Jan 23, 2020
Rod Decker
Utah Politics: The Elephant in the Room

Rod Decker was raised in Salt Lake City, graduated from the University of Utah, attended the University of Chicago and later Harvard on a Nieman Fellowship for journalists. He was a soldier in Vietnam. He spent 45 years as a Utah newsman, working for the Deseret News and for KUTV, Channel 2. Decker was married to the late Judge Christine Decker. He has three children and six grandchildren. He has written a mystery story, An Environment for Murder, and now has written Utah Politics: The Elephant in the Room, and he will talk to us about that book this morning. 

From the tempestuous fight for statehood to the evolution of Utah voters from Democrats to Republicans, Rod Decker analyzes the intersection of politics and faith in the complex political culture of modern Utah. Beginning with the state’s roots as a communal theocracy, Utah Politics-The Elephant in the Room deftly examines how Mormon morality influenced and continues to shape conflicts on both the local and federal levels. Rod is a former political reporter for KUTV news in Salt Lake City. 

He will have books for sale at the meeting.