Rebekah Cummings: Why I’m running for lieutenant governor of Utah

My name is Rebekah Cummings. I’m an educator, a library advocate, a mother of three and I’m running for lieutenant governor alongside Brian King.

I am a big believer that who someone is, and what they did before running for public office, speaks volumes about what they’ll do once they are elected.

I’ve spent the past 15 years working in public and academic libraries, and I absolutely love it. Working in libraries teaches you so much about people — what they care about, what they’re learning, what they aspire to, what challenges they’re facing, what keeps them up at night. In few professions do you get to work with such a broad cross-section of society.

As a public librarian, I could start my day helping toddlers bond with their caregivers at storytime and end it by helping elderly patrons find community resources. It’s a privilege to be in a position where my primary job is to listen to people and help them be successful at whatever they care about.

I’ve seen people burst into tears over a $2 late fee because they’re already figuring out how to pay rent, groceries and utilities. And if I’m being honest, I’ve been that person. I was once a 29-year-old single mom finishing my education on a Pell Grant, counting every penny. Now, at the University of Utah’s Marriott Library, I teach information literacy, oversee student research and study the social and ethical implications of emerging technologies like AI.

So, why am I stepping away from the library to run for office? First of all, I probably wouldn’t be doing this if anyone other than Brian King had asked me. I’ve been Brian’s constituent for the past 11 years, and we’ve worked together on library issues for the past six. I’ve always been impressed by how Brian reaches across the aisle to pass common-sense, bipartisan legislation that makes people’s lives better. Brian has worked for Utah, for the better, for a long time, and I know he will be an incredible governor.

The second reason is that politics has found the library. We’ve seen an unprecedented rise in book challenges in the United States, and Utah is now ranked fourth in the country for book bans. We’ve seen proposed legislation that criminalizes librarians, implements extreme rating systems on books, overrides local control of school libraries and outlaws the teaching of divisive concepts.

Meanwhile, the majority of people oppose book banning, according to an American Family Survey. Most parents trust their teachers and librarians, according to a survey conducted by The Every Library Institute. And a recent Utah Foundation report found Utahns are tired of seeing elected officials waste time on bills that don’t improve anyone’s life.

For the past seven years, I’ve served as president and advocacy co-chair of the Utah Library Association, working with our elected officials on library funding and policy. I co-founded Let Utah Read, which now has several thousand supporters, ready to speak up at school board meetings or at the Legislature in defense of education, libraries and the freedom to read. Last session, I worked with Brian on HB583, a bill that would have required books to be reviewed in their entirety when determining whether to remove a book from a school library. It was a common-sense bill that balanced protecting children while ensuring that valuable books remained available to students.

Here’s the thing — I’ve read a lot of books in my life, and there isn’t a single book in my public library that I find offensive. There’s not a single book in my kids’ elementary school library that I find offensive. But you know what does offend me? That working parents have to drop their kids off at the library for eight hours a day in the summer because there are no affordable childcare options; that my friend with Stage 4 cancer has to start a GoFundMe to pay for life-saving medical treatment; that average Utahns cannot afford a starter home; and that 10% of Utah children go to bed hungry.

I’m not offended by Judy Blume, Kurt Vonnegut or Toni Morrison. I’m offended by the widening gap between the enormity of our problems and the smallness of our politics.

My concern for good governance and protecting civil liberties goes far beyond books. Like Brian, I will always prioritize public good over personal interest, results over rhetoric and common sense over culture wars. I believe Utahns are tired of partisan games and want their elected officials to focus on real issues that will make their lives better — like access to healthcare, affordable housing, public education and saving the Great Salt Lake.

As lieutenant governor, my top priority will be working alongside Brian to promote common-sense government as a check on the inevitable extremism that comes with a monopoly on power.

Rebekah Cummings is running to be Utah’s next lieutenant governor.