Notes of Thanks

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.