Utah Hive Politicsfrom the publisher of The Weber County Hive
Rosemary Lesser (D) vs. Jim Alvey (R) for the open seat Jill Koford is vacating to run for state Senate. $60,000 from three PACs that list the same treasurer, an election calendar filed before its reporting periods began, and a nonprofit corporation Alvey dissolved the same day he was asked about it.
Updated Sept. 30, 2026, with both candidates' September 30th reports and Alvey's General Report entries through 9/29.
Both candidates' September 30th reports cover the same window, June 12 through Sept. 25, 2026. The figures below come from each report's own balance summary.
| Lesser (D) | Alvey (R) | |
|---|---|---|
| Raised, 6/12–9/25 | $64,856.48 | $72,095.00 |
| Share from PACs, parties and other groups | 26.1% ($16,915 from 18 groups) | 92.9% ($67,000 in 5 checks) |
| Spent, 6/12–9/25 | $38,979.87 | $22,047.88 |
| Cash on hand, 9/25 | $66,869.83 | $50,389.43 |
| Raised, all of 2026 | $121,791.34 | $78,310.00 (through 9/29) |
| Report submitted | 9/26/26, the day after the period closed | 6/15/26, three days after the period began; entries added by amendment through 9/29 |
Lesser's year-to-date figure is the report's own, which leaves out in-kind gifts. It replaces the $90,013 figure shown on an earlier version of this page, which predated these contributions.
Every large contribution on file for both candidates this cycle. Filter by candidate or click a card for the full detail.
Alvey's entire 2026 report calendar — Convention, Primary, September 30th, and General — was pre-filed as empty shells well before each report's own period even began, then backfilled via amendment as real money arrived. His Primary Report was submitted 4/20/26, 52 days before that period even ended. His September 30th and General reports were both submitted 6/15/26 — the General Report covers 9/26–10/22/26, meaning it was "filed" over three months before its own period starts. A comparison check against NUPAC, H3 PAC, and Utah Forward PAC filings found none with a submission date predating their own report period — this pattern is not standard practice. Legally compliant (each amendment lands within the 31-day window) but it collapses public reporting checkpoints into one early "filed" status, so the $35,000 PAC infusion entered the record with no new filing event to signal it. The pattern held through the September 30th deadline: that report still shows a 6/15/26 submit date, with 32 contributions and 15 expenditures added by amendment between 7/30 and 9/29. Lesser's September 30th Report, for comparison, was submitted once, on 9/26/26, the day after its period closed.
Every dollar each candidate has raised this cycle, split by source. Circle size scales to total raised.
Lesser's split counts every group gift on her September 30th Report ($16,915, fully itemized) plus the named large PAC and union gifts from her January–June reports ($19,500); everything else is counted as individual, so her group share before June may be slightly understated. Alvey's split is a complete reconciliation: $69,000 from UHREC, House Speaker Leadership PAC, Northern Utah PAC and the Weber County GOP, plus $9,310 from individuals, equals his $78,310 year-to-date total.
Alvey's very first 2026 filing, the Convention Report, already lists his campaign address as 6066 S 2400 E — the neighbor's parcel, not his own trust property — meaning this wasn't a late typo picked up along the way, it's been on file since the start. That same report shows he spent nearly $1,900 more than he'd raised at that point ($250.00 in, $2,148.69 out), including $450.00 paid to "Copper Nickel" — the event venue LLC Sheri Alvey founded in 2016 as its original organizer and sole member. Utah's corporate registry currently lists a different person, Craig Goodliffe, as the LLC's registered agent and manager — consistent with the Alveys' own bio claim that they sold the business in 2021, though the registry itself doesn't document that transaction. Current control isn't the Alveys, so this reads as a legitimate vendor payment rather than a self-dealing one.
On Aug. 17, Alvey said publicly that the address "has been corrected." As displayed on disclosures.utah.gov on Sept. 30, both his September 30th and General reports still list 6066 S 2400 E. His September 30th Report also lists a $500 contribution on 9/20 from Mike Stevens at 6066 South 2400 East, the same address; Weber County records show that parcel is owned by the John Michael Stevens Revocable Trust.
The largest payees on each candidate's September 30th Report, plus Alvey's General Report entries through 9/29.
| Lesser (D) | Amount | Alvey (R) | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elevate Campaign Strategies (3 months) | $7,500.00 | Bell Printing (4 payments) | $9,197.89 |
| Technicolor Campaigns | $7,200.00 | Reagan Outdoor (2 payments) | $3,255.20 |
| Sun Lithography and Printing (2) | $5,443.72 | Deseret News | $3,142.22 |
| BW Productions | $5,000.00 | "State Inicia" (supplies) | $3,140.00 |
| StackAdapt | $4,800.00 | Gathering, Inc. (2 payments) | $2,864.00 |
| JM Alexander (2) | $1,958.68 | Roost (4 payments) | $2,006.18 |
Gathering, Inc. Alvey's campaign reported $2,864 in advertising payments to Gathering, Inc. ($2,289 on 9/21 and $575 on 9/29). Utah's corporate registry lists Casey Hill as an officer, and his Weber State University biography says he founded the ballot-access company. Hill is a registered lobbyist and a founding partner of Lincoln Hill Partners.
