Today I campaigned at the Hurricane Valley Rotary. Tomorrow, I’ll be visiting the Cedar City Rotary. This evening, I took a trip up to Zion National Park.
Zion holds a special place in my heart. It was a frequent destination for my family when I was young. The last time I was here was two years ago when my younger sister got married near the park. This time, it was dusted with an unusual March snow that was utterly breath-taking and mostly devoid of other people. I walked the trail to the “Three Patriarchs”, gazed at the “Great White Throne” and watched an otherwise dry waterfall at the “Temple of Sinewava”. I have been fortunate to have travelled to many destinations all over the world, but Zion remains at the top of my list.
Some people have asked me why I should bother to run as a Democrat in Utah. Why not move to a state that presents better opportunities for Democrats? Like say, Pennsylvania?
If home is where your heart is, my heart is in Utah. This state is an enigma to outsiders and a well-kept secret to insiders. As I come up to a year of campaigning throughout this state, I have had many days like today that confirm my deep love for Utah. This is my home.
Don’t forget to take the trail to Cascade Falls — just off Navajo Lake… well worth the hike. At the end of the trail is a waterfall that comes out of a large hole in the rock.
Reading this post reminded me of a lot of time spent in the outdoors growing up in Utah, and some favorite places of my family’s. It also, unfortunately, came on the heels of watching the first episode of HBO’s new series, “Big Love.” It’s set in Salt Lake City and stars Bill Paxton as the polygamist husband of three wives, and from the first frame to the last is a showcase of negative Utah stereotypes (http://www.hbo.com/biglove/index.html).
The juxtaposition made me think… my biggest challenge as a businessman in Utah is attracting top talent from around the country and around the world to come work for my company, and Utah’s image plays a significant part in that. I associate Utah with some of the most breathtaking country in the West, and Salt Lake City with a thriving and diverse cultural community. Regrettably though, for a significant percentage of the rest of the world, Utah conjures images of backwater weirdos or bubblegum homogeneity. I’d love to find new ways to project our image of Utah outside our borders, beyond a select audience of ski tourists and outdoor retailers.
It was great to meet you in person today, Pete.
I like Zion, too.
The Olympics was a good start to changing that image, so is Sundance. It takes more to change public opinion on something like of this nature. The more Utah pops up, and the less it is about the Mormon church the more people will understand Utah. The census has released information that shows people in the late 20s to early 40s are moving away from the coasts and to smaller cities like Reno, NV. The more new busiessnes that we attract the more of this demographic they will bring with them. The reason people are now leaving these other areas are due to a number of things including: high taxes both property and income, poor schools, Govt’s with no budget and short on services.
The more positive people we have in the state govt, the more we can work towards getting a peice of this pie.
Don’t let people bother you about being a Democrat in Utah, Pete!! There’s more of us out there than most people think! Besides that, I think there’s a lot of people out there like me who will not associate with one party or the other – I just pick the candidates that most closely represent my views and who would better the community by representing Utah. You the man, Pete!
Enjoyed your views you expressed at the Hurricane Rotary Club meeting and I wish you the best of luck in your campaign.
Pete: I hope you have been reading Ed Kociela’s editorials in the Spectrum in honor of “Sunshine Week” He even talks about “transparent government”. There’s an old-fashioned idea! Too conservative for most Utahns, probably. – Ben Everitt