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In this interview, Aimee Winder Newton recounts how she became involved in politics and the role of inspiration in her decision-making regarding her political involvement. She discusses the policy contributions she has made as a county councilmember. She also relates the criticism she received as a woman running for governor in Utah in 2020. This interview was conducted on July 21, 2021, by Claire Taylor, a BYU student majoring in political science.

Claire Taylor: Ms. Newton, for a little bit of context, could you tell me about your background?

Aimee Winder Newton: I was born in West Valley City, Utah, and lived there with my family until I was about six, and then they moved us to Taylorsville, a neighboring city. I grew up in Taylorsville and lived there until I graduated from high school, and then I went to Ricks College, which is now BYU–Idaho, for one year, and I got my associate degree there. I got married after that year, and my husband and I ended up making our home in Taylorsville. I went to the University of Utah, and I got my bachelor’s degree in mass communications with an emphasis in public relations. I was pregnant with my first baby the month I graduated from college and really wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. That was my goal.

I did some other little side jobs here and there while I was a stay-at-home mom, and I had four children: Tyler, Aubree, Marcus, and Caleb. They were born within an eight-year period. I was a busy stay-at-home mom. I did start a mortgage business and did that for about nine years while I was raising them.

Then I was asked by my mayor to come and work for the city as their communications director. They’d never had one before, so I was Taylorsville’s first communications director. And I did that for about three years, and then was asked to consider running for public office. My role is a part-time office, and I’ve done everything from being a travel agent to continuing to run my small business, where I do property management. I worked for a time at a biotech company as their chief operating officer, part-time.

We’ve had some struggles with our kids as far as health challenges. My daughter, when she was two years old, was diagnosed with a brain tumor and was told that she only had a 40 percent chance of survival because the tumor was on her brain stem. She ended up going through numerous surgeries, and she did survive. They told me she’d be either blind, deaf, or paralyzed if she did survive, and she was paralyzed and had to relearn things and had some other eye issues and dozens of eye surgeries after. So we spent a good chunk of time, when our kids were young, dealing with that and striving every day to figure out how to help her and what to do next. I’ve had some kids with mental health challenges that we’ve dealt with over time. My kids have kept me busy.

One thing that my husband and I felt strongly about when we had children is that we wanted our kids to all do music lessons. One of the things I’m the proudest of, as a mom, is that I got four kids each through fourteen years of music lessons. And it was the Suzuki method, so it’s very parent-intensive. My three boys did piano, and my daughter did violin. We love music. We love going to musicals and theater as a family, and it’s fun to have young adult children now. My kids’ ages are seventeen, nineteen, twenty-three, and twenty-five.

Claire Taylor: So you just talked about that your mayor asked you to fill a public communications role, and that transitioned into running for office, but when did you first think, “Hmm, maybe I’m interested in politics. Maybe this is something I want to do”?

Aimee Winder Newton: It’s funny because I remember running in sixth grade for sixth-grade president, and at the time you had to get a certain number of signatures in order to continue running. I just kind of showed up for school that day thinking I was going to get my friends to sign my petition and didn’t realize the other candidates had shown up long before and were standing at the boundaries of the school property and hitting up kids as they walked onto the property. They could only sign for one person, and so I didn’t get enough signatures to even run in sixth grade. And then in eighth grade, I wanted to run for eighth-grade president, and I didn’t even make the primary. So it looked like my political career was going to come to an abrupt end. But then later that year, I ran for student body secretary of my junior high, and I won. And so anyway, I loved serving. I love people and being able to serve them and do things at the school was a great experience for me.

When I went on to high school, I ran for student body vice president in high school and won. I didn’t realize how much I loved government until I think back on this experience I had then, when I was a junior. I was a JV cheerleader. And there were only eight of us, and then there were twelve varsity cheerleaders, and you could only do varsity as a senior. So most of the time the JV cheerleaders would automatically make it for varsity, and then they’d add a few more. Well, when it came time for tryouts, I thought, “I really want to run for student body officer.” My cheerleading friends thought I was crazy. They said, “You’re going to make it, so why would you give up being on the varsity squad?” But I told them I really wanted to run for student body officer, and so I didn’t do the cheerleading tryouts. I sat by and watched as those went through and didn’t even know if I’d win student government. But it was something I wanted to do.

