes (59.37%) to Taylor’s 2,127 ballots (40.63%) in the election.
“I’m humbled and honored that Jefferson County voters have the faith in me to reelect me,” Butikofer said. “I will work my hardest not to let them down.”
Butikofer had served as Jefferson County prosecuting attorney from Jan. 2017 to Jan. 2021. Taylor has served from 2021 until now.
In this race Butikofer said he was endorsed by Jefferson County Sheriff Steve Anderson and Rigby Police Chief Allen Fullmer.
“I have law enforcement endorsement, which I’ve never had before,” Butikofer said.
Butikofer defined the biggest issues in the campaign as experience and “plea bargains on a case where a guy killed his infant, and (Taylor) recommended probation, and then he blamed it on the judge.”
Butikofer also cited “the drop in felony convictions that (Taylor) had under his watch versus mine. I’m all about protecting the kids. It’s my number one priority.”
But Taylor countered that description, stating his opponent’s campaign sometimes dipped into character assassination.
“I’m grateful for all the good people who helped with our campaign. So many citizens want change, but those in power often don’t because they have benefited from the old system. I was willing to be a change agent to answer the public’s demand for reform in our county, but we needed more courageous people to step forward and be brave and take on the system.
“Robert F. Kennedy said it well: ‘Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change.’
“Jefferson County will soon have the prosecuting attorney’s office they have chosen. I hope they won’t regret their choice.”
The rivalry between the two attorneys is unlikely to fade in the future.