Gary Herbert
Gary Richard Herbert is an American politician who served as the 17th governor of Utah from 2009 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the National Governors Association during the 2015–2016 cycle.
Herbert was appointed to a seat on the Utah County Commission in 1990, where he served 14 years. He ran for the Republican nomination for governor in 2004, ultimately becoming fellow Republican candidate Jon Huntsman's running mate in the general election. Herbert served as the sixth lieutenant governor of Utah from 2005 until August 11, 2009, when he assumed the governorship following the resignation of Huntsman, who was appointed to serve as the United States Ambassador to China by President Barack Obama. Herbert was elected to serve out the remainder of the term in a special gubernatorial election in 2010, defeating Democratic nominee Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon with 64% of the vote. He won election to a full four-year term in 2012, defeating Democratic Businessman Peter Cooke with 68% of the vote and was re-elected to a second full four-year term in 2016. Herbert announced in 2019 that he would not seek re-election to a third full term in 2020; he endorsed the gubernatorial candidacy of his Lieutenant Governor, Spencer Cox.
With a tenure spanning for 11 years and 5 months he is both the longest serving Republican Governor of Utah, and is the only second longest serving Governor just short of Cal Rampton.
Early life, education and career
Herbert was born in American Fork, the son of Carol and Paul Richard Peters. His parents divorced when he was a toddler; his mother soon remarried to Duane Barlow Herbert, who legally adopted him. His biological father also remarried, but Herbert and his paternal half-siblings were raised in different households and had minimal contact with each other. Herbert grew up in Orem, Utah. He graduated from Orem High School, served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Eastern States Mission and later attended Brigham Young University, but did not graduate.He is married to Jeanette Snelson Herbert; they have six children and sixteen grandchildren. Mrs. Herbert was born in Preston, Idaho. She moved with her family as a young child to Springville, Utah. She is Honorary Chair of the Governor's Commission on Literacy.
Herbert served for 6 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. Herbert was president of the Utah Association of Counties and Utah Association of Realtors. Mrs. Herbert ran a childcare service, The Kids Connection.
Political career
Utah County Commission
Between 1990 and 2004, Herbert served as a commissioner on the Utah County Commission. He replaced Brent Morris in 1990. During his time as a commissioner, Herbert also served as presidents of the Utah Association of Counties and the Utah Association of Realtors. Larry Ellertson succeeded Herbert as County Commissioner.2004 election
In 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, Jr., becoming the latter's running mate. The Huntsman-Herbert ticket defeated incumbent governor Olene S. Walker at the convention, before going on to win in the November election. Herbert subsequently became lieutenant governor.Lieutenant Governor of Utah
As lieutenant governor, Herbert ran the state electoral office and managed 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 criticized by the same organization for failing to enforce campaign disclosure laws more vigorously. In 2007, Herbert oversaw the first statewide voter referendum to take place since the creation of the Lieutenant Governor's post. During this time, Herbert was the chairman of statewide commissions such as the Commission on Volunteers, the Commission on Civic and Character Education, and the Emergency Management Administrative Council.2008 election
Huntsman 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.Governor of Utah
2010
Herbert became Governor of Utah on August 11, 2009, after Governor Jon Huntsman stepped down to become Ambassador to China. As the Republican gubernatorial nominee in the 2010 special election, Herbert defeated his Democratic opponent, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, 64% to 32%.2012
In 2012, Herbert won election to a full four-year term. He defeated his Democratic opponent, retired Major General Peter Cooke, by a margin of 69% to 28%.Important legislation included the passage of the Utah Transfer of Public Lands Act which Herbert signed into law on 23 March 2012.
2015
Herbert served as the vice chair for the National Governors Association from 2014 to 2015 and served as chair of the association from 2015 to 2016.2016
Herbert won re-election to a second full term in 2016. He defeated the Democratic nominee, entrepreneur Mike Weinholtz, 66.7% to 28.7%.Political positions
Economics
In a 2010 statement, Herbert took partial credit for Utah's relatively quick recovery from the economic crisis which began in 2008, stating:Education
As of December 1, 2009, the Utah State Governor's website showed that Herbert listed "public and higher education" as one of four "priorities.". 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. In his 2012 re-election bid, Herbert was endorsed by the Utah Education Association.In March 2012, Herbert vetoed an anti- sex education bill. The bill, HB363, would have allowed schools to stop teaching sex education entirely and required those that kept the lessons to teach abstinence only. In vetoing it, Herbert said "HB363 simply goes too far by constricting parental options... I cannot sign a bill that deprives parents of their choice".
LGBT rights
After Salt Lake City passed a non-discrimination ordinance which would protect gay and lesbian people from discrimination in employment and housing, a member of the Utah Legislature indicated that he would seek a statewide law to prevent cities from passing ordinances related to civil rights. Herbert has asserted that municipalities should have the right to pass rules and ordinances absent state interference. 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." The gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah criticized Herbert's statements and expressed the view that he did not fully comprehend the challenges faced by gay people in Utah.Following the legalization of same-sex marriage in Utah by a U.S. district court on December 20, 2013, Herbert's office issued the following statement: "I am very disappointed an activist federal judge is attempting to override the will of the people of Utah. I am working with my legal counsel and the acting Attorney General to determine the best course to defend traditional marriage within the borders of Utah". Shortly thereafter, the Attorney General's office did indeed request an emergency stay to stop further same-sex marriages from occurring in the state. After elected officials in Oregon and Pennsylvania chose not to defend same-sex marriage bans from constitutional challenge, Herbert expressed his disappointment. He took issue with a comparison between same-sex marriage and interracial marriage, saying, "Clearly the actions involved in sexual activity ultimately end up being choices. What your attraction may be is something else, but how you act upon those impulses is a choice."
On March 12, 2015, however, Herbert signed into law a bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment and housing in the state of Utah. Utah thus became the 19th state to pass such a law. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the law was "hailed nationwide for its attempt to balance the advancements in gay rights with the deeply held beliefs and conservative values of churches and other religious groups". In January 2020, after a proposal in the state legislature to ban conversion therapy on minors stalled, Herbert signed an executive order banning conversion therapy on minors statewide. The order includes exceptions for religious officials, parents and grandparents.