Gary Herbert
Gary Richard Herbert is an American politician serving as the 17th and current Governor of Utah since 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the National Governors Association during the 2015–2016 cycle.
Herbert won a seat on the Utah County Commission in 1990, where he served 14 years. He ran for the Republican nomination for governor in 2004, ultimately becoming fellow Republican candidate Jon Huntsman's running mate in the general election. Herbert served as Lieutenant Governor of Utah from 2005 until August 11, 2009, when he assumed the governorship following the resignation of Huntsman, who was appointed to serve as the United States Ambassador to China by President Barack Obama. Herbert was elected to serve out the remainder of the term in a special gubernatorial election in 2010, defeating Democratic nominee Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon with 64% of the vote. He won election to a full four-year term in 2012, defeating Democratic Businessman Peter Cooke with 68% of the vote and was re-elected to a second full four-year term in 2016. Herbert announced in 2019 that he will not seek re-election to a third full four-year term in 2020, endorsing the candidacy of his Lieutenant Governor, Spencer Cox.
Early life, education and career
Herbert was born in American Fork, the son of Carol and Paul Richard Peters. His parents divorced when he was a toddler, and his mother soon remarried to Duane Barlow Herbert, who legally adopted him. His biological father also remarried, but Herbert and his paternal half-siblings were raised in different households and had minimal contact with each other. Herbert grew up in Orem, Utah. He graduated from Orem High School, served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Eastern States Mission and later attended Brigham Young University, but did not graduate.He is married to Jeanette Snelson Herbert; they have six children and sixteen grandchildren. Mrs. Herbert was born in Preston, Idaho, and moved with her family as a young child to Springville, Utah. She is Honorary Chair of the Governor's Commission on Literacy.
Herbert served for six years as a member of the Utah Army National Guard, becoming a staff sergeant. Following his time in the National Guard, he set up a real estate firm, Herbert and Associates Realtors. Herbert was president of the Utah Association of Counties and Utah Association of Realtors. Mrs Herbert ran a child care service, The Kids Connection.
Political career
Utah County Commission
Between 1990 and 2004, Herbert served as a commissioner on the Utah County Commission. He replaced Brent Morris in 1990. During his time as a commissioner, Herbert also served as presidents of the Utah Association of Counties and the Utah Association of Realtors. Larry Ellertson succeeded Herbert as County Commissioner.2004 election
In November 2003, Herbert began campaigning for the Republican nomination for Governor of Utah. In April 2004, a month before the state convention at which the gubernatorial nominee would be selected, Herbert joined forces with then-rival Jon Huntsman, Jr., becoming the latter's running mate. The Huntsman-Herbert ticket defeated incumbent governor Olene S. Walker at the convention, before going on to win in the November election. Herbert subsequently became lieutenant governor.Lieutenant Governor of Utah
Herbert's central role as lieutenant governor was running the state electoral office and managing the campaign disclosure system. His record on those responsibilities was somewhat mixed, improving standards marginally but seeing the state slip overall on nationwide rankings published by the Campaign Disclosure Project. Moreover, Herbert's office was criticized for failing to enforce campaign disclosure laws more vigorously. In 2007, Herbert oversaw the first statewide voter referendum to take place since the creation of the Lieutenant Governor's post.During his time as lieutenant governor, Herbert also served as the chairman of numerous statewide commissions, including the Commission on Volunteers and the Commission on Civic and Character Education and the Emergency Management Administrative Council.
2008 election
Huntsman and Herbert faced little opposition during their 2008 campaign for re-election, avoiding a primary election after achieving a plurality of votes at the state Republican Party convention. The Republican ticket was re-elected to office with a record 77 percent of the vote.Governor of Utah
2010
Herbert became Governor of Utah on August 11, 2009, following the resignation of Governor Jon Huntsman to become Ambassador to China. As the Republican gubernatorial nominee in the 2010 special election, he defeated his Democratic opponent, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, by 64% to 32%.2012
In 2012, Herbert defeated his Democratic opponent, retired Major General Peter Cooke, winning election to a full four-year term by 69% to 28%.Important legislation included the passage of the Utah Transfer of Public Lands Act which Herbert signed into law on 23 March 2012, and will become effective after 2014.
