Letter: Republicans complete their takeover of Utah government
(Francisco Kjolseth | Tribune file photo) Supreme Court justices Thomas R. Lee, Constandinos Himonas, John A. Pearce and Paige Petersen, from left, listen to Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant give the state of the judiciary speech to the legislature in the House chamber on the first day of the 2018 legislative session at the Utah Capitol on Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019, that Utah Board of Education elections can be partisan.
Well, it’s finally complete.
For generations, the State Board of Education had been the lone bastion of non-partisanship in Utah government. For years, one political party has been able to control all levels of government, from judicial appointments to overruling efforts of citizen initiatives.
But the Board of Education elections have historically been nonpartisan. What a thorn that must have been in the party’s side.
As a result of Wednesday’s State Supreme Court’s decision upholding the party’s 2016 legislation changing that, that thorn has finally been removed. Now, only candidates with the big “R” or elephant next to their names will likely sit on the board and decide the education future of Utah’s children.
Long live the Party!
Thor Nilsen, Sandy
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