Kevin Rhodes is the Democratic Candidate for the Cache County Council North Seat. He said he decided to run for office because no one else would run as a Democrat.
“The reason I’m running is so people can vote,” Rhodes said. “We need to have choices. What I could see happening is, that was going away. With one party’s dominant system here in Cache Valley, it just doesn’t work anymore.”
It’s no secret that Utah is well-known as a Republican state. Since 1964, the state has voted Republican in every presidential election, and the majority of local leaders are Republicans. But Democratic candidates and community leaders hope Utah’s political system will regain balance so the state can have a healthy two-party system.
On Wednesday, members of the Cache County LDS Democrats served hot dogs and drinks at the Wellsville farmer’s market. Their goal was to mingle with people of all ideologies to promote the importance of a balanced political system.
“As I stand here in my community welcoming my friends and neighbors to our little Wellsville market, I appreciate them coming here and supporting our little market and also being willing to consider that being a Democrat might not be as evil or as scary or as threatening as they might think,” said Jennifer Christensen the president of the Cache County LDS Democrats.
Christensen is an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In a state where the dominant faith is LDS, she said many people believe being a Democrat is against the church’s teachings. But she said they’re not. Rhodes agreed.
“The things that come up on a county level are things like planning, land use, environmental, how do we grow here in the county and still have this beautiful place to live?” Rhodes said. “It’s things like that that we make decisions about, and between the two parties I don’t think the difference is that big.”
The Cache County LDS Democrats plan to attend the Wellsville market every year. For more information about the organization, visit http://www.cachedems.org/.
