Opinion: Utah’s moment is about being Utah

The election is over. While the nation processes its choice, Utah has a different task: being more fully itself.
Our state embodies productive paradox. We are the most conservative state building America’s green energy future. The most fiscally prudent state with the most ambitious investment agenda. A place where temporary government service produces lasting institutions, where free enterprise generates both profit and extraordinary charitable giving.
This isn’t happening despite our distinctive qualities. It’s happening because of them.
Consider our starting position: swollen rainy day funds, remarkable bonding capacity and the nation’s youngest workforce. Our School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration has shown for generations how public assets can generate private prosperity. Our tech sector thrives not because we tried to become Silicon Valley but because we remained uniquely Utah.
The proof is in the results. While other states debate the energy transition, we’re building it. While others fight over regulation, our stable governance attracts long-term investment. While others chase trends, our consistent principles enable innovation.
This extends beyond business. Our part-time legislature and citizen service model produce something invaluable: leaders who live under the laws they pass. Our constitutional debates happen alongside practical problem-solving, not in place of it. Our increasingly diverse population strengthens rather than dilutes our culture of welcome — after all, we’ve always been a community of builders and strivers.
Utah’s success isn’t about resolving every tension or smoothing every contradiction. It’s about making tension productive. Our fiscal conservatism enables bold investment. Our deep roots foster global ambition. Our traditional values support modern innovation.
As we face the next decade’s challenges — from AI integration to energy transformation — Utah shows that you don’t need to abandon who you are to build what’s next. You need only to be authentic to your best self.
The nation has just chosen its course. But Utah’s path remains clear: fostering a real economy built on our real strengths. Not through political calculation, but through the practical wisdom of our constitutional framework. Not through permanent political classes, but through citizen service. Not through imposed unity, but through genuine community.
Our opportunity isn’t to become something else. It’s to become more fully what we already are: a free-enterprise society with a massive heart. A place where cultural certainty enables rather than prevents welcome. A community where principle and pragmatism reinforce each other.
The next decade will test every American community. But Utah has already shown how to navigate change without losing identity, how to embrace the future without abandoning principles and how to build prosperity while strengthening community.
This is Utah’s moment. Not because we’ve transformed ourselves, but because we’ve remained ourselves. Not because we’ve resolved every paradox, but because we’ve learned to make paradox powerful.
The election is over. Let’s get back to being Utah.
Scott Anderson is the chairman of Zions Bank’s Advisory Board; he retired as president and CEO after more than three decades with the bank in April 2024. Michael Parker is the founder of Do Good, a policy entrepreneurship firm, and serves as executive director of the Utah Impact Partnership, a philanthropic roundtable focused on homelessness and affordable housing. Both are residents of Salt Lake City.