Salt Lake County Democrats will decide tonight who will replace former Utah State Representative Justin Miller.
Candidates for House District 40 will be given five minutes each to speak before 63 delegates cast their votes. Amy Fowler ran for the seat in 2014, but lost at convention to Miller. The LGBT rights lawyer is ready to give it another shot
“We need some diversity up on the hill,” Fowler says. “We need more women up on the hill. We need people who have a new perspective.
Other candidates include newcomer Michael Shea, Lynn Hemingway who represented House District 40 before Miller, and Chris Stout, who chairs the county and state progressive caucuses. Stout is confident he can move the party forward.
“They are looking at Lynn as kind of the safe option,” Stout says. “My argument goes deeper to the Democratic Party. We’ve got so few Democrats up there right now that this idea of going along to get along isn’t going to work anymore.”
Governor Gary Herbert will have to sign off on the replacement.
Miller resigned from the legislature effective November 11th. He pleaded guilty to communications fraud for embezzling more than $20,000 from Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams re-election campaign.
