Author: ggreen

It would be unusual. Utah House District 44 is a red district carved out in 2020 specifically to make it a safe Republican district. Jordan Teuscher has won two elections, first in the old District 42, then in the new District 44. He is the incumbent, a native Utahn, a lawyer, a member of the church, and a Republican. All of these traits bode well for a politician seeking votes from the voter base in South Jordan and West Jordan. It would take monumental effort, or possible re-districting, to move constituents towards another candidate.

But 2024 is not a usual year. Partisan politics have become historically raucous. Natalie Cline, then a member of the Utah State Board of Education, was censured for social media attacks against a high school athlete who she insinuated was transgender (the player is not, and that shouldn’t have mattered regardless; the fact that Cline would go after a high school student and draw dangerous attention towards her was unacceptable). The legislature holds the ability to impeach a public official, and although there were vocal calls that Cline should be impeached, the GOP majority could not muster the backbone required to impeach one of their own. The Utah GOP moved decidedly right at convention while the Republican base grew weary of the rhetoric – more moderate candidates like Spencer Cox and Celeste Malloy collected signatures to guarantee that their names would survive convention to appear on Republican primary ballots. The Republican convention produced a number of hard-right candidates like Phil Lyman and Trent Staggs who would eventually lose against their more moderate opponents.

General Session kicked off with bills attacking individual rights. At the beginning of general session this year, Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz started the legislative agenda to drive through GOP-sponsored bills whose language originated from outside of Utah: an anti-trans bathroom bill; shutting down DEI in public schools; and book bans. Utah followed a string of conservative states like Oklahoma, Missouri, Florida and Texas that pushed the same copy/paste legislation.

Jordan Teuscher also re-introduced his signature anti-union legislation that actively worked to dismantle worker rights for public employees, but this was killed due to overwhelming opposition from the public. Teuscher was also the sponsor of HB185 ‘Primary Ballot Requirements’ to remove candidates who qualify through signature gathering process, which also failed. This would have affected all parties, but particularly the Republican party. The Republican delegates are much further right than your regular Republican in Utah, and in a closed primary they were attempting to change the rules to make it more difficult for moderate Republican candidates to participate in Utah’s election process.

It was not a good start. Someone commented that the six weeks of general session was six weeks of responding to bad ideas.

Thankfully, there are checks and balances. It was after a number of Utah Supreme Court decisions (first to uphold an injunction against the legislature’s anti-abortion trigger law, and shortly after determining that the gerrymandering case against the legislature had legs and could continue to be actioned in a lower court) that the Republican-led House decided to call an emergency session. What was the emergency? The will of the people, apparently. During the session, Jordan Teuscher was the House sponsor for SJR401, which would change the Utah constitution to remove the people’s legislative power of citizen initiatives. Teuscher was also the House floor sponsor of SB4002 House Sponsor of ‘Ballot Proposition Amendments’ to enable jamming through Amendment D, and Amendment A in 2024, which were both voided by the Utah Supreme Court. The worst part? In what should be called an ethics violation, Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Schultz wrote particularly misleading ballot language that described Amendment D as the opposite of what it was; a power grab by the Utah legislature.

What was the emergency? The will of the people, apparently. Rep Jordan Teuscher leads when it comes to taking away the rights of voters and obstructing candidates from public office.

Utah voters are frustrated by the extreme partisanship of the Republican legislature. Their inability to self-manage outrageous behavior in their party, followed by egregious attempts to dismantle personal rights of Utahns, then disrespect voters with outright lies and a request for us to vote against our personal interests, is pushing constituents to look closely at their representatives and claimed party values. The Republican party even admitted to its own over-reach as it attempted to gaslight voters.

We need real representation. The Republican legislature is betting that they will survive the 2024 election cycle so that they can continue to introduce more bills sponsored from out of state, that work against the better interests of Utahns and don’t reflect who we are.

There were no Republican candidates who challenged Teuscher this year. Third parties decided not to back a non-partisan candidate in this race, likely because they didn’t see an investment in what was considered a safe red seat. I joined the race as a protest vote, but have found support after the series of events (above) that were hand-delivered to me by the Republican party. In fact, they are nervous enough to start throwing money at the end of the race to stabilize their (now questionable) candidate.

We are closing in on the last week of the election cycle. Less than half of the voters in the House District have cast their votes so far (filter on HD44), and I will be lucky to see narrower margins than were in the past against my incumbent opponent. I’m here to say that we could win, if enough voters are tired of the litany of bad bills, expensive litigation, constitutional violations and breaches of individual rights that the Utah Republican party has produced this year. Teuscher is a primary sponsor of some of the worst bills. We can continue to fight his bad ideas in the legislature, or we can unseat him and bring in a new representative who will defend voter rights, and begin to work for the people of Utah.