Alvey's Candies. The campaign paid Alvey's Candies $232.59 on 9/2, listed as a campaign expense. A separate $200 "Alvey Candies" advertising line was entered in the contributions section on 9/13 and deleted the same day. The record doesn't show whether Alvey has any connection to the business beyond the shared name.
Utah's corporate registry shows Alvey formed a nonprofit corporation, "VoteJimAlvey" (entity #14665172-0140), on 2/24/2026 — a separate legal entity from his CFIS-registered personal campaign committee of the same name. The Articles of Incorporation state a purpose of "organized exclusively for supporting a political candidate in the pursuit of public office," answer "No" to the charitable-organization questionnaire, specify no voting members, and list perpetual duration. Both "Jim Alvey" and "James Manley Alvey" signed as incorporators. A search of disclosures.utah.gov for "VOTEJIMALVEY" across all 2026 transaction types — contributions and expenditures — returns zero results.
IN PLAIN WORDSEvery dollar each campaign reported, sorted into piles: people, caucus and leadership PACs, other organizations, party help and the candidate's own money. Bars are drawn to the same scale, so a short bar means less money. These are facts from the filings; they are shown here, not graded.
Periods differ where the filings in hand differ; each candidate's period is listed with their bar. "Own money" includes loans and money moved from the candidate's own earlier campaign account, as labeled. Disclosure-form lines come from each candidate's own form as described on this page. Added Oct. 2, 2026.
Every item is graded on the same five questions used across this project: Power, Transparency, Financial accountability, Environmental impact and Community impact. A C means the record meets what Utah law requires, the status quo. A B or A means the candidate went beyond it, and the record shows it. D means something is vague or bundled, or a public check is weakened; F means something required is missing, or a check is removed with nothing in its place. One required item missing from a filing is graded D, since it can be a mistake; several missing from the same filing is graded F. How a grade can change: candidates can file an amended report or an updated disclosure form at any time. When the missing or unclear item is fixed on the public record, we update the grade and note the date. Feedback appreciated: candidates and readers can send corrections or records we missed to webercountyhive@gmail.com, and we check every one against the public record.
Overall is the average of the graded questions (A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0; N/A and dashes are left out). A plus or minus shows where the average falls between letters, and an average exactly halfway counts toward the higher letter with a minus. Added Oct. 2, 2026.
| Candidate | Power | Transparency | Money | Environment | Community | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesser | B | C | C | N/A | C | C+ |
| Why: About 70% of 2026 money from individuals, many in small gifts; the rest from unions, professional PACs and party groups. Every contributor and payee is named, and the September 30th Report was filed once, the day after the period closed. That meets the law. The money, by category (2026 through Sept. 25): individuals $85,376 (70.1%); caucus and leadership PACs $5,000 (4.1%); other organizations $31,415 (25.8%); party help $0 (0.0%). Own money: none reported. Own money is stated here, not graded. Power B: 70.1% of the counted money came from individual people (party gifts are not broken out on this page, so they are counted, which can only lower her share). Regraded Oct. 2, 2026 on the Hive's fixed scale; earlier: C, then B under the grassroots rule earlier today. Scale: A = 90% or more of the counted money from individual people; B = 67–89%; C = 34–66%; D = 10–33%; F = under 10%. Counted money is individuals plus caucus and leadership PACs plus other organizations (businesses, trade and union PACs, other candidates' campaigns). Ordinary party help and the candidate's own money are shown but not counted. | ||||||
| Alvey | D | D | C | N/A | C | C− |
| Why: $60,000 of $78,310 (77%) came from three PACs that list the same treasurer, Kyle Palmer: UHREC, House Speaker Leadership PAC and Northern Utah PAC. Another $9,000 came from the Weber County GOP; individuals gave 12%. Every 2026 report was submitted before its period ended (the General Report before its period even began), and money was added later by amendment, so the deadlines never marked a new filing. Legal, but it weakens the public checkpoint the deadlines provide. The money, by category (2026 through Sept. 29): individuals $9,310 (11.9%); caucus and leadership PACs $45,000 (57.5%); other organizations $15,000 (19.2%); party help $9,000 (11.5%). Own money: none reported. Own money is stated here, not graded. Power D: 13.4% of the counted money came from individual people. Checked Oct. 2, 2026 on the Hive's fixed scale; unchanged. Scale: A = 90% or more of the counted money from individual people; B = 67–89%; C = 34–66%; D = 10–33%; F = under 10%. Counted money is individuals plus caucus and leadership PACs plus other organizations (businesses, trade and union PACs, other candidates' campaigns). Ordinary party help and the candidate's own money are shown but not counted. What would have scored higher for the collective: Filing each report after its period closes, and a broader base of district donors. | ||||||
Going beyond the law would look like: saying what each "Campaign Expense" payment bought, and raising most of the money from people who live in the district. (On the state's public report, most spending lines show only the category "Campaign Expense." Candidates can type a description when they file, but the public report may not display it, so a missing description there doesn't mean the candidate left it out.)
