Utah leaders often praise local control. Now we are seeing whether they actually believe in it.
According to reporting by KPCW and The Park Record, Steve Waldrip, Gov. Spencer Cox’s senior housing adviser, delivered an extraordinary message during an Aug. 18 Heber City Council meeting.
“Your funding as a county is now at risk, meaning none,” Waldrip said. “Anything within my power, I will stop.”
He specifically mentioned B and C road funds and other state funding. He reportedly said the message came from Gov. Cox.
Why?
Wasatch County declined to approve a particular development agreement involving 144 proposed lots on state trust land. Wasatch and Summit counties also discussed asking the Legislature to repeal the preliminary municipality program created by SB 258.
Those are not acts of war.
They are lawful acts of local government.
County councils are supposed to examine development proposals. They are supposed to consider water, sewer capacity, roads, schools, emergency services, traffic and the concerns of residents.
Local officials also have every right to petition the Legislature. Asking lawmakers to repeal a law is not defying that law. It is how representative government is supposed to work.
The Governor’s Office does not get to label political disagreement a declaration of war and then threaten the public funds belonging to the people who disagreed.
Those funds do not belong to the governor. They do not belong to an appointed adviser. They come from taxpayers and are distributed under laws, appropriations, formulas, grants and contracts.
Utah communities are not colonies of the Governor’s Office, and taxpayer money must not be used as a political weapon.
This controversy is bigger than one development and bigger than Wasatch County.
If the state can threaten one county because its elected officials rejected a proposal or asked the Legislature to change a law, every city and county in Utah should pay attention.
What happens the next time a rural county questions whether enough water exists for a development? What happens when a city opposes a state mandate? What happens when local officials demand that developers pay for the infrastructure their projects require?
Are those communities also “at war” with the state?
The Governor’s Office owes the public direct answers.
Did Gov. Cox authorize Waldrip’s statement?
Has any funding actually been suspended, delayed, conditioned or placed under review?
Which funds are affected?
Which state official or agency ordered the action?
What statute, rule or appropriation gives that person the authority to do it?
If Waldrip invoked the governor’s name without authorization, the governor should say so publicly and explain what corrective action will be taken.
If Waldrip accurately stated the administration’s position, then the administration must defend that position in writing and identify its legal authority.
I am not waiting for an election to start asking those questions.
I have requested legal review from the Heber City attorney and Wasatch County attorney. I have submitted public-records requests seeking communications, directives and documents involving the threatened funding. I have also asked that relevant records be preserved.
That is what transparency and accountability look like.
As a candidate for Utah Senate District 20, I want every county, city, town, special district and rural community in this district to know this: I have your back.
I may agree with a local decision or disagree with it. That is not the point. Local officials must be able to perform their lawful duties, represent their residents and petition the Legislature without fearing financial retaliation from the executive branch.
I am no one’s lap dog. I am not running to become a rubber stamp for the governor, a political party, a developer or any other powerful interest.
I am running to represent the people of District 20.
Release the records. Identify the legal authority. Explain whether any funding was actually suspended. Retract any unauthorized threat.
Senate District 20 will not be bullied.
Annette McRae
Forward Party candidate for State Senate District 20