Cox, who joined President Joe Biden’s 10-member council of governors this summer time, has additionally pushed again on laws that may’ve barred tr
Cox, who joined President Joe Biden’s 10-member council of governors this summer time, has additionally pushed again on laws that may’ve barred transgender ladies from sports activities that match their gender identification when many others signed new restrictions this yr.
And his makes an attempt to handle the pandemic created a tense standoff along with his fellow Republicans within the Utah Legislature — culminating in a “Covid-19 endgame” measure that lifted statewide restrictions on gatherings, social distancing and mask-wearing. Now, the federal Training Division has opened investigations into Utah and 4 different states opposed to high school masks mandates.
Cox, in an interview in his Capitol Hill workplace overlooking the Salt Lake Valley on a day coated in haze from wildfires wafting from California, spoke with POLITICO about managing water within the nation’s second-driest state, navigating the pandemic, and threading the politics of Trump in a deeply conservative place that winces on the brashness of the previous president.
This interview has been edited for size and readability.
You’ve advocated for masks and vaccinations to curb the unfold of Covid-19, but you signed a invoice — possibly grudgingly — that lower your powers to handle the pandemic. How come?
Whereas we weren’t thrilled with the invoice, it may have been worse. We have been in a position to get considerably extra time earlier than the endgame. That was a giant piece of it. … I actually imagine we saved lives by doing it that method and so, though not excellent, it was higher than the choice. There was no Delta variant at the moment. … So hindsight and all these issues, figuring out what we knew then, getting these further weeks was actually essential to getting folks vaccinated.
Would you be a part of different governors who’re requiring authorities staff to get the vaccine?
I can’t drive state authorities staff to get vaccinated. I’ll do every little thing to facilitate [vaccines] and encourage that and assist to make that occur.
Has attempting to implement a masks mandate been your biggest frustration?
I push again a bit of bit on absolutely the certainty that everybody has on this — that each child has to put on a masks on daily basis and that there’s no damaging penalties to mask-wearing. … The legislature has left that call now to counties and native well being departments. So native well being departments could make the choice to require masking. In some states there’s a blanket no-masking. Utah isn’t there. What the legislature did was say we’re going to permit counties/native well being departments to implement masks mandates and so they can do this for 30 days after which the county fee or county council can override that in the event that they wish to. It’s left to the native resolution. So the college district doesn’t have the authority however the well being division does on the native stage.
It’s onerous for teenagers, so I perceive households who’re attempting to weigh that. I don’t suppose it means they don’t love their children or don’t care about their children. I don’t suppose the policymakers suppose that method both. It’s rather more nuanced than the general public discourse has allowed lately.
Will your individual kids put on masks in faculties?
My son graduated, so I simply have one residence and she or he’s 14 and beginning highschool. She is totally vaccinated, and we’ve left it as much as her if she needs to. As a result of she’s totally vaccinated, she feels fairly good.
You’ve been fairly constant about urging folks to get vaccinated. Has it harm your messaging when fellow conservatives promote vaccine skepticism and discourage mask-wearing?
Clearly, it’s disappointing anytime that misinformation or dangerous data is on the market. It’s most likely worse when it comes from sources who’re elected sources or from speaking heads. In order that’s been discouraging. However we’ve been inspired by the will increase in vaccinations within the state. We’ve had regular will increase [in recent] weeks. We went from as little as 14,000 or 15,000 per week as much as 19,000 after which 28,000 after which over 30,000. In order that’s been heartening to see 80,000 in three weeks modified their minds in regards to the vaccine.
How a lot of it do you suppose is primarily pushed by politics?
Actually, politics performs a job sadly in every little thing lately. We now have to decide on a aspect. And it’s nearly like we aren’t positive what aspect to decide on till somebody does it after which everybody strikes to that aspect. I’m sure that vaccinations would have been totally different had the presidential race turned out in a different way … There’s no query that politics has performed a job on this. We had an anti-vaccine motion on each the fitting and the left for a while. However it’s grown as politics has turn into heart stage.
Let’s swap gears to a different essential challenge: Water. The city of Oakley is banning building to save lots of water. Is {that a} development?
That’s one thing that occurs very continuously however doesn’t get reported a lot. … We now have to alter the way in which we do issues right here in Utah. We even have further water within the state [a reference to the Colorado River Compact that allots water among Western states, which are all facing a megadrought]. We’re the quickest rising state within the nation, so we have now to preserve extra. And that’s one thing that we have now been engaged on however to not the extent that we may have. It’s our responsibility now to assist lead the state into extra conservation measures to assist change that ambiance and to alter behaviors and to be smarter about the way in which we use water. We are able to do this — and other people are doing that. We’ve seen it this yr. We’ve accomplished some sturdy messaging and have seen in each district a major discount in water use.
St. George in southern Utah has grown dramatically and consumes a considerable amount of water. Do you assist the concept of constructing a pipeline from Lake Powell that may deliver extra water to the world?
The issue in St. George is that it has just one supply of water. If something occurs to that one supply, it may very well be catastrophic. So having a secondary supply is de facto essential.
Does that imply you assist a Lake Powell pipeline and its $1 billion price ticket?
Sure. No query it will likely be costly, and other people must pay for it. That’s the case with water now. All the straightforward and low-cost water choices have been made. It’s going to be costly and sophisticated, and it’s nonetheless essential that we implement the fitting measures for conservation and water improvement.
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