| Candidate | Power | Transparency | Money | Environment | Community | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesser | N/A | C | C | N/A | N/A | C |
| Why: Her form lists her board seats, and her answers on employment follow the form's one-year rule. | ||||||
| Alvey | N/A | D | C | N/A | N/A | D |
| Why: His form lists him as retired with no current business entities, while his campaign bio describes Alvey Media Group as still operating with national clients. The VoteJimAlvey nonprofit corporation (formed 2/24/26, dissolved 8/17/26) never appeared on the form. His filings list a neighbor's parcel as his address, still shown on his Sept. 30 reports after he said it had been corrected. What would have scored higher for the collective: An updated form explaining Alvey Media Group's status, and a corrected address on his filings. | ||||||
Going beyond the law would look like: listing more than the form asks, such as a spouse's business or unpaid roles, as Kay McRae did in Senate District 20.
OB/GYN physician and U.S. Air Force veteran — part of the first class of women admitted to the University of Notre Dame, medical degree from the Uniformed Services University, 15 years in the Air Force serving military families in Germany and Texas. Practiced OB/GYN in Ogden from 1992–2020 at Ogden Women's Clinic, Ogden Regional Medical Center, and McKay-Dee Hospital. Appointed to HD10 in January 2021 to finish Rep. Lou Shurtliff's term after Shurtliff's death that December — Lesser learned of the vacancy on her last day of medical practice, was selected by Weber County Democratic delegates, and was appointed by Gov. Cox. Her husband Dave is also a physician; the two have volunteered providing surgical and emergency care in Mali and post-earthquake Haiti. Current board memberships: Boys & Girls Clubs of Weber-Davis, Envision Utah, Onstage Ogden, the Olene Walker Institute of Politics & Public Service, the Richards Institute for Ethics at Weber State University, the Women in Business Committee of the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce, and Blue Star Families of Utah.
Community recognition: 2024 Ogden School Board Adult Education Champion Award; 2024 Community Leader Award, United Way of Northern Utah (for promoting the Connection Learning Campus and obtaining 211 Program funding); 2023 Community Champion, Utah Association for Infant Mental Health — for extending postpartum Medicaid benefits from 60 days to one year; 2023 award, Utah Public Employees' Association; "Outstanding Contribution by an Elected Official," Utah Association of Local Boards of Health, for her work on the House Health and Human Services Committee; Athena 2025, Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce; and the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce's Legislative Business Champion Award four consecutive years.
Born 1956 at the old Dee Hospital in Ogden; served an LDS mission in the Midlands of England at 19. Graduated Weber State College with a communications degree; was student graduation speaker for his class and served as Student Body Cultural Vice President. Career: physician liaison at McKay-Dee Hospital, then Student Services Coordinator at Weber State, then back to McKay-Dee/Intermountain Health as Assistant Director of Public Relations for 10 years and later Director of Public Relations and Marketing for Intermountain's Northern Region. He left to found Alvey Media Group, which his own campaign bio describes as continuing today after "almost 35 years," with Intermountain Health still a client alongside Gore-Tex, Browning, Springfield Armory, and Abbott Laboratories. Longtime Ogden Pioneer Days volunteer; he and wife Sheri restored the Browning Brothers buildings downtown and she founded the Copper Nickel Event Center, both sold in 2021, after which the couple served an LDS mission together in Nauvoo, Illinois.
His campaign platform names seven priorities: reducing financial pressures on families (taxes, "attainable housing," wise spending), public safety, education (parent-driven options, explicit support for Weber State), conservative values (self-reliance, voter ID), a pro-life and biological-sex position, "Keeping Government Accountable and Transparent to You," and managing growth. His site's own commencement-speech anecdote states he shared the stage with Elliot Richardson, described as "United States Attorney General under President Gerald Ford" — Richardson was actually Attorney General under Nixon; his later Cabinet post under Ford was Secretary of Commerce.
Utah Hive Politicsfrom the publisher of The Weber County HiveIndependent · Accountability · Journalism