Natalie Cline censured by school board and Legislature; Gov. Cox predicts a Donald Trump win in November 

• Utah Board of Education
• State school board member Natalie Cline was denounced and censured by the Utah Legislature on Thursday.

UNIVERSITY—Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Thursday that the question of whether to impeach controversial state school board member Natalie Cline is effectively moot after Cline's board colleagues voted to take disciplinary action against her on Wednesday.

In a unanimous decision, the Utah Board of Education adopted a resolution censuring Cline and formally seeking her resignation, stripping her of board committee assignments and her power to place items on the board agenda, and prohibiting her from attending advisory meetings. The vote followed a week of widespread condemnation against Cline, with lawmakers, local district school boards, city councils and advocacy groups calling for her resignation and/or removal after Cline falsely insinuated on social media that a high school athlete was transgender, posting the student's image and identifying information and generating a torrent of hateful and dangerous rhetoric from Cline's followers.

Speaking to reporters at his monthly televised press conference at PBS Utah, Cox said he supported the school board's action, adding that it has the practical effect of ending Cline's power and influence over public education.

"What I think should be done is I think she should resign. That’s the right thing to do—that’s the best thing to do," Cox said. "Whether or not she’s impeached probably is immaterial at this point. That is, in effect, what has happened."

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• Laura Seitz | Pool Photo
• Gov. Spencer Cox takes questions at his monthly televised press conference on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024

By Thursday afternoon, both chambers of the Utah Legislature voted to approve a resolution censuring Cline, denouncing and condemning her "repugnant" behavior in the "strongest possible terms."

Sandy Republican Rep. Robert Spendlove, the resolution's House sponsor, said that lawmakers were in "uncharted territory" with no comparable examples in state history. But Cline, he said, had violated the public trust.

"The actions of Miss Cline are so outrageous, so abhorrent and so reprehensible that we must act," Spendlove said.

While the Senate was unanimous in its vote for the censure, two House members opposed the resolution: Rep. Brett Garner, D-West Valley, and Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding. Garner released a statement suggesting that, without the launch of impeachment proceedings, the resolution did not go far enough in response to Cline's actions. Alternately, Lyman said that condemnation is a strong action for lawmakers to take.

"Natalie Cline’s social media activity, in my observation, did not warrant legislative involvement," Lyman said. "I have also observed the actions of some who may have political motives."

On impeachment, Spendlove said the state is better served by acting quickly to condemn Cline and that an effort to remove Cline from office would likely feed into her hunger for notoriety.

"These people crave attention and they will do anything to get this attention, even resorting to outrageous and abhorrent behavior," Spendlove said.

Cline issued a muddled apology after deleting the initial post that incited the backlash but has otherwise defended herself and her actions in subsequent statements. Prior to the school board's vote to censure her, Cline accused her colleagues and other critics of engaging in "election interference" as she is up for election against challengers who are broadly expected to defeat her if she attempts to weather the current controversy and remain in the race.

"Hardened criminals get better due process than I am being provided," Cline wrote on Facebook. "Is a decision by the [School] Board legitimate if you don't provide the accused with proper due process rights? "

Asked about Cline's claims on Thursday, Cox was dismissive of the insinuations, noting that the otherwise ideologically-divided school board was united in its disdain for Cline's behavior. He also dismissed the idea that he and lawmakers were complicit in creating an environment of gender vigilantism by their passing and his signing of anti-transgender legislation restricting a person from participating in sports, accessing health care and, new this year, using gender-designated restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identify.

"We are all personally responsible for our actions. Natalie Cline is an adult, this is not the first time that she has done things like this," Cox said. "Even if this young person was transgender, it would still have been inappropriate. That is not who we are or what we should be doing ... I think you see that with the backlash—the backlash has been profound, it's been unanimous."

Cox also spent a considerable amount of Thursday's press conference talking about the immigration crisis at the southern U.S. border and its potential impact on November's presidential election. Cox suggested that President Joe Biden's poor handling of the crisis would cost him the election and lead to a second term for former President Donald Trump.

An occasional critic of Trump, by Republican standards, Cox said he would not be voting for the former president and would prefer to see Nikki Haley win the Republican nomination, but was nonetheless prepared to work with whomever occupies the White House in January.

"I would love to see Haley nominated and win but I think it’s pretty clear that's not going to happen," Cox said. "I don’t hate people that support Donald Trump. I know why they do that and I think we would be better off asking that question."

Cox was critical of both Biden and Trump's advanced age, suggesting that U.S. presidents should not be octogenarians. He said if either of the major parties abandoned their frontrunner and nominated another, younger candidate, that party would likely win in November by "historic" margins.

"I think we’re making a huge mistake as Americans, we should be nominating different people," Cox said. "I think people support president Biden because he’s not Donald Trump. When you put another candidate like Nikki Haley on the ballot, people don’t support president Biden."

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• Larry H. Miller Company
• A rendering of The Power District and a new Major League Baseball stadium along the Jordan River, planned for development on Salt Lake City's west side.

On other topics, Cox continued to express optimism that Utah will launch Major League Baseball and National Hockey League teams in the coming years. Just before his press conference, the Larry H. Miller Company released new renderings for their proposed baseball stadium on the west side of Salt Lake City and announced a $3.5 billion investment into development of the so-called Power District on North Temple.

“We are passionate about this once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in our capital city,” Miller Company CEO Steve Starks said in a prepared statement. “This project will serve as a vibrant extension of and gateway to downtown Salt Lake, complements the mission of the State Fairpark, and brings the Jordan River to life. The Power District will be a gathering place for Utah’s families to live, work, play and enjoy the best views in Major League Baseball.”

Cox reiterated that while he's opposed to "writing out a check to billionaires" to build sporting facilities, he supports and anticipates tax increment financing and other incentives being made available to shape and facilitate investment in the area, which was long neglected by both the state and city.

"This is kind of an outside indication that everything we’ve been working on for the past decade is working and Utah’s arrow is pointing up," Cox said.

Cox also commented on the litigation filed by opponents of the new Utah State Flag, seeking to overcome their deficits in a signature-gathering campaign that attempted to place adoption of the new design on the ballot for a public vote.

"I think it’s a tremendous waste of resources," Cox said. "I’m confident that—like everything else they’ve tried so far—will fail as well."