When Norman Howard Bangerter approved a tax increase to support Utah schools during the difficult economic times of his first term as governor, the move did not sit well with some of the more conservative members of the Utah Republican Party, to which Bangerter belonged.
“I just signed my political death warrant,” he said.
Indeed, it seemed for a time that his prediction would be proven true and that he would not be elected to a second term.
But re-election was not Norm Bangerter’s top priority; education was.
So Bangerter told the state in a 1986 televised address, that Utah’s "future depends on making not just easy decisions, but the right decisions.” And if the right decision cost Bangerter his office, that was a price he was willing to pay.
Dave Buhler, who managed the governor’s 1988 re-election campaign, stated that Bangerter “had no illusions of the political consequences. He knew that they would be negative,” but at the same time, the governor was unconcerned, because he “did not worry about how he would be remembered.”
Or, as the governor himself put it, “I want to go down in history as the governor who didn’t spend eight years worrying about how he would go down in history.”
The irony is that, with his passing this week, many are remembering him with fondness precisely because he put Utah before himself. As Buhler recalls, Bangerter was “not somebody who liked spin or fluff,” but, in hindsight, neither spin nor fluff was necessary to convince Utahns that the governor was a man of integrity. Despite facing a strong Democratic challenger and a well-financed independent right-wing candidate, he won a second term. It seems that even when voters didn’t agree with him, they still respected his unwavering commitment to principle and his willingness to stick with his convictions.
In addition, his service didn’t end when his political career did. After his term was over, he served three years as president of the South Africa Johannesburg Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As recently as 2008, he was appointed to the governing board of Operation Kids, which provides service to a number of philanthropic children’s programs.
Norm Bangerter may not have been concerned about his place in history, but as it turns out, he didn’t need to be. He leaves behind a legacy that is secure, and he will be sorely missed.