Mayor Biskupski should provide statewide leadership

Originally published in the Deseret News.

We learned this week that Jackie Biskupski will be the next mayor of Salt Lake City. In an election that was hard fought and hard earned, Mayor-elect Biskupski shared an inclusive vision that inspired Salt Lake City residents. She has my admiration, respect and congratulations.

I’m not currently a resident of Salt Lake City, but I am a native Salt Laker, spend a considerable amount of time in the city and occasionally work professionally on city issues. I’d like to offer a perspective.

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Three Million Utahns

Originally published in Utah Business.

Last month, Gov. Gary Herbert announced the arrival of the three millionth Utahn. We should all stop and take into account this important milestone.

There is a saying among demo-graphers that “demography is destiny.” If you understand the characteristics of your population, you gain a much better understanding of your future. In no state is this more important than Utah because of our unique demographics. And it all starts with births.

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Utah’s threshold economy breaks through

Originally published in the Deseret News.

The Utah Jazz experienced a breakthrough last year when the franchise traded Enes Kanter and promoted Rudy Gobert to the starting center position. The Jazz have played better basketball ever since. The trade created an inflection point that produced improved chemistry and defense. The young team passed a threshold.

The Utah economy may be passing through a similar threshold and, like the Jazz, is competing at a higher level. The state has grown and invested. In the process, we’ve traded away our small size and are shedding our insular reputation. In a very real way we’ve been discovered.

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Utah’s intergenerational poverty research: a public policy breakthrough

Originally published in the Deseret News.

I’m always looking for public policy breakthroughs that make Utah a better place to live and raise a family. I can think of several great decisions over the years. For instance, Olene Walker sponsored legislation that created Utah’s rainy day fund. It was a lifesaver when the financial crisis hit. The Utah Compact advanced principles to guide Utah’s immigration discussion. This created the context for immigration reform policies that protected public safety, kept families together and strengthened the Utah economy. And when Salt Lake and Utah counties passed ballot initiatives supporting 70 miles of new rail transit, we invested in our future. Today it’s hard to imagine urban Utah without FrontRunner commuter rail and TRAX light rail.

There is another public policy breakthrough I’m following that has the potential to do tremendous good for our state. The Intergenerational Poverty Mitigation Act, passed in 2012, seeks to reduce the incidence of children who remain in a cycle of poverty and welfare dependence as they become adults. Utah is ahead of the curve in understanding this issue and is on the cusp of making real progress.

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Contrasting religious practice

Originally published in the Deseret News.

This weekend members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will gather for what many believe will be a historic conference weekend. With three vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Mormons will watch with anticipation, love and faith as the LDS Church makes orderly and what many believe to be inspired choices about its leadership. More importantly, the approximately 15.5 million LDS faithful will receive words of inspiration and wisdom from their leaders helping them to live better lives.

Conference weekend stands in stark contrast to the sadness I felt this week as I watched CNN’s prime-time television program “This is Life with Lisa Ling: Children of the Prophet.” The program features two of Warren Jeffs’ children. Both have alleged the imprisoned leader of a polygamous sect sexually abused them as children. In 2011 Jeffs was convicted of two felony counts of child sexual assault and today he sits in a federal prison. His is a tale of darkness, and I hurt for the victims. I also hurt for the way his actions are associated with the Mormon Church.

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When stars align: A new policy institute will help Utahns make informed decisions

Originally published in Utah Business.

I’ve learned over the years to pay attention when stars align in a powerful way. It happened when my daughter, who was attending an out-of-state college, landed a job with the school paper, committed to a major and established great friendships. Suddenly, her college education and experience took off. It happened when Urban Meyer brought his coaching skills to build a team with a 22-2 record and reinvigorated the MUSS, or the Mighty Utah Student Section, at Rice Eccles Stadium. Stellar coaching and engaged students helped the Utes win and laid the foundation for a winning program.

When stars align, a better future unfolds. I’m always working and watching for these moments. And one of those moments happened last month, when the University of Utah launched the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.

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Singing my mother to heaven

Originally published in the Deseret News National Edition.

My mother passed away about a month ago. The passage of time has allowed me to reflect about, internalize and process the experience. I finally feel I can write about it and want to share an experience from the final years of her life. My thoughts start and end with women and song.

As context, let me provide a little background. I’m the youngest of 11 children, which tells you my mother was a warrior of sorts. Truly nothing intimidated her. My mother lived a nigh-perfect life — great marriage, loving children, spunk and spirit, a love for mankind and world travel and a sure commitment to her maker. She died at 93 in her own home, surrounded by her children, in perfect peace. While leaving a pit in my heart, her death was a beautiful experience because of the life she lived.

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Reading Utah’s economic game film

Originally published in Utah Business.

Just as a coach reviews game film to assess his or her team, I like to read economic game film to understand Utah’s economy. While sports analogies are often overused and frequently incomprehensible to those who lack specific sports expertise, I find the ‘game film’ analogy to be quite useful in thinking about Utah’s economy.

What is economic game film? It’s not unlike the game film Kyle Whittingham and Bronco Mendenhall review after each Ute or Cougar football game. The footage shows every play call, every pass, every tackle, every block, every punt and every turnover. The term “reading game film” is used because coaches study and evaluate every play they see in order to make changes. Did the quarterback make the right throw based on the coverage? Did the offensive line make the assigned blocks? What caused the fumble? How did the field goal kicker perform in a game time situation? Did the game plan work and what needs to change?

When you apply the same process to the Utah economy, you gain a better understanding of what’s working, what’s not and what needs to change. Here’s my take.

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Two Utah’s and the need for investment

Originally published in the Deseret News.

While driving in downtown Salt Lake City this week I witnessed a vivid contrast. It was lunchtime and the city I love was teeming with life. A TRAX light-rail train rambled through traffic, a guy in a suit pedaled along on a lime green bike-share bicycle, construction workers labored in a new high rise, and lunch-hour pedestrian traffic filled the streets. As if to put punctuation on our growing and thriving urban center, I saw 20 or so rather large guys dressed in power-blue-and-maize outfits walking up State Street together. They were members of the Michigan football team taking a stroll before the big game against the University of Utah. From this vantage point, Utah’s capital city was unmistakably on the rise. I felt a certain sense of hometown pride.

And then a different vantage point emerged. While at a traffic light, I watched as a man started waking diagonally through the busy intersection of State Street and 100 South. He appeared dirty and completely lost. He was bare-chested, talking to himself, and looked completely oblivious to the cars around him. The situation was as sad as it was dangerous. This man needed help.

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Salt Lake City is Earning a New Title: ‘Wall Street of the West’

Originally published in the Deseret News.

Salt Lake City is now the second-largest Goldman Sachs office in the United States and the fourth-largest in the world. What was in 2000 a small regional operation has blossomed into a workforce of several thousand people and growing. With the workforce of Fidelity Investments, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Wells Fargo and other financial service companies, Utah’s capital city now rightly claims the title “Wall Street of the West.” The Utah economy is larger, stronger and more diversified, thanks to the growth in this important industry.

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Writings and Reflections