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| VIP Voters say their favorite political maverick of the past 25 years is Though he may have lost his long-held grip on the reader-voted Best Utahn category, our VIP voters still named Jon Huntsman Jr. as their favorite political maverick. It makes sense, considering he never does what you expect. In 2008, he endorsed John McCain for president rather than Mormon homeboy Mitt Romney. In 2009, as governor of one of the reddest states in the Union, he leapt onto the national stage with an endorsement of civil unions, arguably sowing a crucial seed for Utah’s (albeit brief) embrace of gay marriage at the end of 2013. And perhaps his greatest gift to Utah—at least from our perspective—was liberalizing the liquor laws, even if you still can’t get a bottle of wine on a Sunday. Huntsman has had trouble finding a political home that suits his maverick style. President Obama appointing Huntsman to serve as ambassador to China in 2008 was a classic and effective political move to spoil Huntsman’s presidential ambitions. Huntsman came back to the national stage in 2012 for a bid for the presidency against Obama that sputtered out seemingly before it began. Most recently, Huntsman’s been part of a group called No Labels that’s attempting to tackle the partisan gridlock that has paralyzed Washington, D.C., for so long. He even signed up in 2013 to host a satellite radio show to urge compromise between the two political parties. Some argue that City Weekly played a role in Huntsman’s ascendancy to political power. Local real-estate developer Vasilios Priskos recalls an interview Huntsman did with City Weekly “in a seedy bar, where he ordered a glass of milk. His opponent was a no-show. Great interview that I believe helped him win the governor’s office.” That’s Huntsman all over, willing to reach out, cross divides; a man who thinks outside the box. He’s also a risk-taker who loves motorbikes and perhaps still mourns his days in a short-lived band called Wizard, but has sadly left Utah—politically, at least—in the dust long ago. And that’s something a few Utahns can’t quite forgive. Saturday’s Voyeur playwright Nancy Borgenicht cites Huntsman as her favorite love-to-hate/hate-to-love politician: “He gave us hope, then left us with Gary Herbert.” |
Best High School Dance Company
Judge Memorial Catholic High School
At many high schools, anything that doesn’t include a ball or bleachers—like dance, band, drama or debate—is given the short shrift. Not so at Judge Memorial, where all things academic and art thrive. That’s especially so in the dance department, particularly with the laudable addition of Nathan Shaw, who melds his Repertory Dance Theatre experience with Jeanette Sawaya, a former National Dance Teacher of the Year. Last season’s modern-dance performance of No Boundaries was worthy of a downtown Salt Lake City stage. No less is expected from the 2014 performance of Walls this May 1-3. And get this—25 percent percent of Judge students take a dance class—there’s even one class of all males.
650 S. 1100 East, Salt Lake City, 801-517-2100, JudgeMemorial.com/activities/dance
Best Force for Change
Greta Belanger DeJong
It’s hard to believe, but Greta Belanger deJong’s Catalyst magazine is even older than we are. Launched in 1982, the alternative monthly magazine is celebrating its 33rd year—a feat that deJong credits to “stubbornness.” That trait almost goes without saying in the publishing business, but deJong is also a powerful, passionate advocate for—and example of—creativity, environmental awareness, spirituality and making Utah, and the world in general, a better place. For many reasons—some, like tequila and cigarettes, left best unsaid—we’ll always be enamored of deJong; she’s a real publishing “sister.”
CatalystMagazine.net
Best Friend
John Paul Brophy
In the very first Best of Utah issue, this paper—then called Private Eye—received an award for Best Typos. It’s likely that that’s an award we would have earned for all 25 years if it weren’t for John Paul Brophy, who first cast his sharp eyes over John Saltas’ prose in the Midvale press shop where City Weekly was born. Loved by everyone who’s been lucky enough to work with him, Brophy wrote columns and restaurant reviews under a pseudonym for the paper in the years that followed and continued to make these pages better with his thoughtful edits. And his knowledge extends beyond the dictionary—he’s a veritable encyclopedia of music. He’s the best friend of the blues that this town’s got, and enriched the city via his music reviews in The Salt Lake Tribune and his ownership of the much-missed Dead Goat Saloon. Brophy hung up his hat as City Weekly line editor earlier this year in order to have more much-deserved time enjoying life (and live music, we imagine), so this might be the first Best of Utah issue that Brophy hasn’t improved. We’re more then a litttle nervoous.
