Utah County Democrats tout family values

OREM — Democratic candidates lauded family values and the sanctity of life at a Families First gathering Wednesday at Orem Junior High School.

"Family is the most important relationship we have," Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, who is running for governor, told a group of about 70.

"My parents taught me the importance of living within our means, and that the abundant life is measured by our spiritual life and our family life, and not by our material life," he said. "My parents taught me about the sacredness of life, for the living and the unborn."

Corroon and other speakers — including U.S. Senate candidate Sam Granato, U.S. House candidates Steve Baugh and Karen Hyer and two candidates for the Utah County Commission, Ted Barratt and Lane Henderson — focused on painting Democratic candidates from Utah as being supportive of families and public education and opposed to abortion except in rare cases.

"The family is where we learn our basic understanding of everything," Hyer said. "The sanctity of life is something that family teaches us. I do not support abortion for convenience."

Baugh, associate professor of educational leadership at BYU and former Alpine School District superintendent, said support for public education in the Utah Legislature has waned in recent years.

"In the last 15 years, the support has been eroded by the inaction — and in some cases by the negative actions — of our state legislators," he said. "The schools aren't failing. It's our state that's failing our schools."

The event was part of an effort by the small Utah County Democratic contingent to present an alternative to the more conservative candidates put forward by county Republicans. Utah County voters haven't elected a Democrat in nearly 15 years.

"We think the Utah Legislature has not done enough to support families," said Richard Davis, chairman of the Utah County Democratic Party, as he read the group's family-friendly party platform. "We want to tell people how we are going to do that."

e-mail: mhaddock@desnews.com