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From left, the candidates for the District 10 seat in the Utah House, Republican Jill Koford and Democrat Rosemary Lesser, the incumbent. Both are from Ogden.

Photos supplied

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Several candidates for the Utah House and Senate took part in a candidate forum on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2022, at the Pleasant Valley Branch library in Washington Terrace. Shown here, from left, are District 10 Utah House hopefuls Jill Koford and Rosemary Lesser, moderator Betty Sawyer and District 9 Utah House hopefuls Jacob Johnson and Neil Hansen.

Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner

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OGDEN — The District 10 Utah House race pits an incumbent focused on serving the public against a small-government conservative who feels her perspective hasn’t gotten enough focus in Salt Lake City.

The race between Rep. Rosemary Lesser, the Democrat appointed to the post in 2021, and Jill Koford, her Republican challenger, is easily getting the most attention among the varied state legislative contests in Weber County. Lesser is the only Democrat among Weber County’s legislative delegation, which has prompted a push by GOPers to get the post in the Republican column. Likewise, the incumbent’s backers are working hard to keep Lesser — the only Democrat in the Legislature from outside Salt Lake County — in the seat.

Lesser, a doctor specializing in obstetrics and gynocology who also served in the U.S. Air Force, shies from political labels. “I view this position as public service. That is what I have done in my life,” she said.

Koford, operator of a number of small businesses, calls herself a “common-sense conservative” and touts a philosophy that puts a focus on individual liberties and self-reliance.

“We don’t necessarily need the government to solve all our problems,” said Koford, running for public office for the first time. “I believe in limited government and small government and keeping government in its lane.”

Judging by contributions, the race is getting the most attention among the Weber County legislative contests by a long shot, excluding the war chest amassed by Sen. Ann Millner, the District 5 Utah Senate incumbent. Lesser had mustered $119,692 in contributions for her race and had $63,673 left, according to finance reports due Sept. 30. Koford had garnered $108,901 and had a balance of $39,322.

By contrast, the two hopefuls in the District 8 Utah House race, Democrat Monica Hall and Republican Jason Kyle, had mustered $35,145 between them, with $28,485 of that going to Kyle. The three hopefuls in the District 9 race — GOP incumbent Cal Musselman, Libertarian Jacob Johnson and Democrat Neil Hansen — had collectively received $45,890, $44,560 of that for Musselman.

Millner, a Republican seeking her third term and the majority whip in the Utah Senate, had garnered $303,757 in contributions as of Sept. 30. That compares to the $100 mustered as of June 21 by Michael Blodgett, her Democratic challenger for the seat, which sits mostly in Weber County.

TAXES, WATER, ABORTION

District 10 covers southern Ogden, part of South Ogden, northern Riverdale and northern Washington Terrace. Both Koford and Lesser live in Ogden, but from there the similarities start fading.

Lesser — appointed by Weber County Democrats to the District 10 seat after the death in late 2020 of Rep. Lou Shurtliff, the Democrat who had held the post — says the focus of her campaign messaging is on health-related matters. She’s seeking election to office by the general public for the first time.

Broadly, her message is about promoting healthy families, healthy communities and a healthy environment. More specifically, she puts a focus on increasing education funding, addressing air pollution, bolstering postpartum care for women and focusing more on mental health issues.

She pushed for an end to the state’s 1.75% sales tax on groceries during the last legislative session and though her proposal ultimately fizzled, it’s still a big focus. Critics call such sales taxes regressive, impacting lower-income people the most, and Lesser touts its elimination as a way to decrease food insecurity for those with the least.

More generally, she views herself as a “builder,” alluding to recent comments by Gov. Spencer Cox warning that those in the political realm can be divvied between “builders and destroyers” and touting the import of builders. She strives to be “a positive force, a force for the community,” focused on collaboration in the political realm, Lesser said.

Koford said she got in the race stemming from concern that her conservative perspective wasn’t getting duly represented in the Utah House. “I felt like my voice wasn’t being heard or amplified at the state. I felt I wasn’t being represented,” she said.

Having a Republican serving in the District 10 seat allows the rep to be involved in the caucus discussions among GOP legislators, the majority in both the Utah House and Utah Senate. Those are the meetings — key in setting the legislative agenda — at which GOP lawmakers discuss strategy and focus.

“As much as we may not like that, that’s the reality,” she said, alluding to the important role caucus gatherings have in the legislative process.

Beyond that, Koford puts a focus on fiscal matters — helping ease the pinch of inflation and rising costs on Utahns as well as trimming taxes. She’s open to discussion on eliminating the state sales tax on food, a focus for Lesser. But she thinks tax-cutting efforts should go further so Utahns can keep more of the money they earn in their pockets.

That the state has a surplus of $1.4 billion “tells me we’ve been very conservative in budgeting, which is good. But we’re overtaxed. It’s time to return that money back to the people,” Koford said. More specifically, she touts reducing the state’s income tax.

Abortion has long been a hot topic, moreso since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last June that struck down Roe v. Wade, leaving it to individual states to determine policy on the matter.

Lesser, for her part, laments that the trigger ban implemented by Utah lawmakers subsequent to the June ruling didn’t get sufficient public or physician input. That scant attention, she maintains, “runs counterintuitive to the things lawmakers should be doing.”

The trigger law — actually on hold due to a court challenge — calls for a prohibition on abortions in Utah except in certain circumstances, including cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the pregnant woman.

Koford, who is pro-life, believing abortions should only be allowed in cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother, is open to discussion and debate on the trigger ban. For now, though, lawmakers have to wait until the court challenge is resolved, she said.

Both Koford and Lesser agree on the import of addressing the declining water level in the Great Salt Lake, a growing focus of worry and attention.

Koford suggested taking a closer look at how farmers, the biggest users of water, can conserve and use the commodity more efficiently. Lesser suggested putting more of a focus on hydroponics to grow the food people need as a water-conservation mechanism.

Ballots will be mailed out starting Oct. 18 and voting goes until Nov. 8.