2015
From 2014-2015, Herbert served as the vice chair for the National Governors Association and is serving as the chair of the association for the year 2015-2016.2016
Herbert won re-election to a second full term, defeating Democratic nominee, entrepreneur Mike Weinholtz.Political positions
Economics
In a 2010 statement, Herbert took partial credit for Utah's relatively quick recovery from the economic crisis which began in 2008, stating:Education
As of December 1, 2009, the Utah State Governor's website showed that Herbert listed "public and higher education" as one of four "priorities.". The Governor's site explained that Utah must improve its public education system to remain competitive and to empower its individual citizens to succeed, and the site said that "attracting and retaining the best teachers into our schools" was a way Utah could accomplish educational excellence. In his 2012 re-election bid, Herbert was endorsed by the Utah Education Association.In March 2012, Herbert vetoed a controversial sex education bill, HB363, which would have allowed schools to stop teaching sex education entirely and would have required those that kept the lessons to teach abstinence only. In vetoing it, Herbert said "HB363 simply goes too far by constricting parental options... I cannot sign a bill that deprives parents of their choice".
LGBT rights
has passed a non-discrimination ordinance which would protect gay and lesbian people from discrimination in employment and housing. A member of the Utah Legislature has indicated he would seek a statewide law to prevent cities from passing ordinances related to civil rights. As a strong supporter of local control, Herbert has said he believes municipalities should have the right to pass rules and ordinances absent state interference.On August 27, 2009, Herbert indicated at a news conference that he did not support making sexual orientation a legally protected class, saying: "We don't have to have a rule for everybody to do the right thing. We ought to just do the right thing because it's the right thing to do and we don't have to have a law that punishes us if we don't."
The gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah, which seeks to expand anti-discrimination laws to cover gay people, criticised Herbert's statements and expressed the view that he did not fully comprehend the challenges faced by gay people in Utah.
Following the legalization of same-sex marriage in Utah by a US district court ruling on December 20, 2013, Herbert's office issued a statement immediately following the ruling: "I am very disappointed an activist federal judge is attempting to override the will of the people of Utah. I am working with my legal counsel and the acting Attorney General to determine the best course to defend traditional marriage within the borders of Utah." Shortly thereafter, the Attorney General's office did indeed request an emergency stay to stop further same-sex marriages from occurring in the state.
After elected officials in Oregon and Pennsylvania chose not to defend same-sex marriage bans from constitutional challenge, Herbert expressed his disappointment by saying, "For elected officials... to, say, pick and choose which laws they will enforce, I think, is a tragedy and the next step toward anarchy." He disagreed with the comparison between same-sex marriage and interracial marriage, saying, "Clearly the actions involved in sexual activity ultimately end up being choices. What your attraction may be is something else, but how you act upon those impulses is a choice."
On March 12, 2015, Herbert, in a special ceremony, signed into law a bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and housing in the state of Utah, becoming the 19th state to do so. Later that year, Herbert was criticized by LGBT activists for planning to hold the welcome address at the World Congress of Families' congress in Salt Lake City.
In February 2019, Herbert supported a ban on conversion therapy, the pseudoscientific practice aimed at changing one's sexual orientation, being used on minors. He said he believed such therapies are not productive. In addition, Herbert said he might support a hate crime law covering sexual orientation and gender identity.
