This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
[I love this photo of Sen. Urquhart. It looks like he is using his Jedi mind powers on the Utah Senate. Except, too often, it didn't work.]
At the end of the last session of the Legislature, we ran this editorial in praise of Sen. Steve Urquhart and his many efforts — successful and not — to make Utah a more humane state.
— One senator's efforts to make Utah a better place — Salt Lake Tribune Editorial, March 5, 2016
"Sen. Steve Urquhart's noble efforts to make Utah a kinder, gentler place were half successful in the state Senate the other day.
"In a body that sometimes seems determined to show government at its most callous, that was no small accomplishment. ..."
He wasn't running for re-election after 16 years in office, and the editorial was written as a send-off.
Technically, Urquhart was still a member of the Senate until the end of his term, which was to be this coming January.
Now, though, he has officially resigned from office.
— Sen. Steve Urquhart resigns, moves, takes new job at U. — Lee Davidson | The Salt Lake Tribune
So the editorial makes even more sense now.
Seems Urquhart has taken a gig at the University of Utah, refuge for former journalists and other smart people. (I only work there part-time. Really part-time. Like teaching one class once a year.)
That means he's moving to Salt Lake City and out of his St. George district. So, because he's honest, he has to quit the Senate now.
Here's more on Urquhart from the end of the last session:
— The 'I was only following orders' defense doesn't exonerate LDS lawmakers — George Pyle | The Salt Lake Tribune
"The sponsor of the bill that would have given the Utah hate crimes law some real teeth was understandably downcast the other day when the religion to which he belongs, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, put out the hit on his proposal.
"Sen. Stephen Urquhart, R-St. George, must know how to count votes after 15 years in the Legislature. He figures at least three senators bailed on him after the church issued a vaguely worded, but clearly intended, statement about not upsetting something it called 'the delicate balance' of last year's anti-discrimination law. ...
" ... Arguing that the LDS Church does not have an outsized influence over public policy in Utah would be absurd.
"But putting the blame for bad decisions by individual public officials on the church — or the Koch brothers or the PTA or any other Marching and Chowder Society — goes way too easy on the lawmakers involved.
"Adults in positions of power who thought on Monday that a bill was a good idea, then voted against it on Wednesday because of what a church said on Tuesday, should never be given an easy out. ..."
And then there was the time I accused Urquhart of trying to bribe, or, more exactly, junket me.
— St. George junket offered to Tribune — George Pyle | The Salt Lake Tribune, July 16, 2006
" ... When I called him, Rep. Stephen Urquhart quickly backed off any suggestion that his invitation for the members of The Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board to visit St. George and environs included an offer to pick up the tab.
"To a legislator, that's an acceptable method of gathering information. To a journalist, it's a bribe. ..."
But we don't talk about that any more.
Best of luck in your new post, Steve.