On Tuesday evening, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox held a virtual town hall streaming from Kearns Mansion where he answered questions about the housing crisis, Utah’s 2034 Olympic bid and other topics.
Wishing the listeners a happy holiday season, Cox opened up the livestream by speaking about how this time of year can be lonely. He encouraged those who are struggling during the season to reach out for help.
Cox then answered questions submitted by listeners. Here’s a look at some of what he had to say.
The housing crisis
“We have a housing crisis not just in the state of Utah, but all across the country,” Cox said when asked to explain who qualifies for “deeply affordable housing.” The governor’s recent budget plan for the 2025 fiscal year included $30 million dedicated for this purpose.
A four-person household whose income is less than $31,000 a year qualifies.
“Sadly, right now there are only about three available units for every 100 households that are below that” threshold, Cox said. Of the $30 million, $25 million would go toward building more units and the other $5 million would go toward services for residents.
Cox also spoke about how Utah stopped building starter homes. “It’s so sad because I can’t imagine a generation that will never be able to buy property or afford a home. The American dream is based on that,” he said.
Over the next five years, Cox said the data indicates that Utah needs to build 35,000 starter homes. He said he has that as a goal.
Diversity initiatives
“We do want Utah to be a place where everyone can thrive,” Cox said. “So, we’ve really focused the past three years on making sure there’s a seat at the table for everyone.”
Citing a study from Harvard, Cox said that Utah was the state with the least number of respondents who had a zero-sum mentality. In other words, as Cox put it, “We believe that when someone else wins, that’s good for all of us.”
“We’ve worked to expand representation on our boards and commissions,” Cox said. He also noted that there are grants for businesses in rural communities and resources to aid certain key industries like life science and aerospace.
“I am worried that some of those diversity programs on our college campuses aren’t doing what they set out to do,” Cox said, explaining that he thinks “they’ve gotten very political and are doing more to divide us than to bring us together.”
Utah snowpack
“I hope it’ll be another crazy winter like last year,” Cox said when asked how Utah was doing in terms of snowpack.
As of mid-December, Cox said northern Utah was still above average rates while southern Utah was below average. But it’s still early, he stressed.
When assessing the snow water equivalent, Cox said it was 11% above normal at this point. Reservoir storage is also higher than normal. He added that he’s still praying for a good year and it’s too early to tell what the spring will look like.
The ‘Disagree Better’ initiative
As the chair of the National Governors Association, Cox has launched a Disagree Better initiative “to help with the terrible polarization that is happening in our country.”
The initiative isn’t about always agreeing with each other, Cox said. Instead it is about learning to disagree, staying true to principles and being amicable. He shared some practical tips that have helped him:
- Listen.
- Pause and be curious.
- Find common ground.
2034 Olympics
Multiple questions came in about Utah hosting the 2034 Olympics. Cox clarified that Utah has not yet received the bid, but is the preferred host.
“We could host them tomorrow,” Cox said about the Olympics. “But the good news is having a 10 year runway gives us an opportunity to dream big.”
Cox referenced the 2002 Olympics when Utah was able to obtain funding to build the TRAX system. Over the course of the next 10 years, Cox said he’s looking at other ways transportation can be expanded including seeing if TRAX can be expanded so more residents have access to it. He also referenced a plan to increase the number of trails in Utah for e-bikes and walking.
In response to a different question on transportation, specifically on if the FrontRunner will ever go down to St. George, Cox said that he’s dreamed of doing that. He explained that he’s looking at whether or not a train will be able to run from Boise to Salt Lake City to Las Vegas.
The livestream is available to watch on Cox’s official YouTube account and social media accounts.