#spencer cox

[saywhat-politics]

Voting rights advocates say it's the first time a state has rolled back a policy of automatically sending all registered voters a ballot through the mail.

Utah governor signs bill eliminating mail ballot grace period

https://www.npr.org/2025/03/27/nx-s1-5323797/utah-mail-voting-law

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Rocky Mountain National Park

By Spencer Cox

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Daniel Villarreal at LGBTQ Nation:

Demonstrators unfurled a 200-foot rainbow banner in front of the Utah state capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday in protest of a H.B. 77, bill that would ban rainbow and transgender Pride flags as well as other “non-sanctioned” flags from schools and other government property. In solidarity, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall also lit up the City/County Building in rainbow colors last Friday. The state’s Republican-led legislature already passed the bill in a 49-20 House vote and a 21-8 Senate vote. State Gov. Spencer Cox (R) has indicated that he won’t veto the bill. While it’s unclear how many other states or local governments have passed similar bills, the U.S. Departments of Defense, State and Veterans Affairs under President Donald Trump have all recently issued directives forbidding the flying of Pride flags from government buildings, military installations and foreign embasssies. The Utah bill only allows staff members on government property to fly the national, state, school or Olympic flags as well as ones recognizing Native American tribes, prisoners of war and military soldiers missing-in-action and also organizations that have been authorized to meet on school property during their events. Government properties violating the law have 30 days to remove the flag, after which point they’ll be fined $500 a day for each day the non-sanctioned flag was visible. Supporters of the Utah bill claim they want to refocus schools on education, but opponents say the law will reduce visible support of bullied and marginalized trans and queer students who have been recently targeted by Republican politicians and policies nationwide.

This is how you respond to bigoted bans against the LGBTQ+ Pride Flag in Utah. 🏳️‍🌈

See Also:

The Advocate: 200-foot rainbow banner unfurled at capitol as GOP bans Pride flags on government land

[politicaldilfs]

2024 Gubernatorial DILFs

1st: Incumbent Renominated Gubernatorial DILFS -- Phil Scott, Greg Gianforte, Spencer Cox

Scott and Gianforte are the cream of the crop. Cox is just barely daddy-ish for me. Although, he's anti-Trump which helps. Still, he doesn't hold a candle to his opponent, Brian King:

If we were voting on looks alone, mine would go: Scott, Gianforte, and King.

2nd: Retiring/Term-Limited Incumbent Gubernatorial DILFs

Jay Inslee, Chris Sununu, Doug Burgum, Jim Justice, Eric Holcomb, John Carney, Mike Parson, Roy Cooper

And finally, the remaining DILFs in the 2024 U.S. gubernatorial elections:

North Dakota -- Kelly Armstrong < Merrill Piepkorn

Washington -- Bob Ferguson < Dave Reichert

Delaware -- Matt Meyer > Michael Ramone

West Virginia -- Patrick Morrisey < Steve Williams

And the remaining DILF candidates:

Josh Stein, Mike Kehoe, Mike Braun

[dertaglichedan]

Utah Bans Fluoride in Public Drinking Water Under New Law Signed by Republican Gov. Cox, Effective May 7

Utah has become the first state in the U.S. to ban the addition of fluoride to public drinking water systems, following the signing of HB 81 by Republican Governor Spencer Cox. The legislation, effective May 7, prohibits cities and communities from adding fluoride to their water supplies, despite opposition from dentists and national health organizations such as the American Dental Association and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

The move has sparked debate, with critics warning that it could lead to medical problems and disproportionately affect low-income communities who rely on public water for dental care. The National Institutes of Health has noted that very high doses of fluoride can cause sickness, but it's 'virtually impossible' to get a toxic dose from standard levels in water or toothpaste. Supporters of the ban, including Governor Cox, argue that it is a matter of individual choice and that the cost of adding fluoride to water is too high.

The decision comes amid a national conversation about fluoride, with other states considering similar measures. The ban reflects a broader skepticism about water fluoridation, highlighted by recent comments from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has questioned the practice. Out of the 484 Utah water systems that reported data in 2024, only 66 fluoridated their water, with the largest being in Salt Lake City. Utah ranked 44th in the nation for the percentage of residents receiving fluoridated water in 2022.

