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Surgeon in Denver, Colorado | Gary R. Snider, M.D. plasticsurgeryofdenver.co... |
Gary Richard Herbert (born May 7, 1947 in American Fork, Utah) is the 17th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Utah. Having served as Lieutenant Governor since 2005, he assumed the governorship on August 11, 2009, following the resignation of Jon Huntsman, current United States Ambassador to the People's Republic of China.
[edit] Personal lifeHerbert was born to Paul and Carol Peters in American Fork, later being adopted by Duane Herbert. Governor Herbert grew up in Orem, Utah. He graduated from Orem High School, served a two year mission for the LDS Church in the Eastern States Mission and later attended Brigham Young University, but did not graduate.[1] He is married to Jeanette Snelson Herbert; they have six children and nine grandchildren. Their oldest daughter, Kimberli, is married to Montreal Alouettes slotback Ben Cahoon, and their youngest son, Brad, is married to former American Idol finalist and current recording artist Carmen Rasmusen.[1] [edit] Early careerHerbert 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, as well as a child care service, The Kids Connection.[1] [edit] Political career[edit] Utah County CommissionBetween 1990 and 2004, Herbert served as a commissioner on the Utah County Commission.[2] During his time as a commissioner, Herbert also served as president of the Utah Association of Counties and the Utah Association of Realtors.[1] [edit] 2004 electionIn 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, becoming the latter's running mate.[3] The Huntsman-Herbert ticket defeated incumbent governor Olene Walker at the convention, before going on to win in the November election. Herbert subsequently became Lieutenant Governor. [edit] Lieutenant Governor of UtahHerbert'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 criticised for failing to enforce campaign disclosure laws more vigorously.[4] In 2007, Herbert oversaw the first statewide voter referendum to take place since the creation of the Lieutenant Governor's post.[citation needed] During his time as Lieutenant Governor, Herbert also served as the chairman of 13 statewide commissions,[citation needed] including the Commission on Volunteers and the Commission on Civic and Character Education and the Emergency Management Administrative Council.[5][6] [edit] 2008 electionHuntsman 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.[7][8] [edit] Governor of UtahHerbert became Governor of Utah on August 11, 2009, following the resignation of Governor Jon Huntsman to become Ambassador to China.[8] He will seek election to the post in a 2010 special election. [edit] Views on gay rightsSalt Lake City is currently considering 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. [9] As a strong supporter of local control, Governor Herbert has said he believes municipalities should have the right to pass rules and ordinances absent state interference. [10] 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."[11] The gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah, which has sought to expand anti-discrimination laws to cover homosexual and transgender people, criticised Herbert's statements and expressed the view that he did not fully comprehend the challenges faced by homosexual people in Utah.[11] On Oct. 7, 2009, Herbert met with representatives from Equality Utah to discuss the issue and begin exploring alternative methods to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation. [edit] EducationAs of December 1, 2009, the Utah State Governor's website showed that Herbert listed "public and higher education" as one of four "priorities." (The other three listed priorities were "economic development," "energy security," and "infrastructure").[12] 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.[13] [edit] External links
[edit] References
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