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Gov. Spencer Cox and Utah Tech President Richard B. Photo by Truman Burgess, St. George News
ST. george – Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox discussed water conservation, anti-American bias, ethical news sources, suicides in Utah, renaming Utah Tech University and affordability at Thursday’s event in St. George.
Addressing Utah Tech students, staff and community members in an open forum hosted by Utah Tech President Richard B. Williams, the public forum Cox responded to written questions submitted by Utah Tech students at the beginning of the meeting.
Cox said the goal of the traveling political tour is to “meet as many people and organizations as possible,” including high school students, college campuses, businesses, medical professionals and chambers of commerce.
Cox’s comments on specific topics are listed by topic in the sections below.
Water conservation
“Water is a big thing everywhere in the state of Utah,” Cox said. “This is a question I get asked a lot. Water is fundamental to our existence… We should use less across the board.”
“I believe the weather is cyclical and the climate is changing… All I know is that I have to deal with what we have now and now… the Great Salt Lake is drying up, and there’s not enough water in the Colorado River or in Lake Powell to do what we want to do here.
As for solutions, the governor talked about the Lake Powell pipeline and delegated much of the water conservation to local standards.
“I’ve made it very clear, and I know this is controversial, but I’m on record as supporting the Lake Powell pipeline.
“The question is what if the pipeline takes longer, if it’s delayed? If we could build it and have all the resources, what would it look like? That’s none of our business. There are other decision makers who need to weigh in on this issue.
“I expect concrete (solutions) to come from Washington County,” Cox told the St. George News. “Our job is to support. You guys know better. Obviously, the conservation department is very important, and you’re doing that.”
Cox reiterated his commitment to supporting Southern Utah.
“St. George is not an island in itself,” Cox said. Even though you feel like you’re a couple of hundred miles from Salt Lake City, you’re part of the state of Utah. This is a Utah problem, and we are committed to working with you to solve it.
Reduce housing costs
Cox said if Utahns want housing costs to come down, the amount of housing available in Utah needs to increase.
“If we can’t build houses, we can’t keep people living here,” Cox said. “I will tell you now what will happen. The only people living in St. George are billionaires in California. “If we can’t continue to build, this will happen.”
Voter fraud and public transport
Expressing concerns about voter fraud, Cox joined Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) in supporting the integrity of Utah elections and county clerks, inviting anyone with questions about the election to ask the county clerk for a visit and clarification. The selection process.
The governor said he is hopeful about how public transport will increase in the state.
“My biggest dream in life, and I know it’s far off, is a high-speed train from Salt Lake to St. George.
biased ‘contempt’
Cox spent much of the stage addressing the animosity between the political parties in the United States.
As Cox said, “We need to go back to a time when, as Americans, we were willing to be seen first and parties second.”
“For many people, politics has become their religion. Fewer Americans attend church regularly than at any other time in our nation’s history. Anyone who disagrees with the things that bring us together as a society and our politics is our religion is equal to a heretic.
Cox said social, philanthropic clubs like the Rotary Club used to be highly active and full of members for the betterment of local communities, but now these organizations lack community volunteers. Social media is replacing those groups, Cox says, and social media allows individuals to collectively hate others without creating healthy communities.
“I’m not interested in ‘holding’ the libs,” Cox said. “I want to convince the thieves that there is a different way, a better way. Many will not agree with me, but at least if I start a conversation and listen to them, I have a chance to show them why I believe what I believe, and they are more likely to listen and respect. I think this is how we fix politics.
Advice for Generation Z
Following a question from Williams about the next generation’s political involvement, Cox spoke directly to Generation Z in the room.
“I’m very concerned because our children are so mischievous,” he said. “You are being led to believe that this is the worst time in the history of the world, that we are all going to die because of war, because of climate change. These are serious issues, but you think it’s the worst economy ever. There has never been a better time in the history of the world to live in Utah.
“Don’t let anyone tell you the world is worse today,” Cox said. “The world is in a great place. We have things to fix, and together we can fix it… we can solve every problem we face. There are more jobs available now than at any other time in our state’s history.
Mainstream media
The governor has been outspoken about his thoughts on the mainstream news media.
“Cable media is evil,” Cox said. “CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, – they’re all evil. They are trying to brainwash you. They have psychologists who can help you set these things up to get you hooked into… contempt. It’s addictive.
Cox talks about how a close family member feeds on mainstream news and how negative it is in his life until the family member “stops being addicted to the anger that comes from cable news.”
“After he left, he started to see happiness again, he started to love people again, he started to see how much good there is in the world,” Cox said.
“The best decision I ever made was nine years ago, we turned off cable news. I was nine years old.
Instead of listening to and watching mainstream news commentary, Cox said, Utahns should be pulling information from local news and solid, authentic news coverage in mainstream sources.
“What I encourage you to do is to look at sources from different perspectives,” he said.
The institution of the family
Cox explained that American trust in institutions is at an all-time low in the country, and how concerned he is about the institution of the family.
“If you look at all the problems that we face as a society – homelessness, drug addiction, mental health … our prison population – all these societal problems, then the best place to start is when we have strong families, strong families. So I created the first family office.
Cox expressed concern that Utah’s birth rate has dropped to 1.9 births per woman, which is below the state’s replacement rate.
“This is happening in the United States because the marriage rate is going down and sometimes the government makes it worse.
We want to make sure we have policies that support families and help families through difficult times, because if we can do that, we’ll save billions in taxpayer money… and we’ll have happier people.
Cox explained how Utah doesn’t offer maternity leave to mothers, but now the state offers three weeks of maternity leave.
“I would like to have more, but maternity leave is one area where we help families. We need to think more in light of the DOPS decision and the changes to abortion to make sure we support mothers, especially single mothers, and support families and help them do what they want.
Utah Tech name change
At the conclusion of his remarks, Cox spoke about Utah Tech’s recent name change from Dixie State University.
“Of course, I completely understand and feel the sentiments of those who oppose the name change,” he said. “The reason I’m willing to support the name change is not part of that race. I know it got a lot of publicity. I don’t think this is particularly helpful.
“When I travel around the country and anytime Dixie comes up, I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, is that in Georgia?’ As it turns out, there was a lot of confusion. I get asked that all the time.
“I realized there’s a real ceiling to what this can be because names are important in branding… Now that I’ve seen it and experienced it, it’s great, and I’m having conversations I’ve never had before… I know it’s not going to satisfy people; And I don’t expect you to agree with that.
Suicide in Utah
After the public forum, Cox addressed the Utah Tech Institute of Politics behind closed doors and answered personal questions. A student asked Cox about Utah’s plan to reduce state suicide measures.
“We’ve been working hard for the last six years to get those rates down and get more facilities,” Cox said. “We have a new resource center being built right here in Washington County to help people with acute mental illness, suicidal people.”
He also mentioned the SafeUT app, which provided instant digital resources for suicide prevention. The app provides instant connection to a mental health professional for free.
“I think the numbers right now are pretty scary,” Cox said. “My parents divorced when I was a teenager and I was bullied and struggled a bit. I had suicidal thoughts for several months. I thought the world would be better off without me. I’m so glad I stayed. I promise you it will get better.
Copyright Saint George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.
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