Friends and colleagues recalled state Sen. Pete Suazo as a bridge over Utah's burgeoning Hispanic community as well as politician with passion and grace who will be difficult to replace.
The only Hispanic in Utah's 104-member Legislature, the Salt Lake Democrat moved easily between button-down meetings on Capitol Hill and neighborhood activities at Centro Civico Mexicano, where a candlelight vigil is scheduled tonight at 7 p.m.
"He's probably the one Hispanic in this state with the ability to affect policy for the general community," said longtime friend Mike Martinez, a Salt Lake attorney.
Democrats now have the onerous task of submitting the name of a successor to the governor's office, which they will do prior to the Legislature's special session in October.
Suazo, 50, was found dead Monday, the victim of an all-terrain vehicle accident near Joe's Valley in the Manti-LaSal National Forest where he was bow hunting for deer with family and friends. Suazo was at the tail end of six to nine ATVs returning to camp Sunday evening but became separated from the group and failed to make it back, said Sanpete County sheriff's Lt. Rick Howe.
Several members of the hunting party looked for Suazo until after dark, then resumed the search at daylight. His youngest son, Julio, was among those who found him just after 7 a.m. Monday in dense vegetation about 10 feet off the road. Suazo was on his back with the four-wheeler upside down on top of him, Howe said.
Officers, Howe said, found scuff marks on a couple of trees the ATV apparently hit. The cause of death remains under investigation.
Suazo leaves behind his wife, Alicia, and four sons, two from previous marriages.
The family issued a statement asking time to grieve and recognizing others are hurting. "The family is very much aware of the pain and grief felt by the community over this loss. We mourn the loss to the community and pray for them."
"It's a huge, huge loss for the state and the Democratic Party," said former Salt Lake Mayor Ted Wilson for whom Suazo worked in the early 1980s.
Wilson said Suazo, who represented the city's multicultural west side, was able to cross ethnic and political lines in dealing with people.
"He was Hispanic. He knew how to talk to people who were not. He was a Democrat. He knew how to talk to Republicans," he said.
Local Hispanics leaders aren't sure how they are going to fill his role.
"Pete was a reflection of Utah's Hispanic community. A great leader," said Ingrid Quiroz, editor and publisher of La Prenza, a Salt Lake Spanish-language newspaper. "What will we do next?"
Todd Taylor, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party, said following options in state law, the Salt Lake County Democratic Party will call together delegates from Suazo's District 2 and attempt to find one candidate who can get 60 percent of the vote. If so, that single name will be sent to Gov. Mike Leavitt, who can appoint or reject that person.
If one person doesn't get 60 percent, the top two names will go to the governor. The new senator will have to run for election in 2002 to fill out the remaining two years of Suazo's term.
The Utah Legislature, like many such elective bodies, has a history of appointing a spouse of a deceased member temporarily to the post. Sometimes the spouses go on to make political names for themselves. When Rep. Merrill Fox was killed in an ATV accident in 1987, his widow, Chris Fox, took his place, won several elections and rose to be House majority leader.
In 1981, former Sen. Dona Wayment, R-Clinton, succeeded her deceased husband and won election in her own right as well.
Taylor said if Suazo's widow, Alicia, is not interested in serving, "there are many, many well-qualified people" who could serve, including Rep. Duane Bordeaux, D-Salt Lake, the only African-American in the Legislature, "and dozens of fine Hispanics in Pete's district."
A Salt Lake native, Suazo graduated from West High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in corrections and criminology and a master's degree in economics, both from the University of Utah.
Suazo entered student politics at the U. because he wanted to reserve the university's small Chicano population a section at football and basketball games.
"He wanted us all to sit together and get to know each other," said Martinez, who met Suazo at the U. in 1971.
Suazo, who was director of community outreach for the Utah League of Credit Unions, was first elected to the state House in 1992 and was elected to the state Senate in 1996. He was serving as assistant minority whip.
In recent years he was known for his battle to rename Utah's Human Rights Day to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a state holiday, and over the last several years fought to adopt a more pro-active and effective hate crimes law.
His hate crimes bill was bottled up in the 2001 session by House Republicans, who refused to even let it be voted on. This summer Suazo vowed to try again in the 2002 session, this time using model legislation from the Anti-Defamation League.
Suazo also worked to thwart "English-only" bills in the Legislature. Voters subsequently approved an "official English" measure last November. Suazo signed onto a lawsuit aimed at overturning it.
Senate Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich, D—Price, said Suazo dedicated his life to helping others and had a wonderful spirit of community.
"Not only will I miss him personally, but I believe the state of Utah has also lost a hero and voice for the under-served populations. We will see to it that his legacy is carried on," he said.
Democrats will pay a tribute to Suazo, perhaps as soon as Saturday's State Democratic Convention, Taylor said.
Legislators on the Republican side of the aisle respected his sense of fairness.
"Pete was a rare individual who was always willing to listen to other points of view," said Senate President Al Mansell, R-Sandy. "He was adept at working with everyone to find solutions benefiting both sides of an issue."
Gov. Mike Leavitt called him a down-to-earth man whose "genuine grace" defined him. "He will have a lasting legacy here on Capitol Hill. He was an advocate for youth and minorities, but he did not just defend their positions. He was passionate for their causes."
Suazo was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing. He also was a member of the Utah Amateur Boxing Federation and a boxing referee. One of his greatest thrills in boxing was officiating a bout at New York's Madison Square Garden earlier this year.
The off-road vehicle accident is the second that has put the small, 29-member Utah Senate into mourning this year. During the 2001 session a daughter of Sen. Karen Hale, D-Salt Lake, was killed in an ATV accident.
Suazo sat on the Legislature's Redistricting Committee, which is redrawing the boundaries for Utah's three U.S. House seats, 75 state House and 29 state Senate districts. Work on the 29 Senate districts is drawing to a close, said committee co-chair Sen. Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, with final votes scheduled the end of this month.
Saying he will miss Suazo, Waddoups said Tuesday that several people had already called him to suggest that Suazo's west-side Salt Lake City district could be redrawn, in light of his death, to include Sen. Paula Julander, D-Salt Lake. Under preliminary committee plans, Julander, who lives in Federal Heights near the University of Utah, would be lumped into a district with Sen. Dan Eastman, R-Bountiful, and so likely lose her seat.
"While this is a tragedy, I say if the plan was a good one before (Suazo actually liked how his district was redrawn because it kept together many Hispanic, west-side neighborhoods), it is still good," said Waddoups. "We do what is best for the people, not best for the politicians."
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