Gregory S. Bell (born October 16, 1948) is an American politician, real estate developer, and attorney who served as the seventh lieutenant governor of Utah. A Republican, he was a member of the

Utah State Senate The Utah State Senate is the upper house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature (US), state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The Utah Senate is composed of 29 elected members, each representing one senate district. Each senate ...

, representing the state's 22nd senate district in Davis County.Official Legislative Biography
Gregory S. Bell
/ref> Bell was appointed

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

effective September 1, 2009. He was elected to half a term November 2, 2010, and then elected to a full term November 6, 2012.

Early life and education

Bell was born October 16, 1948, in

Ogden, Utah Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the United States Census ...

. He was raised in Ogden and Spring Glen, Utah. He graduated from Ogden High School in 1966, where he participated in debate and won the National Forensic Association's intermountain regional debate tournament in 1966. After serving a mission for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

from 1967 to 1969, Bell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Weber State University Weber State University (pronounced ) is a public university in Ogden, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1889 as Weber Stake Academy and earned its current name in 1991. As of fall 2023, the student population reached 30,536 students, cons ...

in 1972 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the S.J. Quinney College of Law in 1975.Vote Smart Biography
Gregory S. Bell
/ref>

Career

Bell was employed as vice president and general counsel of United Savings from 1977 to 1981. He left to found Gregory Bell and Associates law firm, which merged with Kirton & McConkie in 1984, where he was a shareholder, director, and officer until leaving in 1997. He became a partner in Raddon/Bell Properties, a real estate development company. Thereafter, Bell was self-employed in real estate development until 2008, when he joined the

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

law firm Fabian & Clendenin. Bell was elected to the Farmington City Council in 1990 and in 1994 was elected mayor of

Farmington, Utah Farmington is a city in, and county seat of, Davis County, Utah, United States. The population was 24,531 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The Lagoon Amusement Park and Station Park (Farmington, Utah), Station Park transit-oriented ...

, serving until 2002. He was elected to the Utah Senate in Utah's 22nd Senate district in 2002. Bell succeeded Jon Huntsman Jr. as chair of Envision Utah, a position he held from 2001 to 2003. Envision Utah is a public/private partnership that "work toward quality growth within the Greater Wasatch Area of Utah" and to develop a "vision to protect Utah's environment, economic strength, and quality of life for generations to come". Bell also served on the board of trustees of the Coalition for Utah's Future. He served as president of the Farmington Bay District of the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

and as chair of the Real Property Section of the Utah State Bar. Bell served as a member and chair of the governing authority of the Utah Science, Technology and Research initiative (USTAR) from 2014 until 2016. Governor Gary R. Herbert appointed Bell to the board of trustees of the

Utah Transit Authority The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is a special service district responsible for providing public transportation throughout the Wasatch Front of Utah, in the United States, which includes the metropolitan areas of Ogden, Utah, Ogden, Park City, U ...

in 2016, and Bell was elected chair of the board effective January 2018. He was elected to senate leadership as assistant majority whip by his colleagues for 2008–2009, serving on the Joint Leadership, Executive Appropriations, and Legislative Management Committees. On September 16, 2013, Bell announced he would resign his position as Utah's lieutenant governor, citing his "family's long-term financial needs".Lt. Governor Greg Bell to step down

/ref> Bell indicated that his resignation would take effect after Utah Governor Gary Herbert nominated, and the Utah State Senate confirmed, his replacement. Herbert nominated Spencer Cox (politician), Spencer Cox to replace Bell on October 8, and Cox was subsequently confirmed and took office.

Electoral results

Bell was first elected to the

in district 22 in the 2002 General Election held on Tuesday, November 5, 2002, with approximately 87% of the vote. His opponent was

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

candidate David L. Rowland who obtained approximately 13% of the vote. Bell was up for re-election in the 2006 General Election held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006, and defeated Democratic Party candidate Dave Rowland by a margin of 71% to 23%. Also running in 2006 was Constitution Party candidate Sheryl Fluckiger who obtained approximately 6% of the vote.

Personal life

Bell is married to JoLynn (née Barker). They have six children: sons Braden, Ryan, Davis, and Christian, and daughters Andrea and Eliza, and 25 grandchildren. The Bells raised their children in Farmington and now live in Fruit Heights, Utah.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Greg 1948 births Living people Lieutenant governors of Utah Republican Party Utah state senators Utah city council members Mayors of places in Utah Latter Day Saints from Utah Weber State University alumni S.J. Quinney College of Law alumni Politicians from Ogden, Utah 20th-century Utah politicians 21st-century members of the Utah Legislature

Early life and education

Career

Electoral results

Personal life

Further reading

External links

References