Utah Gov. Spencer Cox responded on Tuesday to recent controversy over his nomination to the Utah Air Quality Board being removed, telling reporters that his choice of Salt Lake County Council member Suzanne Harrison “didn’t go the way we had hoped” and that his office is now looking for a new nomination.
Harrison’s nomination to the board, which enacts air quality regulations for the state and consists of local politicians and experts, was held up earlier this month after a split vote from the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee.
And on Monday, Harrison confirmed via a statement that her nomination was withdrawn.
“I am disheartened by the blatant display of divisive partisan politics that characterized the nomination process,” she said, calling the outcome “unprecedented.”
During a ceremonial bill signing Tuesday, Cox briefly addressed the withdrawal.
“Obviously it didn’t go the way we had hoped and so I’ve had conversations with Suzanne, she’s a wonderful person who served in the legislature and is now serving in county government. And we’ll work hard to find another name that will be approved,” he said.
Harrison is a physician and former Democratic member of the Utah House of Representatives, who launched a successful bid for the Salt Lake County Council’s at large seat after the redistricting process made her district heavily Republican.
While in the legislature, Harrison was the co-chair of the bipartisan Clean Air Caucus, and founded the website tier3gas.org, which showed Utahns were they can buy cleaner burning fuel.
“I have dedicated my efforts to working across party lines to find common-sense solutions to help clean up our air so that all Utahns can live happy and healthy lives,” she said in a statement.
However, during the confirmation hearing Harrison’s voting record as a lawmaker came into question — particularly her “no” vote on a bill that would have extended tax breaks for refineries that produce tier 3 fuel.
“She does walk the walk, but when it comes down to the final votes ... I don’t see that she’s a team player, I see that she’s playing party lines,” said Sen. Ron Winterton, R-Roosevelt.
Harrison, in response, said her opposition to the bill was because one of the refineries “hadn’t shown any measurable effort to go down the path of making tier 3 gas. And several of the other refineries who had already begun the work on creating tier 3 gas also had concerns about extending tax breaks.”
Winterton, along with Derrin Owens, R-Fountain Green, and Keith Grover, R-Provo, ultimately voted against Harrison’s nomination. Uinta County Commissioner Sonja Norton, another nominee for the board, got the green light from lawmakers during that same meeting.
Harrison would have replaced Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall on the Utah Air Quality Board.
“I believe the best decisions and policies are made when multiple perspectives are at the table. Air quality is an issue that should transcend partisan politics. We all share the same air and have a stake in ensuring it remains clean and healthy,” Harrison said.
Now, with Mendenhall gone, the board does not have any sitting Democrats. It has one Republican, and the rest are either independent or unaffiliated. Utah law doesn’t require a minimum number of board members from each party, but does prevent lawmakers from stacking it with either Republicans or Democrats.