I suspect many Grand County voters did not know that Phil Lyman (R) was their incumbent State Representative ever since the 2020 Census redistricted them with San Juan and other counties. He is a Trump-pardoned loyalist who sponsored a bill, roundly rejected by Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature, to do away with mail-in voting in Utah. That’s basically how all of Utah votes.
Now we see him proposing harmful legislation against Grand County with a bill to reverse the TRT funding profiles, ie. repealing HB247. Grand County had successfully lobbied to allow a greater percentage of the tourist dollars to go toward the infrastructure they impact, rather than promoting more tourism. Lyman apparently is not pleased with how that money was used, or considers Grand County unduly influenced by organizations such as the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and the Rural Utah Project (RUP). He may also feel that the County meddles in San Juan County business, especially in Spanish Valley (which ought to be a part of Grand County anyhow).
I’m a resident of northern San Juan County and supported his opponent in the election, Davina Smith. She carried Grand County and lost San Juan Co. by only about 100 votes. It didn’t take long to see that Lyman is not good for Moab. We’ll have another chance to unseat him in 2024.
Larry Witt
Moab