Gun rights
Herbert is a moderate supporter of the right to bear arms, in 2010 signing state Senate Bill 11, which protects the right of Utah-based companies to manufacture firearms for sale and use within the State. However, Herbert vetoed a Constitutional Carry bill in 2013, and in a 2018 interview, he said "I don't know that there's any reason to have anything more than a seven- or nine-shot magazine. Once you get past a typical size when you go out hunting, you're probably having excess baggage you don't need."Medicaid expansion
In February 2019, Herbert defied the result of a ballot initiative where voters voted for an expansion of Medicaid. Herbert instead supported a GOP-authored bill which implemented a restricted version of Medicaid; this version insured 60,000 fewer people than the expansion in the ballot initiative and was estimated to initially cost the state more.Medical marijuana
Herbert has openly opposed the legalization of medical marijuana over concerns that it would lead to recreational use. He did, however, sign the passage of HB195 and HB197, which allows people who have an estimated six months or less left to live to have access to marijuana.Free-range parenting
Herbert supported and signed the Free-range parenting bill for Utah in March 2018. After the implementation of the law, in May 2018, Utah became the first state in America to legalize free-range parenting.Utah Inland Port
Herbert has supported the creation of a Utah Inland Port. He signed HB234, a bill which created an Inland Port Authority, and HB433, a bill to increase the extent of the port and the powers of the Port Authority. Earlier, Herbert had created an Inland Port Exploratory Committee to "drive the development" of an inland port in Utah. At the time, he stated that "despite anti-trade, isolationist rhetoric at the national level, Utah remains committed to promoting international trade."Controversies
Campaign contributions
2009-2010
Merit gave separate $25,000 checks to the Herbert campaign on November 2, 2009, and January 21, 2010, and Herbert and Lampropoulos met in October 2009. In December 2009, Merit got $4.4 million in tax credits. Lampropoulos has publicly endorsed Herbert and appears in a television commercial supporting Herbert's reelection bid.In February 2010, The Deseret News reported that Herbert's campaign had received a $10,000 donation from Alton Coal Development, a coal company that had complained about delays in regulators issuing a permit for strip-mining. The Associated Press reported that a memorandum they had obtained showed that state regulators later agreed to fast-track a decision regarding the permit, despite environmental concerns from local residents. According to a businessman who lives near the proposed mine, regulators arrived within days of a meeting between Herbert and the coal company, and they felt pressure to make a quick decision. A Utah regulator said that this was not the case and that Herbert did not make any orders about whether to issue a permit. A spokeswoman for Herbert said that he was not aware of the donation, and that given his long-term support of the energy industry, it was not surprising that Alton made a donation.
In September 2010, KSL TV reported another instance of Herbert accepting campaign donations from companies who benefited from state contracts related to the I-15 CORE rebuild in Utah County—the state's biggest ever road project. Three teams vied for the contract. One gave the governor's campaign no money, another gave $35,000. The third team, Provo River Constructors, gave Herbert's campaign much more. Wadsworth Brothers Construction and partners Ames, Ralph Wadsworth and Fluor have contributed more than $80,000. Around the time most of those donations came in Guy Wadsworth got two meetings with the governor, apparently something no other bidding team had. A month later, the state awarded the $1.725 billion contract to Provo River.
KSL TV also reported that Herbert had meetings with, and received donations from Fred Lampropoulos, CEO of Merit Medical, months before the Governor's Office of Economic Development awarded a tax break to Merit to expand its business in Utah.
2016
In May 2016, Herbert was criticized for unethical campaign fund-raising activity. In a tape that was made without his knowledge, as Herbert was trying to get donors to contribute his campaign finance money, Herbert said that he would go anywhere and do whatever it takes. "I'm available. I'm available Jones!" he was heard saying on the tape. Although he did say that there would be no quid pro quo he also said to the lobbyists in attendance that even if he did not agree with them that he would make them happy. Herbert's Republican challenger Jonathan E. Johnson said that he was so upset that he was physically shaking when he heard what Herbert did. Herbert's Democratic opponent Mike Weinholtz promised that if he were elected to be Utah's governor, that he work to change the laws of Utah so that what Herbert did would be illegal.Later in May 2016, Herbert apologized, saying that he regretted his actions and the actions of his campaign, but he said that he did nothing wrong. Herbert said that he was apologizing for his remarks earlier in the month, when he said "I'm available. I'm available Jones." which was a saying from a character in Lil Abner comic strips in which the character was always available to do something for a price.