Then the seminary principal came to me, and he pulled me aside and he said, “Aimee, we really want you to be on our seminary council, but we’ve made a policy that we don’t let people who are in other activities, like cheerleading or student government, also be on seminary council, because we want to spread out the opportunities for people.” And he said, “I know you’re considering running for SBO, and that’s great if you do that, but I just wanted to give you the choice.” And so, I thought long and hard and spent a few days praying about it, and I came back to him, and I said, “No, I want to run for student body officer.” And so I did, and I ended up having a really popular kid run against me for the same office. Later he ended up being my boyfriend my senior year, so that was kind of funny.

But I won, and I was so happy, and it was such a great opportunity to serve. And, in fact, one of the fun things that I did in student government was to help unite the school and help people feel included. I loved the song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. I had memorized that whole thing. (And it helped me on the AP History test when I took it my junior year.) But I rewrote that song to include every school club and every organization and every activity that the school did in this one song. And the chorus was, “We are the Taylorsville Warriors.” Anyway, so I rewrote this, and it was fun because even at the basketball games and stuff the band would play that song, and everybody would sing the chorus that I had written. But it was a way for me to help unite the school. I just loved that piece of being involved, being able to bring people together and to serve.

I always tease my husband that I have a defective gene, and that’s what makes me want to be involved in politics. But really I think it comes down to two things: my love of people and my love of service and wanting to help others and serve them. And so that was my first foray into politics. Well then later, when I was at college, I ended up serving as the Republican Party secretary for Ricks College and was involved there and got more involved in party politics then. And then my senior year of college, my brother and my parents got involved in the incorporation effort to make Taylorsville a city. At the time we were just part of unincorporated Salt Lake County. And they felt like we weren’t getting good representation, and we wanted to be able to elect leaders who lived in our city to make our decisions. So they started that effort, and I ended up becoming the advertising and public relations person for that effort, and the spokesperson. I was involved in that, and it ended up passing. Taylorsville did become a city. And we felt a little bit like founding fathers. Here we were, starting this new city. I had a great desire to be involved, and so I served on some committees. I ended up being appointed to the planning commission and served there for eight years. This is during the time I was having my babies. I had a very vested interest in serving that community because we felt like we helped create it, in a way. During that time, I also would help run campaigns for people who were running for mayor or city council, and so I got involved that way and got more involved in the Republican Party process. I served as a state and county delegate. And so that was my foray into politics and government. Do you want me to continue talking about how I ended up running for county council?

Claire Taylor: Yeah. That’s actually my next question.

Aimee Winder Newton: Well, I loved working for my city. As I mentioned, I got to serve as the Taylorsville city communications director and help guide the city. When the mayor and council would make budget decisions, I got to help communicate that to the residents and explain why, and so I got very deep into policy and learning more about that. I loved that job. During that time, I had a few people approach me about running for county council, and I remember getting a message on Facebook from somebody that I didn’t know super well, but they said, “Aimee, have you ever thought about running for the county council?” And I replied with, “Nope.” And then the next day, somebody else approached me. “Aimee, have you ever thought about running for the county council?” And I said, “No, but why are you guys asking this?” And they said, “Well, David Wilde, who currently serves on the county council, has cancer, and he’s going to be stepping down soon.” And they said, “We need a Republican to replace him and he’s in your area, and quite frankly, we have no women on this nine-member council. And so we just thought you’d be good, and we wanted to see if you’d be willing to look into it.” And I said, “I’ll look into it.”

