Laura Warburton, in plain words

What this is

Laura Warburton has never held elected office. She is known as the founder of Live Hannah's Hope and as an opponent of Ogden Valley City's 2024 incorporation.

The records show three roles that touch the same small group of developers and officials. She managed a political action committee, Utah Forward PAC. She directed Keep Our Valley Free, the committee that opposed incorporation. And she was appointed to the new city's Planning Commission.

Who's involved

• Laura Warburton: Ogden Valley planning commissioner from June 2025 until she resigned Jan. 26, 2026.
• Utah Forward PAC: a political action committee that has taken developer money and given to county campaigns since 2022.
• Keep Our Valley Free: the committee that opposed incorporation. It dissolved Nov. 9, 2024.
• Katrina Gibson: the PAC's registered agent and CFO. She co-owns Politix LLC.
• Kerry Gibson: registered lobbyist and Katrina's husband. He co-owns Politix LLC.
• Chris Roybal: co-manager of Utah Forward PAC.
• John Lewis and Shane Dunleavy: developers and co-owners of Wolf Creek Resort Holdings.
• Gage Froerer: Weber County Commissioner and MIDA board member.

What the records show

Money in: In April 2022, John Lewis and Shane Dunleavy each gave Utah Forward PAC $5,000. Rincon Financial, linked to Dunleavy, gave $10,000. The PAC's largest single donor was Nilson & Company Inc, with $20,000 on 5/18/22.

Money out: The PAC gave Gage Froerer's campaign $10,000 in 2022-23, Ben Nadolski's 2023 Ogden mayoral campaign $5,000, Weber County Commissioner Sharon Bolos $5,915 combined, and Keep Our Valley Free $2,427.20.

Paying its own officers' company: In 2025 the PAC paid Politix LLC $7,158.30 for polling and consultation. Politix is co-owned by Katrina Gibson, the PAC's own CFO, and her husband Kerry Gibson.

Eden Crossing: In late 2023, the Planning Commission recommended denying a rezone for Eden Crossing, a John Lewis project, 5-2. The Weber County Commission, chaired by Froerer, approved it 2-1. On Sept. 23, 2025, Warburton, by then on the Planning Commission, seconded and voted yes (6-1) on Eden Crossing's expansion. Lewis presented in person.

Kerry Gibson's lobbying: After Ben Nadolski won in 2023, Ogden City hired Kerry Gibson as its lobbyist (Jan. 2024). His 2026 lobbyist clients also include Plain City and Morgan County. Transparent Utah shows Morgan County paid his business, Legislative Solutions, $225,000. Plain City's 2025 agreement pays it $3,500 a month.

Her charity: Live Hannah's Hope, the suicide-prevention nonprofit Warburton founded in 2015, lists Kerry Gibson as a director from the start. In August 2024, Keep Our Valley Free, the committee she directed, gave the charity $723.69. Utah Forward PAC had given Keep Our Valley Free $2,427.20 that January.

The county's lawyer on the charity board: In January 2022, Weber County Deputy County Attorney Christopher Crockett (the filing spells it "Crocket") joined Live Hannah's Hope's board with Warburton and Kerry Gibson, listing the county's office building as his address. The Utah State Bar lists him with the Weber County Attorney's Office. He also sits with Froerer on the counties' insurance pool board.

The Gibsons and Froerer: Froerer won Seat A in 2018 after incumbent James Ebert lost the primary, and in 2019 the governor put him on the MIDA board in the seat for a Weber County commissioner. Utah Forward PAC, with Katrina Gibson as CFO, gave Froerer's 2022 reelection campaign $10,000. On Sept. 7, 2023, Kerry Gibson registered to lobby for John Lewis's company, Wolf Creek Management. On Dec. 5, 2023, the County Commission, chaired by Froerer, approved Lewis's Eden Crossing rezone 2-1. On Oct. 21, 2025, Froerer seconded the 3-0 vote approving its expansion. In 2026 Katrina Gibson ran for Froerer's seat and lost the primary. No record shows a gift was tied to a vote.

What she said, and what the record shows: In September 2026 Warburton posted that she has never had business dealings with Lewis. No contract with him is documented, but two committees she ran took money from Lewis's network. She said she and Lewis served on the Planning Commission at the same time; the meeting record shows his time ended about three years before she was appointed. Her statement that she owns only the five acres where she lives matches county records.

What isn't known yet

• Which Weber County races the PAC's December 2025 polling covered. It spent $12,000 that month with In The Field and Politix LLC.
• What the four contribution entries deleted from the PAC's 2025 reports were.
• Who "Joe Buchanan" is. He gave the PAC $5,000 from a Miami, Fla., address on 4/17/2022.