2023/24. "ARTICULATE, ARTFUL, RESPECTFUL & FAIR" (REMARKS BY SENATOR STUART ADAMS)

Senator Stuart Adams' Remarks at Dave Connors’ Retirement
March 15, 2023

What an honor it is to be here today. For multiple reasons. One is we have great respect as a legislature, I see Senator Stevenson here, we have great respect for the co-equal branch of government and for the job the judicial branch does in the state of Utah. We are very, very fortunate, it’s an honor to be here with Chief Justice Durant. But I want to tell you I’m really excited to be here to be able to say a few words for my good friend, Dave Connors. He’s been a great friend for many years. I can’t think of Dave Connors without thinking of Dave and Cori Connors. They’ve been a team together and I can’t think of one without the other. It’s great to have both of you here today. In fact, my first association with Dave came through Cori. Cori’s mom, Afton Hansen was a very talented, powerful, dynamic real estate professional and she worked in our office. We miss your mom. She was an unbelievable person, a personality that wouldn’t end and I can understand why Cori is so talented. And following Afton, Cori’s sister, Libby came into our office. How blessed we are to have known so many family members. Another blessing in this in my life was because of them I got to know Dave. My interaction with Dave was not only through Cori but also through our political experiences. You may know that Dave served for a few years as mayor of Farmington. I really didn’t want to be an elected official, that was not on my bucket list. That was not something I really thought I might do. I ran for my first assignment on the City Council was because my daughter was getting her license. She was 16 and there were not lights on Highway 89, so I ran to try to get lights on Highway 89. And during that period of time, after we were able to get lights on Highway 89, both my mom and my dad drove into Salt Lake every day with different assignments in separate cars. There was a little effort, you may remember at the time, to actually permit the Legacy Parkway. You may also remember that there was a mayor, another mayor in Salt Lake City by the name of Rocky Anderson, who was passionately opposed to Legacy Parkway. I was so determined to try the permit that highway that I actually ran for the House of Representatives and became a legislator. My very first session Mayor Anderson wanted to be reimbursed millions of dollars for the money Salt Lake City had advanced for the EIS for the light rail line to the airport. As a freshman legislator I decided that I would block that money, and I was successful. Mayor Anderson finally agreed to meet with me. I’m not sure why our Legislative legal team didn’t want to meet with me with him, maybe they thought it was out of their purview. But basically I was left alone. So who did I call? My good friend Farmington city mayor Dave Connors. We sat down together with Mayor Rocky Anderson and negotiated him stepping away from his lawsuit. Just think about that for second, in exchange for the reimbursement of the money that Salt Lake City wanted. In those meetings, I got to know Dave in a different form. I got to know up front and personal how talented he was. There were very tense moments with Mayor Anderson. You can imagine with his personality. In true Dave Connors form, he never lost his composure. He knew how to apply pressure, and to get an amicable solution. He was articulate, artful and respectful, but he demanded fairness. What were the results? The highway got built.

I can remember after the highway was built many people coming to me, actually some in tears, as they talked about how they were able to get home, to be able to catch their kids soccer games and to be able to have their lives back again. But very few of those people, not many of them, if any, know the impact that Dave Connors had on that highway’s completion. And I actually believe that’s the case for many things that Judge Connors, Dave Connors, my friend has done in this life. 

Judge Connors is so capable it’s really hard for me to see you go. You’re an asset to the state and our community. I am kind of excited because I know Dave and Cori, that they’ll find something exciting to do. So, I’m kind of excited for you that you’ll have a new page in your life. I just want to say to you, very clearly, the state of Utah is very grateful for your service and I am personally grateful for your service. More importantly, I am really grateful for your friendship. Thank you, Dave.

Two good men embrace