I got looking into it, and realizing this might be a fun experience, I decided to quit my job and go full-on and run for the seat in a special election. There were four of us candidates; I was the only female. And I ended up winning 78 percent of the vote in the first round—it was delegates that got to choose who the replacement was, and so it was a delegate vote. But I knew I had to win big because only two months later I would have to file to run for it in the general election for that November. And so I wanted to make sure I won big so I could clear the field and not have a Republican challenger. I filed in March. Luckily, I didn’t have a Republican challenger. I did have a Democratic challenger who was the former Murray mayor, Dan Snarr, with the big, long handlebar mustache. I ran a hard race, and I ended up beating him by eleven points and went on to continue to serve. One of the things that I loved doing and had the opportunity to do in this role is I was elected as the first female chair of the Salt Lake County Council in 2018. And so that was fun. I was the only woman when I first was elected, and that was interesting, and then more women have come on since. But I was elected as the first female chair and have had the opportunity to serve in leadership.

Claire Taylor: And kind of continuing on this, you were the only woman, and they said, you know, “We need more female representation here.” What are some challenges you’ve faced as a Latter-day Saint woman in politics?

Aimee Winder Newton: Well, we have an interesting culture here. You know, with the church the way it is, we don’t see a lot of female leaders. We grow up seeing mostly male leaders. On Sundays we see men who are sitting up on the stand. In conference talks we hear mostly from men. We have a very patriarchal culture, and I don’t think a lot of people are used to seeing female leaders. And so it’s really great to be able to have both men and women at the decision-making table. I know there was a Harvard study that showed that in business—and I think this is true for government—there are better outcomes when you have both genders at the decision-making table. And I find that to be true. When I was the only female on the county council, there were issues and there were different questions that I asked. I would think about things differently than my male colleagues. I think women have a compassionate viewpoint that helps with collaboration and unity. I think that we’re able to just look at things differently, and it’s helpful to have both perspectives.

I saw this more when I ran for governor. So I had the opportunity to run for governor of Utah in 2020. I made the decision to run in 2019, and I saw more of this through that process. There were people who would text me messages like, “Women don’t belong in government or law.” I had people who would say, “You need to be home cooking meals and cleaning your house instead of doing this.” You think, “Gosh, this is 2020, and we still get this.” But I did. I still had people who would make comments like this.

I had an interesting experience when I was running where my husband would come with me to some events when I’d do town hall meetings, and he would sit in the back, and he would pass around the signup sheet and things like that and kind of help with the administrative stuff. But I’d always introduce him. And it was interesting because after we were done, I would have people who would go over to him and talk to him and ask him, “Are you OK with her running?”

It was really interesting to see how it was rare for us to see a female, especially, run for governor. And so it’s not something Utahns were used to seeing. Women candidates get asked things like, “What are you going to do with your kids?” And it was funny because when I made my announcement video, there were a few things that I told our advertising agency I needed to have in the video. One was I wanted my minivan in there because I’m proud of being a mom. I’m proud of raising my children and being known as a soccer mom. I think it’s great. I can’t think of a more honorable title. And so I wanted my minivan in the video. I also told him it was very important for them to show my husband and to have him say how supportive he was, because I knew I had been getting asked questions about that, and people were so interested in Matt and his perspective, and so I wanted that in there. I also wanted to make sure we showed our kids and showed that they were pretty much grown adults, and it was going to be fine. I was going to be able to take good care of our state and my children, because a lot of times female candidates are seen as not being able to. People worry that they’re going to neglect their families while they’re serving in public office. And so there were some interesting things along those lines that I had to deal with.

Fundraising is a lot harder for female candidates, especially for bigger offices. I had a lot of men who would say things like, “Oh, well, I golf with him,” or, “His dad and I serve on the high council together,” and kind of a good old boys’ club that makes it hard for female candidates. There were things like that that I had to address. I even had to make personal changes that I knew would play better for my target audience. For instance, at the time when I was thinking about running, I had long curly blonde hair, and in reading studies, I knew that women with long curly blonde hair weren’t taken as seriously. And so I went and got a short haircut. I didn’t change my hair color, but I did get a short haircut to look more professional and try to not have that stigma attached to what I was doing. I also, instead of carrying a big purse, went and got a slim little purse because when people see you with a big purse they think, “That’s a mom bag.” And it was harder for people to see me as a governor or a gubernatorial candidate with a big mom bag. There were things I was willing to change. There were things like my minivan that I wasn’t willing to give up and I was really proud of. And so it’s interesting for females. There are things about our church culture that make it more difficult because we aren’t used to seeing as many female leaders.