[commiepinkofag]

Utah governor signs bill to throw trans people in jail for using the correct facilities

February 1, 2024 / Alex Bollinger

A bill that creates criminal penalties for many transgender people who use the bathroom associated with their gender has been signed into law by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R). The bill, H.B. 257, says that people can only enter the restroom of their sex assigned at birth in publicly-owned facilities, which includes schools and other government-owned buildings. It also creates an exemption for transgender people who have had bottom surgery and those who have had the gender marker on their birth certificate corrected. The bill includes locker rooms and other facilities. Under H.B. 257, transgender people who have not had such surgery and have not updated their birth certificates but who use the restroom or locker room associated with their gender can be charged with lewdness, lewdness involving a child, voyeurism, loitering in a privacy space, or, in the case of locker rooms specifically, criminal trespass. Voyeurism is a class A misdemeanor in Utah, punishable with up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine, and a third-degree felony – punishable with five years in prison and up to a $5000 fine – if a child is present. Criminal trespass is a class B misdemeanor, punishable with up to six months in jail and a $1000 fine. Government-owned institutions that don’t enforce these rules can be fined up to $10,000 per violation per day. More >

[bitstitchbitch]

I’ve heard so many people say that they don’t vote because it will make no difference, that because we live in a deep red state a democrat will never win.

But in our governor race right now the democrat is still polling at 26% so if all those non-voters who have given up on making a difference actually voted for the democrat, I firmly believe that the democrat would stand a fighting chance. At the very least we could prove that we are here and a growing, fighting force to be reckoned with.

There are a lot of conservatives in this state, yes. But I know so so many liberals and progressives and even moderates who are fed up with the bullshit our republican leadership pulls time and time again, who are sick of our leadership bowing to the demands of The Church (if you are in Utah, you know what I’m talking about). And I think if you forced everyone in this state (not that you should or could) to vote, the outcome would be a lot more left-leaning than people expect. I’d argue that the strong conservativeness is actually forming a powerful counter culture in response - which is why Bernie sanders polled way better than Hillary Clinton here.

fellow left-leaning and moderate Utahns, please stop disenfranchising yourselves. There are more of us than you realize. We have more power than you realize. And the conservatives want us to give in to that hopelessness, because they know we have power. Why else would they keep undermining our voter initiatives? Why else would they resort to cheap measures and confusing language to try and trick us into voting for things like Constitutional Amendment D without following proper procedures?

[tomorrowusa]

The Great Salt Lake is drying up and the Republican government of Utah is doing little to save it. They constantly cave to the usual groups: agricultural interests, mining, homeowners who like spacious lawns in an arid region, and big industry.

The largest saltwater lake in the western hemisphere has been steadily shrinking, as more and more water has been diverted away from the lake to irrigate farmland, feed industry and water lawns. A megadrought across the US south-west, accelerated by global heating, has hastened the lake’s demise. Unless dire action is taken, the lake could decline beyond recognition within five years, a report published early this year warned, exposing a dusty lakebed laced with arsenic, mercury, lead and other toxic substances.The resulting toxic dustbowl would be “one of the worst environmental disasters in modern US history”, the ecologist Ben Abbott of Brigham Young University told the Guardian earlier this year. Despite such warnings, officials have failed to take serious action, local groups said in their lawsuit, which was filed on Wednesday. “We are trying to avert disaster. We are trying to force the hand of state government to take serious action,” said Brian Moench of the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, one of the groups suing state agencies. “Plaintiffs pray that this Court declare that the State of Utah has breached its trust duty to ensure water flows into the Great Salt Lake sufficient to maintain the Lake,” reads the lawsuit, which was brought by coalition that includes Earthjustice, the Utah Rivers Council, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club, among others.

Political pressure has not been very effective in a state dominated by Republicans. The state's response is lukewarm at best. That's in addition to bizarre proposals.

The state’s Republican governor, Spencer Cox, has suspended new claims to water in the Great Salt Lake basin and appointed a commissioner to oversee response to the lake crisis. Last year, Utah’s legislature passed several conservation measures, including a $40m trust to support lake preservation projects. But Abbott and his colleagues, who authored a sobering report on the lake in January, found that those measures increased flows to the lake by just 100,000 acre feet in 2022. About 2.5m acre-feet a year of water will need to flow into the lake to bring it to a healthy level, the researchers estimated. That water will likely have to come at the expense of agriculture, which takes in about three-quarters of the water diverted away from the lake to grow mostly alfalfa and hay. Cities and mineral extraction operations each take up another 9% of diverted water. But wresting water away from agriculture is politically complicated. Officials have explored propositions to pay farmers to fallow land and use less water, though such proposals have yet to gain much tractions. Lawmakers have also offered up a series of out-of-the-box solutions – including cloud seeding, which uses chemicals to prompt more precipitation – or building a giant pipeline from the Pacific Ocean.

Seriously, a pipeline from the Pacific Ocean? This is a classic idiotic GOP way to deal with an environmental catastrophe which doesn't get to the root of the problem.

Already, the lake has lost 73% of its water and 60% of its surface area, and is becoming saltier, threatening native flies and brine shrimp. A diminished lake may be unable to support the more than 10 million migratory birds that stop over in the region. A white pelican colony recently abandoned a nesting site on the lake, potentially due to declining water levels. “In addition to the millions of people who live here, so many plants and animals depend on the lake,” said Deeda Seed, Utah campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The health of northern Utah’s entire population depends on the Great Salt Lake’s survival and I hope this lawsuit can help save it.”