We can win this. One of the constitutional powers you have is to elect representatives. That power can also be used to unseat a legislator who doesn’t represent your issues and values. Please use that power. I’m asking you to use your voice and vote by Tuesday, November 5… and I would truly appreciate your vote.

Be well (represented)!

When I started running for office on January 5 this year, I was starting a long learning curve to onboard as a candidate in the Utah political scene. Every day was something new for me, and at times it was overwhelming to consider what was left to accomplish before it was over. As we get to the end of this campaign I want to give thanks to the people who were my tribe for this work. I would not be here without them.

First and foremost, my family Angela, Risa, Natalie and Aaron deserve recognition for putting up with me throughout this whole thing. Campaigns are stressful, and they have seen every side of me since I filed to run. Thank you for your support, and your patience, and for putting up (to here!) when I could only take so much sh!## during the campaign (that’s a Eurovision Song Contest reference). Angela was always the one to tell me to hold on and think about it before I pressed the ‘send’ button. Natalie was and is my manager of social media. Risa and Aaron were the willing volunteers at every corner of the campaign.

Dr. Lori Taylor – without Lori’s mentorship and guidance I would not be here. Without a co-commiserator and planner of things, I would not have any of my wits left. Lori’s commitment to the party, her persistence in fighting for principals, and the immense respect I have for her are what led me to joining to become a house district vice-chair, then a candidate for the Utah House District. I have leaned on, texted, called and spent time with Lori more than anyone else throughout this campaign. She is always clear, she is willing to say the things I don’t want to hear but need to hear, she is honest, and she truly cares about what we’re doing; and that makes her invaluable to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you Lori.

Rep Ashlee Matthews – who calmed my panic and doubt, who talked me through the first days and shared her story, then encouraged me to find my voice so that I could build a message that would resonate with voters. I am deeply grateful for her time (all during the 2024 general legislative session) to speak with me as I was starting my candidacy.

Catherine Voutaz – whose always-positive and always-pragmatic outlook offered fresh perspective when I needed to hear it, and whose organizing capacity for the southwest region candidates was astounding. She shared her experience and brought candidates together so that we could leverage our campaigns more effectively for city and county events. She helped me understand that positive, consistent outreach was critical is setting paths for conversations to build.

Wendy Davis – who first shared her experience in her book The Fight You Don’t See, then provided one-on-one discussion about outreach and data analysis so that she, Lori and I could design a strategy for outreach in HD44. Her education, political background, experience, empathetic guidance and assurances were invaluable to me. I’m indebted to her kindness and willingness to talk.

Darlene McDonald – who embodies the spirit of democracy. Darlene connects my community together like no other because she has gone before me and made the road that I follow. She and I have a bunch of connections, the least of which I look like Michael McDonald, and she’s married to a Michael McDonald. Seriously though – I’m indebted to Darlene for being someone that I can talk to at any time, and she’ll be there.

Amber Hendrix – from the Salt Lake County Democratic office, who I found trust and alignment with. Amber navigated me through questions and concerns about party operations, and was a voice of reason throughout the campaign. Amber did a lot of the lifting in the campaign with her outreach and engagement on behalf of the Democratic party that was essential to getting things done.

Jennifer Miller Smith – who is an absolute gem because her cause is true, her commitment is high, and because she is straightforward and plainly speaks her case. I admire her integrity and the number of roles she fills in places across the democratic party. She truly embraces democratic values. She supports her causes with a passion I have yet to see from anyone else.

Jade Velazquez – from the Salt Lake County Democratic office, who has a plan and the persistence to see it through to a successful end. He also works with grace and humor, and is an example that we all can follow.

Sen Luz Escamilla – whose gift was to spend time with me at a Union meet and greet to clarify my message and better understand how to communicate with voters. She didn’t know me, she corrected me when I thought she was Angela Romero, and she was graceful enough to still give her time and some highly needed instruction to a new candidate. I am sincerely grateful, and I won’t mistake her again when I meet her.

Jacob Lawson – who has the ridiculous capacity to always, always engage where he needs to be. Jacob was my outreach and my eyes in voting districts. He constantly asked what could be done, and was essential for lit drops and canvassing in South Jordan and West Jordan. In my campaign, Jacob is the face of the new generation of politics coming to Utah, and I can’t be more proud to have him as part of the team.

Olivia Anderson and Elliott Kauffman – from the Utah State Democratic office, who created training and delivered candidate fundamentals to me and a host of new candidates at all levels. I really started to get a better picture of everything that needed to be done as we walked through weekly trainings and Elliott’s fun storytelling.

