Miss: Send in the Clowns
It was two hours of torture, waiting for a foregone conclusion and listening to legislators parrot their approved talking points. Call it the special session, emphasis on "special." Gov. Spencer Cox called lawmakers into session "to address several matters of urgent state business." That was fun stuff, essentially all about disregarding the dastardly federal government. To list a few items: keeping a coal-fired plant running; ignoring Title IX changes meant to prevent discrimination; and affirming the state's ultimate sovereignty. We got to hear the esteemed epidemiologist and physician Dr. Kera Birkeland—oh sorry, she's not a doctor—falsely tie Utah's high instances of sexual assault to transgender youths using public bathrooms. Rep. Birkeland, R-Morgan, has also blamed a family shooting allegedly committed by a transgender youth on "unnatural hormone concoctions." House Democrats made impassioned arguments to deaf ears. But for the Republicans, it was a clarion call about federal overreach on things like management of public lands, which the state wants to do exclusively. Maybe it wasn't necessary to listen to the entire floor debates, and yet hope springs eternal that at least one Republican might surprise us.
Miss: Shades of Red
Are we tired yet of the endless pre-primary campaign ads? Utah Republican candidates are doing their best to show how they can wield a gun, keep undocumented migrants out of our country and fight Biden's "woke" agenda. The strangest ads are those pitting one GOP candidate against another—specifically the ads about Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs. Who, you ask? Staggs is the Trump-endorsed candidate to replace Sen. Mitt Romney, and who also won the fringe-oriented nominating convention with 70% of the delegate vote. In reality, he is a long shot to beat Rep. John Curtis, who according to polls leads the primary with 34% to Staggs' 16%. That hasn't stopped the Curtis-aligned Conservative Values for Utah PAC from spending $1.5 million, according to the Deseret News. If you've seen their ads, they are depicting Staggs as "too liberal" for Utah. When you stop laughing, you might feel his pain.
Hit: Higher Learning
Despite the heavy hand of the Legislature, the University of Utah isn't giving up. You might remember that lawmakers are doing their best to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from educational facilities. "Under HB 261, 'Equal Opportunity Initiatives,' student services must be available to all students and not provided to individual students based on 'personal identity characteristics,'" the U wrote on June 20. Of course, they complied with the law, centralizing student resources and closing the Women's Resource Center, the Center for Equity and Student Belonging and the LGBT Resource Center. But hold on—the U will continue to work with tribal nations and keep the Black Cultural Center building for a gathering space.
About The Author
Katharine Biele
A City Weekly contributor since 1992, Katharine Biele is the informed voice behind our Hits & Misses column. When not writing, you can catch her working to empower voters and defend democracy alongside the League of Women Voters.
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