Although Montana's Brian Schweitzer points out that the Democrats' rule states "from Alberta to Mexico” in the Mountain West, Utah remains a persistent, unsurprising exception. Businessman Bob Springmeyer is trying to change that by challenging the state's Republican governor, Jon Huntsman. Although he has not been elected to public office before (he lost a county commissioner’s race by less than 1 percent of the vote), like Huntsman he has deep family roots in Utah politics.
How is Utah changing?
It's like a lot of the West. There's a myth that the West is all John Wayne, go-it-alone cowboys. The West was built by cooperators, not wild-eyed cowboys.
You see the myth even in the McCain campaign -- to even talk about renegotiating the Colorado River Compact. [The agreement that governs water in seven states including Utah and Arizona, which McCain recently suggested reopening.] My uncle George Dewey negotiated that agreement as governor of Utah. It took decades. To think you can just throw it out -- that’s not the real West.
The incumbent you're challenging, Jon Huntsman, has a reputation as pretty moderate. How will you run against him?
We've had two recent governors -- Michael Leavitt [now secretary of HHS] and Huntsman who were get-along, go-along governors trying to live up to their fathers. Huntsman won’t stand up to the legislature. His budget is totally irrelevant.
So you're running against the Republican legislative leadership as much as the governor?
I get more reaction when I talk about the Republican leadership than anything else.
What happened to the progressive tradition in Utah, that elected people like the late congressman Wayne Owens?
Obviously, it got caught up in social issues, the Reagan Revolution. When the LDS church, my church, to my surprise opposed the Equal Rights Amendment, that created some lines that still haven't healed. But the LDS church position on immigration is one I support -- it's compassion. But the issues that matter now are jobs, keeping people in their homes. The environment matters -- active outdoor recreation is a big part of our lives and our economy. Utah is a drive state. And we're an urban state.
-- Mark Schmitt.
Previous Party People Q&As:
Bracken Hendricks, clean-energy evangelist.
Karen Brown and Bonnie Tierney, Clinton and McCain supporters.
Don Beyer, former Democratic VA gubernatorial candidate
Chris Redfern, Ohio Democratic Party Chair
David Cicilline, Mayor of Providence
Nancy Ruth White, Clinton Delegate
Nancy Keenan, President of NARAL