Scott Bell, who literally brought the bell. Best volunteer and hang-out partner for sign pickups. He has a great background story, and there’s even a story about the bell. He’s engaged and supports area candidates, and he shares ideas. We need more people like Scott who jump in and help out any time. He is also a great Sunday coffee house partner.

Kate Staples, who I have mad respect for. She began in a 3-way race for HD39 and had to deal with some brutal political BS at the start regarding staying in the race as a Democrat or working with a campaign strategy to back an unaffiliated candidate. She made a difficult decision to withdraw, but one she was able to be comfortable with. She was ethical, she earnestly campaigned, and her decision was based on what was best for her and for flipping the district. I know that was difficult, and she did it with grace. She also has the best shoes of anyone in this list.

Joel Frost, Sheila Srivastava, and Kent Setterberg – part of the Fantastic Four for county elections, these three were regular engagements for me in campaign events, and I needed a little of their good energy. Joel is the consummate dude, Sheila has the engagement, and Kent is the warmth and heart of good politics. I appreciate all of the work you have put in, yet still had extra to share on the campaign road.

Mimi Setterberg – who deserves recognition on her own for starting and running a campaign from scratch. She is the person behind Kent’s campaign, and truly is up and coming with the work that she has put into things. I’m excited to see what she does in the future.

Eli McCann and Skylar Westerdahl – for opening up your family to meet with me, and giving me an opportunity to talk with Republicans in my District. Your level of trust, and willingness to introduce me to neighbors is something that I’m grateful for. You work in the principal of kindness first, always.

Brad Asay, who was the first person who told me that he thought I could win. I didn’t say it then but I was truly grateful that you got behind me and supported my campaign. Those words mattered greatly then, and your hands-on support afterwards was motivating to me. Thank you.

These are individual thanks, and there are rightfully more who aren’t here. I will probably publish this and realize who I left out (and I apologize for that).

My message here is to recognize that this campaign, and my work is a collaboration. Almost everyone I mention here are new to me since January, but they have leaned in and offered advice, or their experience, or their support and their hours to help me get here. I can’t do this alone. It’s 10 days out from the general election today, and I’m counting on your votes to finish this. Regardless of where the election goes, know that I am grateful to those who stepped up.

Your voice matters, and your voice is your vote. Please vote this election cycle.

I started this campaign for Utah House District 44 on January 5 as a first time candidate. I’m running for positive change and better representation. Your vote on Nov 5 can be revolutionary.

I was talking to someone today about “moments that change who you are”. I want to share a few experiences of mine that shaped who I am.

Lesson 1: Know Who You Are

My formative years were spent in Wasilla, Alaska. I was taking a US History class with Jeanne Krause as a student at Wasilla High School, and it was in her class that a challenge was given that I will never forget. She asked the class to describe one of our political beliefs. Then she asked why we believed it, and she kept asking us why. This is a concept of business inquiry called the “five whys” that attempts to discover a root cause/issue of a problem. I didn’t know that back then, but I eventually understood what she was doing. She was pushing us to really think about political stances we had adopted, and question whether those stances would, in fact, hold water when compared against our actual values. I was able to listen to other students describe their justifications, whether they actually explored the reasons or simply held firm without reflecting on “why”. I also had to think about my own stances, recognize what I was familiar with, what I might have simply accepted because it was convention, what I knew, and more importantly what I didn’t know but had assumptions about. It was an uncomfortable discussion, but I learned that I was responsible for questioning and testing my own perceptions. I learned that my opinion mattered. And I learned that part of growing up was becoming critical of assumptions and making choices based on my own values, that might conflict with others. I’m grateful to Ms. Krause for pushing us to look inward and outward.

I mention it here because we are in a really polarized election period, and it’s important that we (all of us) are thinking about our root values and making decisions based on what matters most to us.

Lesson 2: Do Something

When I was 12 my mother was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Multiple Sclerosis, and it had devastating impact on her life and for our family. One of the biggest changes for us was the relative abandonment of my mother’s friends, and of our church family. My mother had always sought a church where we lived. She started as a Methodist in her home town, and my earliest recollection was attending a Lutheran church when we lived in Minnesota. When we moved to Alaska she started at the Lutheran church in Petersburg, but found services uninspiring. We eventually settled into a membership with the Assemblies of God, and after another move to the mainland, found another AOG church. She loved to sing, and the song worship was one of the best parts of going to there.

