Benjamin Michael McAdams (born December 5, 1974) is an American politician and attorney from Utah. He is the Salt Lake County Mayor, a position he has held since January 2013. McAdams is a former member of the Utah State Senate, representing the state's second district including Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake City, and a portion of West Valley. He is currently running for the position of U.S. Representative for Utah's 4th congressional district, against the incumbent Mia Love. RealClearPolitics ranks the race as a toss-up as of August 2018.
Video Ben McAdams
Early life and education
McAdams has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Utah and a J.D. with honors from Columbia Law School. At Columbia, McAdams was a member of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review.
Maps Ben McAdams
Legal career
After graduating from law school, McAdams briefly worked in New York City as an associate at the New York law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell. McAdams and his family then returned to Utah, where McAdams joined the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney in Salt Lake City, working in securities law. McAdams then became Senior Advisor to Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker.
McAdams has served as a volunteer adjunct faculty member at the University of Utah College of Law.
Political career
Utah State Senator
McAdams was elected to replace Scott McCoy as the senator for Utah's second district in a special election on December 19, 2009. McAdams was subsequently elected to a four-year term on November 2, 2010.
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, McAdams served on the following committees:
- Appropriations - Executive Offices and Criminal Justice
- Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee, Utah Senate
- Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee, Utah Senate
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, McAdams served on the following committees:
- Administrative Rules Review Committee, Utah State Legislature
- Ethics Committee, Utah State Senate
- Executive Appropriations
- Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee, Utah State Senate
- Legislative Management Committee, Utah State Legislature
- Redistricting Committee, Utah State Legislature
- Revenue and Taxation Committee, Utah State Senate
- Subcommittee on Executive Offices and Criminal Justice Appropriations
As a legislator, McAdams cosponsored S.B. 0150, a measure designed to promote communication between schools and parents of elementary school students who are reading below grade level. The bill was signed by Governor Gary Herbert into law on March 29, 2010.
In March 2011, McAdams proposed a bill against employment and housing discrimination against gay and transgender Utahns. His motion to hold a hearing on it failed on a party-line vote. Salt Lake City passed a similar measure in 2009.
McAdams received a 75% rating from the advocacy group Parents for Choice in Education during the 2012 legislative session, and a 77% rating from the National Education Association. He also received an 82% score from the Utah Taxpayers Association, the highest scoring Democrat that year. The Salt Lake Tribune identified McAdams as the most liberal-leaning member of the Utah Senate in 2011, with a conservative rating of 34.4% that year. In 2012, however, the Tribune identified him as the third-most conservative Democratic Utah state senator (out of eight total).
McAdams voted against H.B. 353, which allows medical personnel to refuse to provide abortions on moral or religious grounds. He also voted against H.B. 461, which extended the mandatory waiting period for an abortion from 24 hours to 72 business hours; this law was later found not to prevent women from having abortions. McAdams has since stated he "believes in the sanctity of life at all stages" and "opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest, danger to the mother's life, and in certain other rare circumstances" and that he believes "decisions about terminating a pregnancy should be made by a woman in consultation with her physician, family members and faith counselors she trusts."
Salt Lake County Mayor
In November 2011, McAdams announced his campaign to succeed Peter Corroon as mayor of Salt Lake County, Utah. On November 6, 2012, McAdams was elected with 54% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee Mark Crockett. McAdams resigned from the state senate after taking office as mayor.
Since taking office, McAdams has been tasked by the Utah Legislature to select a location for a new homeless shelter in Salt Lake County, outside of Salt Lake City. According to the Deseret News, the task was considered to be a "politically damaging decision", and was met with opposition from Cherie Wood, the mayor of South Salt Lake, where McAdams ultimately recommended the shelter be located. Prior to making his recommendation, McAdams spent two nights on the streets of Salt Lake City, posing as a homeless person, to "gather information before recommending a new shelter location." Although he was tasked with recommending a site for the shelter, McAdams has pledged to not support the center's groundbreaking unless and until the Utah Legislature passes a bill to create a pool of revenue from other cities to help fund the centers. McAdams has called for a "radically different approach ... to address homelessness," and has called homelessness a "stubborn and complex social challenge."
McAdams has been involved in the negotiations with state leaders for a proposed inland port in Salt Lake City. In January 2018, he stated he strongly believes that land use and zoning decisions should remain at a local level. After the Utah Legislature passed SB023, which created an Inland Port Authority, he said he believes "for the most part the bill is fair.".
As Salt Lake County Mayor, Mcadams sits on the board of directors of the United Way of Salt Lake County. He has implemented a "pay-for-success" model which "invited third-party investors to pay for preschool and gain a return on their investment when specific benchmarks were met," for which he received public recognition from the United Way in 2016.
McAdams was mentioned as a potential candidate in Utah's 2016 Senate race or Utah's 2016 gubernatorial race, but McAdams declined to run for either position. He was re-elected to a second term as Salt Lake County Mayor in November 2016 with 59% of the vote.
United States House of Representatives Campaign, 2018
On October 18, 2017, McAdams announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination to oppose incumbent Representative Mia Love, a Republican representing Utah's 4th congressional district. On April 28, 2018, McAdams won the Democratic nomination at the party's convention. With the backing of 72% of the convention delegates, McAdams avoided a primary campaign.
During the campaign, McAdams has described himself as pro-life, referring to his "deeply held beliefs about the sanctity of life" and stating Love's charge of being an abortion advocate was "offensive". McAdams is a practicing Mormon. He has also distanced himself from the current House leadership, going so far as to state that he would not support Nancy Pelosi for House speaker if elected.
In June 2018, CNN stated that the race was considered "consequential to both parties" because Love has "stood up to [President Donald Trump] on immigration" and "because national Democrats see McAdams as one of their best chances to gain a foothold on red turf.".
As of August 2018, RealClearPolitics ranks the race as a "toss up". A poll performed in June 2018 shows McAdams within 6 percentage points of Love, within the poll's margin of error. Also in June, another poll shows McAdams had a higher job rating than Love, with stronger support among females and younger respondents. As of July 2017, Love's and McAdams' campaigns have approximately equal levels of cash on hand. Another more recent poll, performed by Dan Jones & Associates and released in September, shows McAdams within 3 points of Love.
McAdams has been endorsed by the Blue Dog Coalition, a House caucus of conservative and moderate Democrats which stresses fiscal responsibility. He has also been endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters
Political positions
Ben McAdams has stated that he is a moderate Democrat. He has been endorsed by the moderate-to-conservative Blue Dog Democrats. He was given a rating of 33% conservative by the Sutherland Institute, a fiscally and socially conservative political action committee. The Utah Taxpayers Association gave McAdams an 82% rating. McAdams has identified himself as pro-life. He has a 100% rating from the Utah Sierra Club which supports greater environmental protection. McAdams also supports same-sex marriage. After the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples have the right to marry in the United States, McAdams stated: "As Justice Kennedy stated in his opinion, 'The right of same-sex couples to marry is derived from the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection.' This decision enshrines what I've long believed - that all families should be treated equally under the law."
Personal life
McAdams is a seventh-generation Utahn, and one of eight children. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and served a mission to Brazil in the mid-1990s. He is married to his wife Julie; the couple met in high school. They have four children.
See also
- Politics of Utah
References
External links
- Salt Lake County Mayor - government website
- Ben McAdams for Congress - campaign website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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