I am announcing my candidacy for legislative house district 62 in Provo. Those of you who know me are probably surprised that I am running for office, especially as a Democrat. I made a decision about twenty-five years ago that I would not get involved in politics. Instead, I joined the board of directors of an Indiana organization called Matrix Lifeline, which provided pro life counseling for women who were experiencing “stress pregnancies.” Although the Supreme Court had declared that states could not restrict the right to abortion, in the seven communities where we had offices, we did everything possible to see that no woman had to have an abortion because of lack of resources. I worked with a group of energetic, impressive young Catholic, Mormon, and Evangelical women. This was a turning point early in life for me, as I realized the importance of being actively involved in my community, serving as a catalyst for good.
Since moving with my family to Utah over twenty years ago, I have served my community in numerous ways that add to my qualifications for the legislature. I worked as a clerk to Judge Norman Jackson at the Utah State Court of Appeals. There, I learned the importance of careful drafting of laws, so that they will to do what they are intended to do, minimize unintended negative consequences, and refrain from violating our constitutional protections. I gleaned the ability to scrutinize proposed legislation with an eye to how well it will work.
My work as an attorney has trained me as a foot soldier, but I have never been a mercenary, not for a party, a special interest, or an extreme position. I worked as a guardian ad litem, an attorney for children, where I listened to all parties to litigation involving children, and made recommendations to the judge regarding the children’s best interests. This work, along with my work as a counselor, and as a mediator, honed my listening skills. As your representative, I will understand the importance of listening to all positions, especially constituents, before drawing conclusions about what’s best. I recognize that when people from both sides of the aisle work together, good law results. I know the importance of being nonpartisan and approachable. I appreciate the need for moderation and reason in working out solutions to problems.
Many of my cases as an attorney for kids involved parents who did not know how to parent. In one case of shaken baby, for example, the father simply did not know that an infant is not capable of responding to instructions. So, with Patti Reid at the Utah County Health Department, we started the Welcome Baby program in Utah County, in which nurses and volunteer mentors visit new parents to train them in parenting and child development. Last year, I was the founding president of Women in Philanthropy of Utah County, to help fund the early childhood initiatives in our community. This work has given me a deep understanding of what families in our area need.
I have served as president of the Utah Valley Estate Planning Council and as Chair of the Board of Directors of Utah Community Credit Union, and on other nonprofit boards in Utah. Years ago, when we saw that many people were beginning to overextend on credit, Ned & I started giving firesides on the need to stay within budget and also on estate planning. We warned of many of the things that are happening today. I have also trained nonprofit boards on duties and ethics and have helped draft conflict of interest policies for volunteers. My work on boards and training on governance and ethics give me expertise in what we should be able expect of people who have special relations of trust as representatives. I know that government officers should be accountable to citizens.
My upbringing trained me to serve without greed. I was raised in Salt Lake City by depression survivors. My father was a Mormon Democrat businessman, an ethical, moral person, the son of a poor deaf farmer. My mother was an independent, an orphaned daughter of a Mormon bishop, who raised her siblings through the depression after her mother was killed in an industrial accident. My mother was one of the strongest and wisest people I have ever known. She always had a careful and insightful response to any question, and I learned to rely on her perceptions. My parents expected their seven daughters to be civic minded, and to know the value of education, money and hard work. Growing up, nothing was given to us, as they believed that we would be spoiled by receiving anything beyond what they had had during the depression. My parents produced daughters who are trustworthy, hard working hard and truthful.
When Ned and I moved back east, I became a Republican because I was uncomfortable with some of the liberal positions the national party took. But in Utah, the Republican Party has moved away from me, to an extreme right. I now find that the Utah County Democratic Party has taken the moderate and community minded position with which I am most comfortable, so I have returned to my father’s party.
