Gov. Spencer Cox’s choice to run the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food has a history that has raised red flags.
Cox announced he tapped Kelly Pehrson to be commissioner of the department on Wednesday. Pehrson has served as UDAF’s deputy commissioner since 2019 and interim commissioner of the department since the prior commissioner retired earlier this year.
A 2020 state audit found that Pehrson may have unfairly influenced the selection process for companies to get medical marijuana-growing licenses while deputy commissioner at UDAF and that he misused a state-owned vehicle. Before that, as county administrator for San Juan County, a Salt Lake Tribune investigation found that Pehrson cost the county over $100,000 due to an erroneous invoice approval.
“Kelly Pehrson has been a steady, trusted leader at UDAF for years, and I’m grateful he’s willing to take on this new role,” Cox said in a statement Wednesday. “He understands the needs of our agricultural communities and has the experience and vision to help Utah’s agriculture industry continue to grow and adapt.”
The governor’s office did not respond to emails and calls requesting comment about Pehrson’s history. A spokesperson for UDAF said Pehrson was not available for an interview.
“I’m honored and humbled to serve as Commissioner,” Pehrson said in a Wednesday statement. “Utah’s farmers, ranchers and producers are at the heart of our economy and our heritage. I look forward to working alongside them to support innovation, resilience, and responsible stewardship of our resources.”
Pehrson must be confirmed by the Utah State Senate. A spokesperson for the Senate said the date of his confirmation hearing has not yet been set and that lawmakers did not currently have a statement.
Cannabis licensing ‘bias’
State auditors flagged Pehrson’s behavior during his time at UDAF.
The department in 2019 chose eight companies (from 80 applicants) to grow cannabis legally after the state launched its medical marijuana program. But the state investigated that selection process in 2020 as part of an audit of UDAF under the leadership of a former commissioner.
Pehrson was UDAF’s deputy director at the time, and served on the committee evaluating the cannabis-growing applicants with Natalie Callahan, the department’s then-director of operations and agriculture programs.
Callahan and Pehrson’s scores for the 80 applicants were “highly correlated,” auditors found. They ranked the same seven companies in a similar order in their top picks — the audit said the odds of that similarity happening by chance are less than 5% — suggesting the two senior staff members collaborated on their rankings.
Later, “significant adjustments” were made to other committee members’ scores so they more closely reflected Callahan’s and Pehrson’s. Three of the companies chosen to grow cannabis for the state’s program wouldn’t have been selected if not for the scoring adjustments.
“[T]he bias in favor of senior management preferences are considered unusual and could indicate an attempt by senior management to influence other evaluation committee members,” the audit read.
In 2021, one of the rejected applicants sued UDAF over the selection process. “Rather than selecting truly capable and qualified companies to successfully operate an emerging Utah cannabis market company, politically connected companies were selected,” the complaint said. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2022.
The audit also found that Pehrson inappropriately used a state-owned vehicle.
Pehrson used a state vehicle to travel to and from work at least 18 times. Six other times, Pehrson’s assigned vehicle went to “sports complexes and other non-business related locations,” but it was not clear who was driving the vehicle during those instances.
Auditors found the violations amounted to thousands of dollars in financial loss and suggested UDAF ask for reimbursement for the inappropriate use of vehicles.
Troubles in San Juan County
Pehrson is originally from Monticello and worked for San Juan County for a decade before joining UDAF.
During his tenure as the county’s administrator, the county paid almost $500,000 to a pricey law firm to lobby for the reduction of Bears Ears National Monument in 2016 and 2017. The firm’s expenses included questionable travel fees and non-itemized expenditures.
Pehrson at the time said San Juan County was “spending money to defend ourselves.” The Salt Lake Tribune found that the county — which is one of the poorest in the state — overpaid the law firm by over $100,000 because of an erroneous, duplicate invoice that Pehrson approved.
Pehrson resigned from his position as county administrator in 2019, giving just 48 hours’ notice, to take a job as the UDAF deputy commissioner. That same year, San Juan County elected two Navajo Democrats to its three-person county commission, a big change to the deep-red county’s status quo.
Commissioners Willie Grayeyes and Kenneth Maryboy, at the time of Pehrson’s resignation, said Pehrson did not follow the new commission’s directives to send letters of support for Bears Ears National Monument to Congress.
“I’ve been emailing [Pehrson]...He doesn’t do what he’s told to do. There’s always an excuse,” Maryboy said about Pehrson’s resignation.
Bruce Adams, the lone Republican on the county commission at that time, said Pehrson “did everything [Maryboy and Grayeyes] asked him to do.”
UDAF implements programs to strengthen the state’s agriculture, natural resources and food supply, including the Utah Grazing Improvement Program and Agricultural Water Optimization Program.
