ST. GEORGE – Over the next three months a St. George resident will be testing the waters during a listening tour of the 2nd Congressional District as she considers a run for Congress in 2018.
Mary Burkett, a member of the Utah Republican Party’s Central Committee and former vice chair of the Washington County Republican Party, has launched an exploratory committee and the “Leading by Listening” tour, the prospective candidate announced in a press release last week.
Describing herself as a “Republican activist,” Burkett will be collecting opinions and surveys from constituents in advance of a possible candidacy for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District. That position is currently held by Republican Congressman Chris Stewart.
“This Exploratory Committee has been organized with the purpose of leading by listening, something politicians don’t do,” Burkett said.
“I’ll be spending the next 90 days traveling throughout Utah’s 2nd Congressional District to listen to voters and delegates,” she said. “I want to know what they expect from the member of Congress that represents them. I want to hear their ideas, their thoughts, and their feelings. Listening to each other is the only way we will ever get through the barriers we’ve set up over the past decade.”
Burkett will decide whether or not to pursue a run for Congress following the conclusion of the listening tour.
“Listening to and talking with the folks in St. George, Cedar City, Beaver, Richfield, Salt Lake City, and all of the smaller cities and towns in our District will help me understand their concerns and priorities for their district and state,” Burkett said.
Part of the 90-day listening tour will include a survey on Burkett’s website in order to collect comments and thoughts from as many of the district’s constituents as possible.
Burkett has lived in St. George for over a decade and has been involved in Republican politics in Washington County and across Utah. This has played a part in her decision to form the exploratory committee to consider a possible run for Congress during the mid-term elections.
She is also on the board of directors for the Doctors Volunteer Clinic in St. George. She spent several years as an advertising and marketing executive in the shopping center industry. That experience led to work as a career coach, which resulted in the formation and eventual sale of her own individual and career development coaching business.
“It’s time that Congress listened to the people and took actions that are in their best interests, instead of forgetting about their home Districts as soon as they travel East,” Burkett said. “The only way to accomplish that is by actually listening, and that is exactly what I intend to do.”
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Twitter: @MoriKessler
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Stewart needs to go so Mary would have my vote.