As a delegate to the Women's Legislative Council, I spent several hours on Capitol Hill during this past legislative session. I was in several meetings where Delpha Baird spoke about her desire to protect the children in Utah, especially those caught in the Health and Human Services network.
In her effort to clean up the foster child division and a few other programs that abuse as many children as they help, she stepped on several "good old boys' " toes. The governor promised some reforms in the system, but they seem slow in coming. People who should have been removed were just moved around in the government network, given another title but perpetuating the same sad practices.We heard rumors that when Baird came up for re-election, some big guns would do all they could to get her out of the Legislature. This is not the first time she has been targeted by the political bigwigs, and the guns are aimed straight at her again.
Baird also publicly asked the County Commissioners to stick to the county zoning laws, which were made to keep businesses from invading our residential districts. That made a few other politicians feel some pressure from her as a state senator.
If the voters from Senate District 9 want to hear more horror stories about children being killed in bad foster homes or returned to abusive homes, decent families destroyed by untrained case workers and experience sloppy book work in recovery services, let the entrenched politicians get Baird out of office.
Norma Madsen
Taylorsville