Gary R. Herbert

Gary R. Herbert is the Governor of Utah, and is running for reelection in the November 2016 Election, Utah.

The overall impression we are left with is that Gary Herbert is not a comfortably strong ideological conservative. His actions, such as his decision to be the only Republican Governor to fail to refuse Syrian refugees in the light of the federal government's biased and insecure screening process, suggest an influence from his LDS religion, which speaks well for his integrity. However, his actions further suggest that he puts reelection at a premium. Alternatively this might be explained by him simply wanting to be a people pleaser, and to keep the peace. One anecdote that stands out comes from the events surrounding House Bill 477 in 2011:

"During the 2011 legislative session, Herbert signed into law House Bill 477 after it passed through the legislature in three days. The bill would have drastically reduced the ability of citizens to access public records, especially records of Legislators. After large public outcry, Herbert announced he would sign the bill yet also call a special session to repeal the new law."

It is hard to imagine what would have led Gary Herbert to sign such a bill, but one might imagine that by signing the bill initially, and then passing it through the legislature again, he was acting deferentially towards the legislature. Despite the cost, this gave the legislature a chance to participate in responding to the outcry and might have spared some hurt feeling.

Another anecdote that stands out is Gary Herbert's endorsement of Ted Cruz in 2016. Gary Herbert had provided vocal support for John Kasich, and even as he went in to meet with Ted Cruz about a potential endorsement, he spoke glowingly of John Kasich. In the end, his endorsement went to Ted Cruz. Politico reported:

"Herbert, who is up for reelection himself this year, has withheld his endorsement so far. Though he expresses heartfelt admiration for his colleague, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, he acknowledges that Cruz is more in line ideologically with Utah conservatives."

The impression that is left, is that although Gary Herbert prefers John Kasich, his constituents prefer Ted Cruz, so he met with Ted Cruz to get some assurances to lay the groundwork for an endorsement. His endorsement of Ted Cruz, then, doesn't really come off as genuine.

The most concerning thing, of all, in the light of these observations, however, is his signing of SB 54, and subsequent utilization of the signature process to get on the Republican primary ballot.

SB 54 represents an alarming intrusion into the operations of a set of private organizations, regulating how political parties can select their candidates for an election. We cannot see how such a regulation can be seen as legitimate. Apart from the issue of the legitimacy of regulating the internal workings of a private organization in this way, the bill burdens political parties with substantial extra cost and provides a backdoor for questionable candidates to avoid having to pass the scrutiny of a party's elected delegates. Gary Herbert, himself, having drawn the ire of conservative political observers for his relatively moderate brand of conservatism, might have had trouble getting onto the ballot as the Republican candidate, if forced to undergo party scrutiny against a more ideologically conservative candidate. However, he has signed into law his own back door, and he is using it. He has not pleased conservatives, or respected the rights of his constituents, but he may have given himself a shot at reelection.

Endorsements

He is endorsed by Senator Ted Cruz.

SB 54

Is widely criticized in the Republican Party for signing SB 54 of 2014 into law, which is disliked by Republicans, because it regulates the process by which political parties in Utah, which are private organization, choose their candidates for state and county elections. Of particular concern at the time of the November 2016 Election, Utah, is a requirement that candidates be allowed to enter a race with a political party by gathering signatures, bypassing the normal caucus system, whereby candidates are elected by delegates. This creates expense for the political parties, undermines the authority of the party delegates. In Utah County, delegates were reported to have booed signature gathering candidates for their leveraging of this abusive provision, and the official party stance has been to refuse to acknowledge candidates (with either resources or endorsement) entering races via the signature gathering method.

Gary Herbert has entered the race via the signature gathering method.

External Resources

• Official Campaign Website
• Gary Herbert - Facebook
• Governor Gary Herbert - Facebook
• Gov. Gary Herbert - Twitter
• Gary Herbert for Governor - YouTube
• Gary Herbert - Wikipedia
• Gary R. Herbert - Ballotpedia
• Gary Herbert - On The Issues
• Gary Herbert - The Huffington Post
• Gary R Herbert - The Washington Times
• Gary Herbert - Vote Smart
• Gary Herbert - The Los Angeles Times
• Gary Herbert - ABCNews
• Lisa Riley Roche , "Gov. Gary Herbert, Jonathan Johnson headed to primary after GOP convention vote", KSL.com, 23 Apr 2016
• Corky Siemaszko, "Utah Governor Gary Herbert Declares Pornography a Public Health Hazard", NBC News, 20-April-2016
• "Utah calls pornography public health crisis, in US first", Yahoo, 19-April-2016
• Emily Larson, "3 Utah gubernatorial candidates announce running mates", KSL.com, 18 April 2016
• Robert Gehrke, "In Utah County, GOP delegates still angry over election changes", The Salt Lake Tribune, 16-April-2016
• Hallie Golden, "Utah gov. signs bill requiring abortion anesthesia", The Washington Times, 29-March-2016
• Michelle L. Price, "Utah governor Gary Herbert favors return to presidential primary", Standard Examiner, 26-March-2016
• Lee Davidson, "Utah Gov. Gary Herbert endorses Ted Cruz for president", The Salt Lake Tribune, 21-March-2016
• Eric Bradner, "Utah governor says he's backing Ted Cruz", CNN, 21-March-2016
• Kile Cheney, "Utah governor admires Kasich but will huddle with Cruz as endorsement looms", Politico, 18-March-2016
• Daniel Woodruff, "John Kasich wraps up big campaign day in Utah with support from Gary Herbert", KUTV: Salt Lake City Utah, 18-March-2016
• Dennis Romboy, "Gov. Gary Herbert proposes $14.8 billion state budget with eye to the future", Deseret News, 9-December-2015
• Michael McFall, "White House sends Utah Gov. Gary Herbert a letter about Syrian refugees", The Salt Lake Tribune, 21-November-2015
• Max Roth, "Herbert now only Republican gov. who has not refused Syrian refugees", Fox News 13: Salt Lake City, NOVEMBER 17, 2015
• Robert Gehrke, "Gov. Gary Herbert says UTA has fixed most problems in audit", The Salt Lake Tribune, 28-August-2014