Early Meetings with Delegates

I have recently begun communicating with county delegates and have had a great experience. It has given me an opportunity to share with them, at least in part, a small picture of what the Surveyor's Office is all about. I have enjoyed getting to know people, interacting with them, and appreciate the time they have spent speaking with me. Thank you.

Running for political office has been a stimulating yet humbling experience. In fact, this whole political process has been very educational. Through this process I have reflected over the many experiences I've had while performing the functions of the Office. I have had the opportunity to meet and work with many great people, enjoy both success and failures, and gain a depth of knowledge.

I love surveying. I have had many great, and not so great, experiences while out in the field. Let me share with you one of these “not so great” experiences. I was with a couple of co-workers, sitting in a metal shack with no windows, on top of Mount Timpanogas. We were doing County GPS work on a Government triangulation station. We had too much equipment to pack up in one trip so we first backpacked all of our surveying equipment to the top, leaving our sleeping gear below in the saddle. As night was settling in, we were so exhausted that none of us wanted to hike back down to get our sleeping gear. Because there was little concern about the weather-it was the middle of July and no storms in the forecast-we figured a nice night under the stars would work great. Boy were we wrong. As night fell the wind started to pick up, clouds rolled in, and it started to rain. We were ill equipped, with little warm clothing and a “windowless metal shack.” Lightning was hitting around us and the winds were blowing rain in. I have never spent a more miserable night in my life. I remember trying to keep our minds occupied by inventing games such as, “how many words start with the letters x, y, and z?” Periodically, we would take turns leaving this now muddy, dirt floored shack to make sure our surveying equipment hadn't blown off of the ridge top. I distinctly remember touching the surveying equipment several times that night and getting "zapped" with all of the static electricity in the air from the lightening close by. I guess that’s what you get when you rely solely on the weather man.

A Little More About Me

I have been a product of Utah County my entire life. I was born and raised in Orem, and have lived in Provo, Lindon, and Springville. As a young man I was fortunate enough to grow up in an area with a great scouting program that helped me become an Eagle Scout. I believe in and do my best to live the principles embodied by the scout laws and oath. I am married to the former Michelle Johnson of Orem. Together we have been blessed with 5 children: Aubrey, Cole, Brandon, Dusty and Micarie. We are also fortunate to have 4 grandsons: Hayden, Gage, Tristin, and Cade. We are also anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first granddaughter in June. We love our grandsons, but can’t wait for our first granddaughter!


Over the years I have developed many interests and passions. I have thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors: camping, hunting, fishing, ATV riding and just about anything in the mountains. However, the one thing that really occupied my time involved setting up a youth wrestling program in our community. My wife and I ran a program for quite a few years. I have been involved in coaching kids in elementary school, junior high and even high school. I had an opportunity to coach at Springville High School and be involved in the lives of our youth. This provided a real challenge and growing experience for me, but served as an incredible blessing. My associations over the years of coaching have been a rewarding and enriching experience. I hope that in some small way I have helped kids grow into responsible, successful adults.

My introduction to surveying was quite by accident. After coming home from an LDS mission to Germany I jumped back into school at BYU. I was better than 2 1\2 years through my college education (studying to become a school teacher) when I decided to take the summer off to work and earn some extra money. I was in the process of trying to get information pertaining to a church custodial job and someone had given me the name of an individual who allegedly had the information. Upon contacting that individual he informed me that he wasn’t the one with the information but told me that he owned a surveying company and that he would be willing to hire me for the summer. I immediately fell in love with the surveying profession. I worked in the private sector for a few years and soon found myself working for Utah County, where I have been for nearly 30 years. I have loved being a county surveyor and feel fortunate I am able to serve the citizens in this capacity.

Hi, I'm Gary Ratcliffe and I am running for Utah County Surveyor. For the past 25 years I have had the privilege of serving in the County Surveyor's office. Our most important function is insuring accurate survey points across the valley. This network of survey monuments directly define and control property boundaries in Utah County. In fact, they form the basis of our property rights! Their preservation is paramount and has always been my first priority.

I am currently the Chief Deputy and manager of the County surveyor's office. I am proud our office has received some of the highest ratings in the nation for both accuracy and efficiency!

Accurate public surveying is critical in defining the legal extent of your property and all land titles in Utah County. For over three decades I have performed that work with exactness. Now I am kicking off a campaign to respectfully request your support and vote for the newly separated office of County Surveyor.

Thank You! Gary Ratcliffe