^^^ emphasis added

Yep, take their asses to court to save the body of water which gave the state's largest city its name.

[hopelessromanticfool]

Guys do not use kokobot. They are using your data, amung other unethical practices. Here is an in depth tumblr post on what they are doing wrong.

“I struggle to understand so much of it and the science is conflicting. When in doubt however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy and compassion. […] Four kids who are just trying to find some friends and feel like they are a part of something. Four kids trying to get through each day. Rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few. I don’t understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do. But I want them to live.” - Utah Governor Spencer Cox

Damn dude, well done and well said!

This is how you lead with compassion in the face of something you don’t entirely understand.

Update: Sadly, the veto was overturned by the legislature. :(

If you're in crisis right now, that's ok, the folks at The Trevor Project and Trans Lifeline are here for you 24/7/365.

If you're not in crisis, but you're still having a tough time handling the news, that's ok too, send a DM to @kokobot for fast and effective help here.

[alaturkaamerika]

ABD’de Bir İlk: Utah, İçme Suyunda Florür Kullanımını Yasakladı

Diş Hekimlerinden Sert Tepki: “Bu Karar Düşük Gelirlileri Olumsuz Etkileyecek” Utah, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri’nde kamusal içme suyuna florür eklenmesini yasaklayan ilk eyalet oldu. Cumhuriyetçi Vali Spencer Cox tarafından imzalanan yeni yasa, bilim insanları ve diş hekimleri tarafından halk sağlığına zarar vereceği gerekçesiyle eleştiriliyor. Yasa, belediyelerin ve yerel toplulukların kendi su…

[saywhat-politics]

The Associated Press reports:

“Utah’s Republican governor on Friday signed a collective bargaining ban that experts are calling one of the most restrictive labor laws in the country, despite overwhelming opposition from union members.

Beginning July 1, unions serving Utah teachers, firefighters, police officers, transit workers and other public employees will be banned from negotiating on their behalf for better wages and working conditions.

Gov. Spencer Cox announced his decision Friday evening following a week of rallies outside his office in which thousands of union members from the public and private sector urged him to veto the bill. The Republican-controlled Legislature had narrowly approved it last week after its sponsors abandoned a proposed compromise that would have removed the outright ban.

‘I’m disappointed that, in this case, the process did not ultimately deliver the compromise that at one point was on the table and that some stakeholders had accepted,’ Cox said in a statement announcing he had signed the bill.

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Fall Foliage - White Birch

By Spencer Cox

[justinspoliticalcorner]

AP, via The Guardian:

Utah has become the first US state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, despite widespread opposition from dentists and national health organizations. The Republican governor, Spencer Cox, signed legislation late on Thursday that bars cities and communities from deciding whether to add the mineral to their water systems. Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Utah lawmakers who pushed for a ban said putting fluoride in water was too expensive. Cox, who grew up and raised his own children in a community without fluoridated water, compared it recently to being “medicated” by the government. The ban comes weeks after the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has expressed skepticism about water fluoridation, was sworn into office. More than 200 million people in the US, or almost two-thirds of the population, receive fluoridated water through community water. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century. But some cities across the country have gotten rid of fluoride from their water, and other municipalities are considering doing the same. A few months ago, a federal judge ordered the US Environmental Protection Agency to regulate fluoride in drinking water, arguing that high levels could pose a risk to the intellectual development of children.

In a win for anti-fluoride conspiracist cranks, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signs HB81 into law, making the Beehive State the first to ban fluoride in public drinking water.

[politicaldilfs]

Utah Governor DILFs

Mike Leavitt, Norm Bangerter, Spencer Cox, Jon Huntsman Jr., Gary Herbert, George Dern, Cal Rampton, Charles R. Mabey, Henry H. Blood, George Dewey Clyde, Simon Bamberger, Herbert B. Maw, Scott M. Matheson, J. Bracken Lee

[joe-england]

Utah becomes first state to ban fluoride in public water

So damn stupid.

[daily-calls-and-letters]

UT HB 420

This is a super important air quality bill that was thought dead but got revived and passed today! Gov Cox should sign it—but he might not, bc he gets lots of $$$ from US magnesium, the main halogen emitters in Utah. Let’s show him our support of the bill, and maybe he’ll grow a spine for once in his life. Here’s what I wrote. You can also use this as a script to call the governor’s office.

submit a comment to governor cox here or call him at 801-538-1000.

Governor Cox,

HB 420, which implements new regulations on US magnesium, was recently revived and passed the senate and house. It’s now headed to your desk for signature. I know you receive lots of financial support from US magnesium for your campaigns, but you also have many, many constituents who are negatively affected by and opposed to increasing halogen emissions. Please do the right thing and sign this bill.

Best,

[your name]