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Cathy Callow-Heusser, 68
Utah State Board of Education – 1st District
1) What challenges are most pressing for Utahns under 36, and how can you realistically respond within your office?
Pressing challenges include low minimum wage, student loan debt, housing affordability, violence or bullying, depression and suicide ideation, and loss of civil rights.
Only 20 states still have a minimum wage of $7.25, with Utah among them. Yet costs of living in Utah have increased substantially. The Utah Foundation reports that since 1991, housing costs in Utah have risen nearly 600%, among the highest in the nation. While Utah’s economy thrives, unemployment remains low, and the median household income is among the highest in the U.S., housing costs and costs of living are challenging.
One of the greatest challenges facing Utah’s youth and young adults is depression and death by suicide, which continues to be the leading cause of death among those aged 10-24 in Utah and among the highest in the nation. I experienced these high rates of depression and suicide ideation first-hand while teaching with too many of my students choosing to not live. Screen time, increased isolation and loneliness play a role, but too many also report having experienced sexual violence and unsafe school and home environments. One in 3 women in Utah report experiencing sexual violence across their lifetime. I experienced attempted rape in my early 20s in Logan and am very vocal about believing sexual assault victims.
As a school board member, I can focus on education funding, classroom size, and student success; higher education and trade schools access and costs; violence and mental health awareness and support; school safety; and LGBT advocacy.
2) As an elected official, how do you plan to respond to growing authoritarianism, corruption, and assaults on civil rights?
I am a State School Board candidate because I am very concerned about rising authoritarianism, corruption, and assaults on civil rights. I ran for Park City School Board in 2016 and Utah Senate in 2018 because I saw what was coming and wanted to have a voice even if I was unlikely to win. As a victim of sexual assault, I have closely followed the Epstein story since his 2008 conviction and am appalled it has taken this long for the media to catch up given publicly available reporting and court cases. I am a parent, grandmother, business partner, niece, cousin, friend and ally to LGBT people and am very worried about their rights. As an educator I have worked with traditionally underserved populations including Native, brown and Black students, students with disabilities, and DACA students for decades, and I am very dismayed by their loss of rights, funding, erasure, detention, and potential deportation.
I have had a loud voice regarding authoritarianism and corruption for the past decade. I strongly believe that running for office is one way to increase the power of my voice and fight for civil rights and due process. I am very concerned about low education funding, social media algorithms, and decreasing access to credible news sources. I pay close attention to what is happening in our country and choose to loudly work against this administration, corrupt politicians and business people (including in tech), and legislators working to take away the rights of citizens and residents.
3) In a race with multiple candidates asking to represent the Democratic Party, what should make you stand out to Young Democrats?
I raised four children (two adopted from the state of Utah) in Logan. All graduated from Logan School District. I also have three bonus children and many grandchildren. I am an active member of Mama Dragons and strongly pro-LGBTQ+ rights.
I taught math at Cache Alternative High and Box Elder Middle schools. I served as the Director of Developmental Mathematics at USU and worked for many years at the Center for Persons with Disabilities at USU. While at the CPD, I helped develop the “I See Sam” Little Books still used in schools throughout Utah and the U.S.; my name is included inside the front cover of the books. For a decade, I was contracted through the Bureau of Indian Education and worked with Native-serving schools throughout the U.S. (including one in southern Utah) to improve early reading outcomes. I served as the Multi-Tiered System of Supports coordinator for the Utah State Board of Education and coached school districts throughout the state from Cache to San Juan County.
I am still actively involved in education as a literacy coach about 10 weeks per year working in schools serving traditionally underserved children in villages on the North Slope of Alaska. I am also developing software to write series of stories to teach beginning reading skills that are culturally bound to support children who are traditionally underserved and who too rarely see themselves represented in their early learning materials. I also tutor students who need additional support in math and reading.
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