- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and other statewide constitutional officers were sworn in during an inauguration ceremony.
- Instead of focusing on his administration's accomplishments, Cox credited Utah families, faiths and communities with making the state great.
- Utah must strengthen this kind of "social capital" one family at a time so that it can continue to be an example to the country, Cox said.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox dedicated his second inaugural address to what he considers the state’s greatest asset: not its sterling economy, its world-class wilderness, or even its leaders. It’s Utah’s people who make the state special, he said.
The recognition the Beehive State received during Cox’s first administration had little to do with the actions of his administration, he said. It had everything to do with Utah’s unparalleled levels of what he called “social capital” — the important connections, like family unity, charitable giving and volunteer groups — that bind a place together.
“Faith, family and community: Utah has it. And the rest of the world is desperately yearning to find it. We must not give up now when it’s needed more than ever before,” Cox said. “Utah must stand tall as that shining city on a hill. We must be different.”
It’s all about the family
Cox publicly launched his second four-year term during a ceremony on Wednesday at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City following a private swearing-in on Monday.
The event included the ceremonial swearings-in of Cox, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, Attorney General Derek Brown, State Auditor Tina Cannon and State Treasurer Marlo Oaks. Brown and Cannon were elected for the first time in November. Cox, Henderson and Oaks were reelected to a second term.
Oaths of office were administered by Chief Justice Matthew Durrant of the Utah Supreme Court, followed by speeches from Henderson and Cox, as well as musical numbers from the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, Gentri, a student mariachi band and Dallyn Vail Bayles.
The crowd included former Utah Govs. Mike Leavitt, Jon Huntsman Jr. and Gary Herbert, as well as hundreds of Utah lawmakers, business leaders, university administrators and religious representatives, including President Dallin H. Oaks of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Cox described his first term as an attempt “to write the next chapter of Utah’s history,” pointing to his administration’s role in shrinking state taxes, suing social media giants, setting higher salaries for teachers and securing the 2034 Winter Olympics.
According to Cox, these policy goals may have played a small part in the recognition received by the state over the last four years, which include the best state in the nation, the best state to start a business, the best state for the middle class, the most affordable state, the state with best upward mobility and the state with the best economic outlook.
But the true source of these accolades is located far from the steps of the Utah Capitol and the skyscrapers of downtown business districts, Cox said. The true secret to Utah’s No. 1 status is better reflected by the studies that find Utah among the top places in the nation for getting married, having children and going to church, Cox said.
“The incredible things we’ve been able to accomplish over the past four years happened because of our strong social capital,” Cox said. “And if we want to continue to cut taxes, create jobs, build infrastructure, lift people out of poverty and make the American dream a reality for the next generation, we need more of it. And it can only happen one family, one neighborhood and one community at a time.”
Cox focuses on his personal story
Utah’s governor is himself the product of the state’s unique network of social capital, he said.
During Cox’s troubled teenage years, after his parents divorced, it was his next door neighbors who gave him a sense of stability, he said. When he was getting up to mischief, it was his step-aunt and uncle who trusted him to watch over their horses and 2,000 sheep 40 miles from the closest town. As Cox faced peer pressure in high school, it was his English teacher who challenged him to take school seriously.
Cox’s list went on to include members of his church congregation, Scout leaders and other residents of Fairview, his hometown. These were the people, the community, the social capital that Cox said provided him with the support, encouragement and resources that no government program ever could.
“Utah is not number one because of our government. We are number one because of our people,” Cox said.
While Cox focused his campaign season on lofty promises to grow the supply of starter homes by 35,000 housing units and double the state’s energy production, he said the overarching theme of his second term will be a combination of providing the infrastructure and just getting the government out of the way so that the state’s faiths, families and communities can grow.
On Wednesday, Cox announced a policy initiative to support the community networks that undergird the state’s economy and culture.
His “Built Here” second-term strategic plan includes 22 objectives aimed at supporting struggling people in Utah, making Utah a better place to live and investing in the state’s prosperity. The initiative will base its success on metrics like reducing intergenerational poverty, increasing housing units and multiplying alternative postsecondary education programs.
As Cox said Wednesday, “social capital is not created by government. It is created in our families, our congregations, in our neighborhoods and volunteer organizations.” But Cox believes there is room on the margins for public policy to strengthen social capital.
In 2022, Cox created the Office of Families to recommend pro-family policies, like child tax credits and mental health resources, to lawmakers. Cox also pointed to his administration’s efforts to hold Meta and TikTok accountable for harming young people, and the state’s record funding for K-12 education, as steps taken to support Utah families.
Four years later
Four years ago, Cox would never have given a speech on social capital, he said.
The governor held his first inauguration ceremony in 2021 at an amphitheater in Ivins, Washington County, both as a way to maintain the then-mandatory social distancing rules at the height of COVID-19, and as a way to signal the importance of representing southern Utah. It was the first inauguration to take place outside of Salt Lake City in the state’s history.
After a summer of violent riots, amid protests over pandemic lockdowns, against the backdrop of rising inflation, and just two days ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, Cox spoke of social polarization, disinformation and the potential “catastrophic failure of our democracy.”
Cox spoke about the importance of “civic charity,” and of debating ideas respectfully instead of demonizing political opponents — ideas he later promoted with his “Disagree Better” initiative as chair of the National Governors Association.
Immediately following the 2021 inauguration ceremony, Cox and Henderson visited their hometowns on their way back north to watch fireworks celebrating Utah’s 125th year of statehood.
On his stop in Fairview, Sanpete County, Cox became emotional as he recognized friends, family and neighbors in the crowd. He recounted how they had helped him as a child, and again when he became mayor of the town. He thanked those standing in the cold January air and made them a promise.
“Thank you for making us who we are. I promise we won’t forget where we came from,” Cox said at the time.
As workers cleared the stage after Cox’s second inauguration speech on Monday, the governor reflected for a moment — on his constituents, on the community that got him there — and concluded, “That’s what this speech was really about.”
