Ali Cloward seeks Salt Lake County Auditor seat in 2026

Ali Cloward, a Democrat, is running for Salt Lake County Auditor in the Nov. 3 general election. She faces Republican Chris Harding.

Cloward, who holds the Certified Internal Auditor credential, said on her campaign website that she is focused on making county government more efficient and transparent in how it spends taxpayer money. She grew up in Salt Lake County and earned both her bachelor's degree in accounting and her master's degree in accounting from the University of Utah, according to her campaign website and BallotReady profile data.

Candidate information

Party: Democratic
Office sought: Salt Lake County Auditor
Education: Bachelor's degree in accounting, University of Utah; master's degree in accounting, University of Utah (2010)
Credentials: Certified Internal Auditor
Hometown: Grew up in Salt Lake County
Recognition: Utah 40 Under 40 recipient

Education and recognition details are according to Cloward's campaign website and BallotReady profile data.

Experience and public service

Cloward has spent more than a decade in auditing and compliance roles in the private sector, according to BallotReady profile data. Her career has centered on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, a federal law that sets financial reporting and internal control standards for public companies.

She has served as a director at Baker Tilly US since 2025. Before that, she was SOX & Business Risk Services director at Moss Adams from 2021 to 2025. She held the role of director of SOX Compliance at The Cadence Group from 2013 to 2021.

Cloward also serves as a board member at Clean Slate Utah, according to her campaign website.

On the issues

The following positions are drawn from Cloward's campaign website responses. They reflect the candidate's own statements.

Government efficiency: Cloward said Salt Lake County should get the most out of every dollar it spends and that every dollar saved is money back in the pockets of the people who live in the county.

Government transparency and accountability: Cloward said she is committed to transparency that puts facts in front of residents so they can hold their government accountable. She said elected officials answer to the people they serve, but that only works if residents have the full picture.

The candidate's website did not include specific dollar figures, implementation timelines or detailed proposals for achieving these goals.