Former Alpine school chief Steven Baugh running for Utah Legislature

OREM — Former Alpine District superintendent Steven Baugh is making a second run for Utah House District 58.

In 2008, Baugh received 40 percent of the vote in a campaign against incumbent Republican Rep. Stephen Sandstrom.

Baugh, a Democrat, said he was prompted to make a second run after becoming frustrated with the current legislative session.

"I continue to believe that the issues that are really important to our citizens are education, the economy and legislative ethics and I grow increasingly frustrated to read about legislators for a huge portion of the session talking about changing holidays and suing the federal government over this and that while real issues go largely unaddressed," he said "I'm going to put my name forward to give people a choice of someone that will work for the real issues that our citizens are concerned about."

In announcing his candidacy, Baugh, and an Orem native, said he is in favor of the initiative petition for ethics reform for Utah legislators, and that he would work hard to support education.

An associate professor of educational leadership and directs a school-university partnership center in the school of education at BYU, Baugh started as a math teacher at Orem High School, was principal of Pleasant Grove Jr. High, American Fork Jr. High and American Fork High schools before being named superintendent of the Alpine School district.

Baugh said he could represent the district better than Sandstrom.

"This isn't a stepping stone to some other political office for me," he said. "I'm going to vote for the positions that serve the interests of the people in my district, not what furthers my political ambitions."

Baugh said although he is a lifelong Democrat, he is fiscally and socially conservative.

"I grew up in Utah County. My parents taught me true Utah values — the importance of education, hard work, and integrity," he said.

Baugh has been married to his wife Cathy for 42 years. They have eight children and 21 grandchildren, six of whom attend public school in Utah County.

e-mail: mhaddock@desnews.com