When my mother was diagnosed, it seemed like everything changed. Friends would check in at first, but eventually dropped away. The church offered to help drive us to services, but it wasn’t dependable. My mother, with a wheelchair and kids in tow, were too much for any long commitment from other churchgoers. When we attended, one of the key messages that we would repeatedly hear was that if my mother truly asked god for forgiveness for her sins, he would heal her; that the endowment of the holy spirit upon her was a sign of her faith, and it was through god that she could live again. We heard this from the pastor, from the visiting pastors, from faith healers, and from the churches we were directed to when theirs didn’t work. In one of the last visits to a church, they were laying hands on my mother and yelling at her, commanding the demons to leave her body so that she could accept Christ. They tried to pick her up from her wheelchair to walk, but she couldn’t. As her 14 year old son, it was heartbreaking to watch this. When they were done the pastor told me that I had the patience of Job. I have never felt the urge to punch someone in the face more than at that time.

It was during this very difficult time in my life that I learned how cruel people can be, even when it’s unintentional. The church was not an answer. I was forced to become a caretaker for my sick mother at a very young age, and I also became a caretaker for my younger siblings. I learned by going through my own very difficult childhood that if I didn’t do the work, there would be no-one to do it for you.

I learned that bad things can happen to good people. I also learned that prayers only go so far. Prayers, if you believe in them, should lead to reflection, which should lead to resolution, which should lead to action.

The lesson here was and always will be to do something. For me, that meant running for office; and this year it means being informed and voting for change you want to see.

Lesson 3: Kindness Exists

When I was 19, and after my mother was moved to a long-term care facility, I wanted to escape by moving to California to attend college. When I left home, my father told me that I would “come crawling back” and refused to say goodbye. I was angry when I left home, and I was determined that I would not go back. Within a semester, my roommate who traveled with me gave up and asked his parents to come back home. I was alone, poor, working part time and trying to go to college. I couldn’t afford the apartment, and a room rental I had arranged after my roommate left fell through unexpectedly, and I suddenly had nothing. I found a room to rent from Helen, a bar owner who rented to divorced dads and heroine addicts who were in recovery, and I was grateful for the space because I had a room with a lock on the door, and it was my safe space. A friend of one of my sisters showed up unexpectedly; she was supposed to stay with me for two weeks and travel home. After several months, a disconnected phone for hundreds of dollars in long-distance calls, and wrecking my car, she was gone.

I was young, and poor, and angry. I had to drop out of school because I had to earn money for rent and food. I didn’t have a car. I had no friends, and felt like anyone who I met wanted something. The situation changed, but it wasn’t overnight.

• My first job in California was working night security at Eden hospital. On my first night I was holding doors for the ambulance arrival of a vehicle accident that took place on the San Mateo bridge, and there were several injured that arrived and needed to be unloaded. A nurse was triaging patients and asked me to hold a baby (uninjured) that was in the party. The baby stopped crying as I held her, so she told me my job was to continue holding the baby. Seeing the trauma, but holding this infant was unforgettable.
• Another job was working mornings as a stable person/groomer/trainer at Fairview Arabian Farms. The owner Marilyn was another parent figure who I learned to trust and talk with. She was kind, and she was someone who encouraged me to stick with it and be hopeful.
• I was offered a job at a bank after working a couple of nights as a temp to conduct a phone survey. The bank manager heard me talking to customers and decided I was worth investing in. It was the first time that worked around other employees who really cared and looked after each other. It was also where I succumbed to watching soap operas (specifically Loving) so I could keep up with office chatter.
• At that job, a bank manager who checked in on me as a father figure. He was Hindi. I knew nothing about his background, but he made sure to talk to me about life and our passage through it. I am grateful for him recognizing that I needed someone who could counsel and guide me.
• I met an insurance agent who became a father figure to me when he recognized that I was struggling to make ends meet. He had a sardonic sense of humor (his regular joke was “better you than me, @$$hole” when he was listening to clients filing claims) but he was always kind, and he looked out for others.

It took a long time to get my feet under me, and I wouldn’t be where I am without the people who stopped to see me and do more than look past me. I am truly grateful for their kindness, and what it meant to me.

Lesson 4: Life Happens

Things go well, until they don’t. How you respond when things don’t go well is a testament to who you are as a person, the burdens you carry, and what shaped you. How you respond to others when things don’t go well for them is about your empathy, willingness to listen and understand, maturity, patience, with very likely some tolerance thrown in.

You have heard about #disagreebetter in Utah politics. That hashtag is used with sarcasm more than for encouraging real discussion. Know that how you respond, and how you respond to others matters.

Summary

Today is September 19, which means there are 26 days until mail-in ballots are sent out, and 47 days to the November 5 election. We’ve had some crazy turmoil in the elections, some of it good, some of it bad.

• Know Who You Are, and know what matters most to you.
• Do Something. Learn about candidates (it’s why I’m writing this) and what they stand for.
• Seek to be Kind. Don’t make decisions based on fear and anger.
• Know that Life Happens. This year has been a travesty in Utah politics. But there is something that you can do about it.

Be informed, and get ready to vote.