‘Faith, family and community’: Gov. Cox reflects on what makes Utah special in inaugural address

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox credited everyday Utahns, families and communities for the state’s success during his second inaugural address Wednesday morning, calling for the state to lead out on recognizing and exalting often unrecognized “social capital.”

The Republican governor recounted his parents’ divorce when he was ten years old, recalling several members of his small Sanpete County community who rallied around him during his “troubled teenage years.”

“For reasons that still remain unclear to me today, they sacrificed and fought for me, even when I didn’t deserve it — and I mostly didn’t deserve it,” Cox told the several hundred politicians, officials and other state dignitaries from the stage of the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City.

Cox spoke of several neighbors who welcomed him with open arms, a high school teacher who “challenged” and “inspired” him, church leaders who taught humility and leadership, and a scout leader who made a “tremendous sacrifice” to Cox and others. Traveling the state as an adult, the governor said he has since learned that his experience is not unique in the state.

“In a world where too many people celebrate and adore shallow ‘influencers’ who they will never meet, the influence of these five Fairview couples never extended beyond the borders of our tiny little town. But oh did their influence run deep,” he said. “They never asked ‘what can my community do for me,’ they only asked, ‘what can I do for my community.’ They didn’t just pursue happiness, they literally found it.”

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