‘DESPICABLE’ BEHAVIOR REVISITED

UTAH DEMOCRATS PREP FOR 2020 ELECTIONS AMID DEEP DIVISIONS

Protesters disrupted a forum of candidates vying for chair of the Utah Democratic Party at the Utah Capitol on June 7, 2017. They were taking a stand against alleged sexual misconduct of a leading candidate for the position, Rob Miller, seated at the far right. The allegations have never been substantiated. (Photo: Exhibit submitted to UDP’s Executive and Central committees/Salt Lake Tribune)

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Rebecca Benally and Rob Miller are civic-minded: Benally, as a Navajo deeply engaged in developing a more prosperous San Juan County, Utah, and preserving her heritage independent of powerful forces beyond the county that, in her opinion, would permanently damage that heritage; and Miller, as a partisan on a years-long mission to create a more relevant Utah Democratic Party.

However, hard-edged tactics of some activists inside and outside of the party have dampened that community-spirited activity, at least through involvement in political parties, at least for the time being.

Over the past two years, Miller has been the target of rumor-mongering and innuendo related to unproven allegations of sexual misconduct. The inability of UDP leadership to resolve the matter hints at deeper divisions whose roots lie in the raw emotional and organizational power of single-issue politics, specifically take-no-prisoners feminism and one-dimensional environmentalism. UDP is not a “big tent” party.

The stories of Rob Miller and Rebecca Benally set the stage for a larger show that will play out over the next couple of months as Utah Democrats select leadership to map strategy for the 2020 presidential…