Claire Taylor: You were experiencing pressure that some of your male colleagues running for office didn’t get. How did you handle it?

Aimee Winder Newton: When women run, we get nitpicked on our clothing and how we look and comments about that in a way that men don’t have to deal with. I took it in stride. Luckily, I don’t get easily offended by things. I’m pretty good to just kind of brush things off. I don’t easily hold grudges. And so when things like that would happen, I kind of just would roll my eyes. Sometimes I would put it on Twitter and let people see, “Yeah, so here’s a text I just got.” And we actually ended up using some of those texts in my TV ad that I did, showing that I was earning this. It wasn’t just something handed to me because we were trying to differentiate from some of the other candidates. And so it was really interesting.

I wanted to run because I thought I would be the best candidate and I had good ideas, but I wanted to make sure we had good, intense dialogue on public policy; and I was worried that some of the candidates would just brush over the policy piece. I wanted to get in there so that I could talk about it and thus require everyone to have to be talking about good policy and how we were going to move the state forward and what we were going to do to make Utah a better place.

But the secondary reason that I threw my hat in the ring, and this is something that kept me going, was I was worried that in the year 2020 we would have six men up on that debate stage and not a single female. And I thought, “We can’t do this. We have such a lack of female leadership in this state already. These little girls and little boys have got to see what female leadership looks like.” And so that’s something that would keep me going.

I loved when sometimes after I was done with an event, I would have people bring their teenage daughters over to meet me. Sometimes I’d even tell little girls that would meet me, “Did you know that girls can run for governor too?” And sometimes they’d look at me and say, “No,” and I said, “Yeah, girls run for governor too.” And so that kept me going, and it was such an honor to be the only female. I mean, it was unfortunate to be the only female, because it would have been great to have lots of women running, but I was grateful that I was up there on the debate stage. When I had five male colleagues running and myself, it was very evident that I was the only woman up there. And I was glad that I got to represent, in some small way, the females in this state and be able to talk about things like education and mental health and different things that are important to our families. So that was really important.

Claire Taylor: And so do your religious beliefs affect the party that you affiliate with?

Aimee Winder Newton: I don’t know if that’s so much. I mean, I’m pro-life. And I think, obviously a lot of that is from church teachings. But I’m a Republican because I believe in local control; I believe that we should push as much power down to the states as possible and that it shouldn’t be the federal government making those decisions. I believe in limited government, that the government can’t be all things to all people. And I believe in fiscal discipline and making sure that we live within our means, which I would say that is a church teaching that I’ve had my whole life of being fiscally responsible and being able to provide for myself and work hard to do so. And so those principles are things that have always felt good to me and felt like the right way to govern.

I would say on the fiscal discipline, yeah, there definitely would be influence from the church teachings that I had as a child about how money is managed and how we should work to be self-sufficient, and those types of things ring very true to me. I started the first Salt Lake County Intergenerational Poverty Task Force, and I still continue to chair that. And we’re trying to figure out how we break the cycle of poverty and how do we help with that, and I think my church teachings of self-sufficiency, and even looking at how the church handles welfare services definitely impacts how I make decisions in that arena. I mean, the church teaches us that we don’t just get handouts, that we go and we work at the bishops’ storehouse, and we do different things when we’re unemployed to either work towards employment or to give back as we participate in using some of the welfare services. I think it’s a wonderful approach, and so that definitely plays into some of my thinking as I look at how we can help lift people out of poverty and what government’s role is there.

Claire Taylor: Do you believe that Latter-day Saints can be members of different political parties and still be faithful members of the church?

