A Heartfelt Thanks for Support
November 10, 2024
I want to say first how thankful I am for you, and for your support. I chose to be a candidate because no-one else was standing up to run against Jordan Teuscher. I treated this campaign as an act of rebellion for the lack of representation, for not having a voice. I sought the endorsements of people that Jordan targeted in his bills – workers and unions, public education, and LGBT communities that were all willing to stand with me. I attended the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago to engage further with democratic groups and network with individuals, and it really felt like there was traction afterwards, and leading into the end of this campaign. During DNC, the Republican legislature called an emergency session to address a string of decisions from the Utah Supreme Court, and the result was Amendment D, which Jordan Teuscher was the house sponsor for. I couldn’t have expected anything like this, and it was serious enough of an issue that Jordan should have lost his seat over it. With everything that took place this year in the Utah legislature, and with everything that Jordan has done to disenfranchise voters, dismantle worker rights and defund public education, I really hoped for the chance to make change. But that’s not what happened.
– Greg Green (former candidate for Utah HD44)
Looking Ahead
You can expect four things to come from Utah’s Republican-led legislature in the next two years:
- Amendment D is not going away. At the soonest opportunity, it will come back as a ballot initiative in 2026 if the current leaders can make it happen. Republican leadership wants to change the Utah constitution to limit the will of the people, and effectively neuter Citizen Initiatives by allowing the legislature to override successful ballot measures.
- As a result of recent court decisions, the legislature will also look at ways it can reduce or limit judicial authority. They aren’t happy that their over-reach was checked. Their contempt is obvious in recent letters that unfairly admonish the courts, who reminded the legislature that they are accountable for government over-reach.
- The 2025 general session is expected to be filled with bills that introduce additional bans on abortion. These bills will attempt to affect the injunction in some way
- Once the redistricting suit is settled (expect that the lower courts will judge in favor of redistricting, and that will be appealed to the Utah Supreme Court), the legislature will do everything in its capacity to delay the redistricting process. A new independent redistricting commission will have to be set up and funded. New maps will be proposed, and the supermajority will drag its feet to make sure that the redistricting doesn’t happen before the 2026 election cycle. It’s very likely that we’ll have to submit another lawsuit against the Utah legislature to implement the court decision in time for new boundaries to be published for 2026 elections.
The supermajority in our Utah legislature believes that it isn’t beholden to anyone, and they have plans to keep scrapping with everyone, picking fights with the Feds, picking fights with Utah courts, and picking fights with Utah voters. Their goal is autocratic power for their vindictive, thin-skinned, power-hungry coalition of legislators. But we can stop them.
Stay Engaged
The fight isn’t over.
Engage with active bills – you can follow legislation at https://le.utah.gov/bills/bills_By_Session.jsp. Learn who your legislators are, how to engage them, and how to testify when bills are being debated on the floor.
Support groups like Alliance for a Better Utah, Better Boundaries, ACLU Utah, League of Women Voters in Utah, Utah Education Association, and Planned Parenthood of Utah for the fights that they are bringing to the courts on our behalf.
Get involved – to be a Democrat in Utah means that you have to be active, and you have to make your voice heard. We need individuals who are dedicated, who can engage the party, become delegates, train to become candidates, and are committed to running in future elections. This has to start NOW to be qualified and ready.