LETTER: The people's seat

Now that the election has concluded and all votes have been tallied, I want to congratulate my opponent on his victory.

Since being elected to the House, I have always recognized that the seat I hold in the Utah House of Representatives never truly belonged to me. It belongs to the people of House District 3. I was just trusted with it for a little while. What an incredible honor it has been.

Throughout my time in the Utah House, I have tried to represent everyone in my district, regardless of political affiliation. Good ideas don’t care about party lines, and the issues facing our families don’t ask which box we checked on Election Day.

I’m proud of what we’ve done together. Across two legislative sessions, we managed to pass serious childcare laws — pulling businesses and communities together to address one of the biggest struggles facing working families. We worked to cut red tape in our schools, tackled chronic absenteeism and extreme behavioral challenges, and gave teachers more freedom to actually teach.

I also had the privilege to serve on Utah’s Federalism Commission, advocating for healthy governing partnerships between federal, state and local governments. I have fought hard to shield our children from the predatory practices and the grip of big tech and social media giants.

But my work didn’t stop at writing laws. I have spoken out against federal policies — sometimes against the current administration — through op-eds and public statements. I’ve tried to show that conviction doesn’t have to come at the cost of respect, and that we can disagree without being disagreeable. Dignity, reason and honesty belong at the center of public conversations.

Not every effort made the news. Not every good idea turned into law. But every single day, I remembered who sent me to the Capitol and why.

To everyone in District 3: thank you. Thank you for your trust, your support, your honest debates and the chance to serve. You reminded me that public office is never about the person sitting in the chair. It’s always about the people I was sent to serve.

Serving as your representative has been the honor of a lifetime. My time in the Legislature is ending, but my care for Cache Valley and my commitment to you are not.

The people’s seat will have a new occupant, but it will always be yours.

Jason Thompson

River Heights

Representative

Utah House District 3

LETTER: The people's seat

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