Brett Benson, Fox 13
Back for a second Best of Utah win, the artist sometimes known as Frankenweather (more correctly, he’d be Frankenweather’s Monster) remains as relatable as he is physically imposing. Brett Benson is obviously a pro, but his aw-shucks demeanor and quick wit make him just one of the dudes, even when he’s turning in some of the most technically demanding climate reports this state has seen in years. (Do meteorologists get secretly giddy over bad weather? We’d bet Benson does a little dance before every winter newscast.)
Fox 13, 5 p.m. & 9 p.m. weeknights, Fox13Now.com, Twitter: @BensonWeather
2. Sterling Poulson, KUTV 2
3. Debbie Worthen, KUTV 2
Best Local NSA Agitator
Pete Ashdown, Xmission
When whistleblower Edward Snowden let the world know all about the National Security Agency’s widespread surveillance of Americans’ e-mails and phone records, a local hero suddenly emerged to explain how he’s been refusing for years to hand us over to Big Brother’s prying eyes. In January, Pete Ashdown, the owner of XMission, explained that his Internet service provider outright refuses to honor government-issued administrative subpoenas for clients’ data. If law enforcement presents a warrant, usually for clients’ e-mails or the content of their Internet communications, Ashdown’s company complies, but when it comes to subpoenas, which don’t require warrants showing probable cause, XMission tells the guv’ment to beat it. Over the years, XMission has refused subpoenas from agencies ranging from the Utah Attorney General’s Office to the FBI and the Department of Justice. Ashdown has previously mounted two unsuccessful campaigns against Sen. Orrin Hatch, but he does understand that Utahns don’t take kindly to Uncle Fed being all up in their business—including their digital business.
XMission.com
| VIP Voters say their favorite political scandal of the past 25 years is When asked about their favorite political scandal from the past 25 years, our VIPs almost unanimously chose the most recent—”that dipshit that recently resigned as attorney general,” as Sound Warehouse owner Dean Magnesen succinctly puts it. Though some echo that disdain—”hate Swallow and Shurtleff,” Wasatch Beers founder Greg Schirf says—others found the scandal of former Attorneys General Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow irresistible because of its quirkier details, like “secret recordings and a Krispy Kreme doughnut,” Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams says. Even the name of the key player provided some yuks: “Great name, great reading,” notes local real-estate developer Vasilios Priskos. City Weekly‘s coverage of Swallow also nabbed votes from our VIPs. Popular political blogger Holly Richardson voted “Eric Peterson’s work on the John Swallow debacle” as her favorite City Weekly feature, and The King’s English co-owner Betsy Burton seconded it. “All your coverage of the Swallow scandal has been good, but [2013 story] ‘Hard to Swallow’—and the accompanying picture of Swallow with his Pinocchio-proboscis—is hard to forget.” Peterson was one of the first to delve into the murky dealings of Shurtleff and later Swallow, Shurtleff’s chosen heir. But it’s not over yet—as former Utah football coach Ron McBride notes, Shurtleff and Swallow is “an ongoing saga with a lot of different twists and turns. There was a lot of ink on that deal, and they still haven’t figured that out yet.” And though bookstore owner Ken Sanders says that Shurtleff/Swallow “has set the bar pretty high” for scandal, Swallow is just the latest Utahn whose name is synonymous with the s-word. Sister Dottie S. Dixon suggests reading the following lines to the tune of “My Favorite Things”: “Swallow and Shurtleff/ the Olympics bribing/ Enid and Joe and their Waldholtz conniving/ Sheldon Killpack and his driving so drunk/ being bad Mormons can really suck./ Horny Kevin Garn and his hot-tub carousing/ foot-in-mouth Buttars, his brain unarousing/ Ethics and standards—oh not in this space/ time quickly passes in this holier-than-thou place.” |
