The Utah Legislature started its 2022 session last week and wasted no time reminding Utahns the next 45 days will be dedicated to everything but ensuring the state is in better shape when they leave. The Beehive State is considered among the most conservative in the nation, but its elected representatives have abandoned those principles in favor of performance art, sweetheart deals and indecency.
On Tuesday, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, appeared at the opening session, not wearing a mask, after having tested positive for COVID-19 twice that morning. Adams knew he was sick. He knew that he shouldn’t be at the Capitol. He knew that he shouldn’t be shaking hands, but he appeared anyway. Why? Because like so many other Republican leaders, Adams has decided “freedom” means he can act however he wants, regardless of the risk to others.
Personal responsibility was once a core tenet of American conservatism. Not for Stuart Adams. His responsibility is to himself, his political ambitions, and his willingness to perform for the most conservative voters in his district. His campaign slogan should be “Responsibility for thee, but not for me.”
That wasn’t enough for Adams, though. He also needed to violate another tenet of conservativism; that of local control. For decades, Republicans argued that local cities, counties and school boards were best positioned — that is, close to — their citizens and should be free from state power to make decisions on their behalf. Not anymore.
As his first act of the new legislative session, Adams abandoned Senate rules to ram through a resolution that repealed mask mandates in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County and Summit County. Why would Adams do that? First, because he could. Adams told reporters, “We’re simply just following the process.” Just following orders. Think about where that’s led people before.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised by Adams’ behavior. In 2020, he ensured that Utah stockpiled hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 despite no evidence it worked. Why did he do it? Ask the well-connected pharmacy that received $800,000 in taxpayer money to buy the useless drug. The kicker? He didn’t bother to tell state health officials.
Or maybe we should ask him about the sweetheart deals given to developers, like the one done literally in the dark of night, on the last day of the 2020 session that allowed developers Nate Brockbank and Josh Romney to annex Summit County land without letting Summit County or Park City know about it ahead of time.
Or the plan the Legislature crafted under the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) that allowed construction of a new resort on the back side of Deer Valley using the a financing gimmick that puts taxpayers on the hook for bonds while not seeing any local financial benefit for decades. While it’s in Wasatch County, the Legislature ensured the locals wouldn’t have a say in how the property is developed. Oh, did I mention Adams is the chair of MIDA?
Stuart Adams’ attitude is not that of a public servant, but of someone who believes that neither he, nor the Legislature, is accountable to anyone but themselves. Even Gov. Spence Cox, who runs a co-equal branch of government, dare not cross him. As he sits in his gilded office, Adams is concerned with his own power, doling out favors to moneyed interests and ensuring that everyone in Utah knows who’s really in charge.
That’s not conservative. It’s not even Republican. It’s authoritarian worldview. And it’s spreading.
Reed Galen
Reed Galen is a co-founder of The Lincoln Project. He is a resident of Summit County.