Guest Post by Kimberly Harris Wagner

Senate President Stuart Adams is arguably the most powerful politician in Utah. With more than two decades in the legislature, he has wielded extraordinary influence over Utah public life. What should Utahns expect from a leader with that much influence? I suggest transparency, accountability, integrity, collaboration, respect for limits on power, and a commitment to the public good.

Adams now faces his first-ever primary challenge, and voters have an opportunity to evaluate his record against their expectations. Taken together, the following incidents raise questions about his use of political power.

Adams chairs MIDA, a quasi-governmental agency behind a controversial data center proposal. MIDA worked on the project for months before informing county commissioners, then pressed for a rapid approval process. Even as county officials raised concerns, emails show MIDA members “repeatedly advocating on behalf of developer and celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary.” Last month, Adams’ PAC received $135,000 from groups and individuals connected to MIDA. Earlier this year, he later transferred $45,000 from the PAC to his reelection campaign. As primary voting began, Adams called for scaling back the acreage—though not the size of the actual facility—for the data center he helped negotiate.

When Adams’ relative was facing punishment for sexual assault, he supported reducing penalties for that exact charge. The bill became law, and although not retroactive, altered the state’s plea offer in his relative’s case, resulting in a lesser penalty.

Some question whether Adams’ position has unduly benefited his real estate and development interests. Critics have pointed to the routing of the West Davis Corridor, which may have increased the value of nearby property he owned. Separately, the state purchased land from Adams for the Highway 89 expansion rather than acquiring the easement it initially sought. Records indicate that purchasing entire parcels was not standard UDOT practice at the time.

Adams has supported measures that reduce transparency and accountability. He sponsored legislation creating a state water council permitted to meet in private and voted for exemptions shielding elected officials’ calendars from public records requests.

In 2022, Adams and two of his grandchildren attended a World Cup match in Qatar, largely paid for by that nation’s government. That same year, legislation requiring disclosure of gifts from foreign governments stalled in the Senate.

During the pandemic, the state spent $800,000 on unproven COVID treatments without notifying the Utah Department of Health. This was done through a pharmacy owner and lobbyist Adams knew personally.

Adams supported legislative actions that overturned or substantially altered voter-approved initiatives. Citizen initiatives are extraordinarily difficult to pass in Utah, succeeding only seven times in seventy years, though the right to reform our government is in Utah’s constitution. Under Adams’ leadership, the legislature gutted or overturned three of those hard-won laws: Medicaid expansion, medical marijuana access, and the independent redistricting process. 

After a court ruled that the legislature’s power to override citizen initiatives is not unlimited, Adams co-authored the language for Constitutional Amendment D, which would have expanded that authority. The ballot language was written under a new law shifting drafting authority from nonpartisan attorneys to legislative leaders. The Utah Supreme Court found the language so misleading that one justice wrote it “would lead a reasonable voter to believe that the amendment does something entirely different.”

After several court decisions the GOP legislative majority didn’t like, Adams responded by supporting measures to increase legislative influence over the judiciary, including stripping the Utah Supreme Court of its authority to select its own chief justice, adding two supreme court justices despite legal community concerns, and reopening an ethics investigation the Judicial Conduct Commission had already investigated and dismissed.

Adams’ efforts to expand legislative control sit uneasily alongside Republican rhetoric about limited government and local control. One example is the creation of state authorities such as MIDA, the Utah Lake Authority, and the Inland Port Authority. These entities are able to “take over land-use decisions, tax revenue, and bonding power from local governments.” Elsewhere, the legislature under Adams has overridden local decisions and imposed increasing demands on public schools.

Adams has played a prominent role in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a national organization in which GOP legislators and corporate lobbyists collaborate to draft model legislation introduced across states. ALEC’s internal documents reveal that special interests may “effectively turn ALEC’s lawmaker members into stealth lobbyists.” This raises a question: how much of Utah’s legislative agenda has emerged organically from the state’s communities, and how much is being shaped by national political and corporate networks? 

Taken together, these incidents raise serious questions about concentrated power. Republican voters can now decide whether Adams’ record reflects the kind of representation Utahns deserve.

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Kimberly Harris Wagner’s endorsement:

I support Adams’ primary challenger Stephanie Hollist in this race. In her work as a policy attorney, Hollist has brought people together to solve difficult problems. She’s taught government ethics. She’s also principled, pragmatic, and committed to transparency, accountability, and listening to voters.

Please vote for the candidate in this race who knows the difference between wielding power and serving the public.