Aimee Winder Newton: I do. I absolutely do. I have friends who are Democrats, I have friends who are Republicans and Libertarians and all different political parties, and they are good people. In fact, one of the greatest things I’ve gained from being on this county council is a better understanding of people who have differing viewpoints than me. When I joined, there were five Republicans and four Democrats and a Democratic mayor. And you know, at the time, I think most of my interactions in my everyday life were with people who thought similarly to me. They were Latter-day Saints who were Republicans, and I didn’t hear the other perspective as often. And so one of the great blessings in my life has been to be able to listen to my colleagues and understand why they’re Democrats and why they believe the way that they do, and I have great respect for that. I mean we have policy differences sometimes in different arenas. I think we have a differing view, overall, of how government should operate, but ultimately we both care about people and we both want to serve, and I have no doubt that their intentions to serve their constituents well are just as strong as mine. And so I do. I think that we have some issues that, maybe, people will pigeonhole others into. You know, abortion, for instance, is one that sometimes people say, “Oh, how can you be a Democrat if they think abortion is OK?” Well, the difference there isn’t they love abortions; the difference is they believe it differently. They think that the person should have the choice, and I don’t think any of us want more abortions. We all are working down the same path to have less, but there’s just a differing view there. And I do think that members of the church can be of either party and still be active, and I think it’s unfortunate that people think otherwise.

Claire Taylor: Has your approach to interactions with your constituents or other public officials been shaped by your faith?

Aimee Winder Newton: Definitely. I have Jesus Christ as my role model on how we should treat people. I feel like that has provided a really good basis for me in interactions with constituents who might be saying awful things or difficult colleagues or whatnot. I feel really blessed, and I think this is just one of my spiritual gifts, is I am able to be very empathetic towards other people and put myself in their shoes. So if somebody’s really mean to somebody, I can try and go, “Gosh, I wonder if they’ve had a hard day,” or, “Maybe their daughter has a brain tumor too,” or, “Maybe they’re dealing with hard things,” and I can try to have empathy for people in a way that allows me to give them a break a little bit. Try to be understanding that, man, they must have had something hard happen in their childhood. I just feel like I’ve got this empathy that truly is so helpful as I’m dealing with difficult constituents or hard colleagues.

I also really have a desire to have unity and peace, and I think that’s something that comes from church teachings. And something that I’ve learned as a Latter-day Saint is we know how much better it is to have peace and harmony and that Satan thrives on discord and chaos. And so I strive for that. I try to find ways that we can work together and not be divisive, and I think that that’s something that has been very, very helpful in my political career.

Claire Taylor: What are lessons you’ve learned about politics that you would like to share with young Latter-day Saints who are considering pursuing political careers?

Aimee Winder Newton: First of all, my public service has been such a joy. I mean, to be able to serve my fellow men and women and to be able to make decisions that make people’s lives better has been such a wonderful opportunity. When I think through some of the highlights, I know I’ve made a big difference on mental health in this state, and specifically in Salt Lake County, with the work I’ve been involved in. Being able to look at the budget and comb through and make sure we are utilizing every taxpayer dollar in the best way possible. I’m known as a budget hawk, and so I’ve been able to serve my constituents well there. What a rewarding experience it has been. I have loved it. And yeah, there’s hard things. I mean, running for office and putting yourself out there isn’t easy, but there’s so many good things that you learn about yourself that are just so rewarding and have helped in other ways in my life.

I served as the Young Women president during the time that I’ve been on the county council, and it has been so wonderful to show those young women a female leader and let them see that there is female leadership in government. There have been so many rewarding experiences. I myself have benefited. I’ve become a better public speaker because of serving. I deal with anxiety, and there were a lot of years I thought, “I’ll never be able to run for office because my anxiety is going to get the best of me.” And I put myself in situations to try to chip away at that so that I could get used to doing those things, and I’ve been able, for the most part, to overcome my anxiety issues through my service. I did that because I started to care more about other people and what they need instead of being worried about myself and how I was going to look or what mistakes I was going to make or worry about those needless things.

And so the things that I’ve been able to be involved in and the ways I’ve been able to make a difference have been so rewarding. I highly recommend it to anybody who’s interested. I’ve had to get a stronger spine and be able to know myself and understand myself better. I feel like the gospel has helped me a lot with that because I know who I am, I know where I came from and why I’m here, and I have clarity around my divine nature, and I think that helps me to be a better public servant.