I was surprised to see that Sunday's lead story in the Deseret News was about the untimely death of former Congressman Bill Orton. Bill was a political maverick who served three terms as a Democrat in one of Utah's most conservative districts. The 60-year-old died in an all-terrain vehicle accident Saturday afternoon at the Little Sahara Sand Dunes in Juab County southwest of Provo, Utah. His past political opponents, primarily former Congressman Chris Cannon and former Governor Mike Leavitt, paid generous tributes to Orton for his integrity and his unwavering adherance to the principles he believed in. In other words, he wasn't the typical political animal that stuck his finger in the air to see which way the political winds were blowing before he acted or voted on an issue. To read the readers' comments following the Deseret News article, it is obvious that Orton was a good and decent human being. During the time we lived in Utah between 1993 and 2000, we had some exposure to Bill Orton during election campaigns. I just remember being very impressed by him, and appalled by Cannon's underhanded campaign tactics. Some of this comes out in the article. Orton was an unabashed supporter of Obama. He married and started a family late in life, and has left two sons who are now without a father during a crucial part of their lives. The picture above was taken in 2000. Hopefully, they will have a strong support system surrounding them that will help carry them through. I wish his wife and children well.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Former U.S. Congressman Bill Orton killed in an accident
I was surprised to see that Sunday's lead story in the Deseret News was about the untimely death of former Congressman Bill Orton. Bill was a political maverick who served three terms as a Democrat in one of Utah's most conservative districts. The 60-year-old died in an all-terrain vehicle accident Saturday afternoon at the Little Sahara Sand Dunes in Juab County southwest of Provo, Utah. His past political opponents, primarily former Congressman Chris Cannon and former Governor Mike Leavitt, paid generous tributes to Orton for his integrity and his unwavering adherance to the principles he believed in. In other words, he wasn't the typical political animal that stuck his finger in the air to see which way the political winds were blowing before he acted or voted on an issue. To read the readers' comments following the Deseret News article, it is obvious that Orton was a good and decent human being. During the time we lived in Utah between 1993 and 2000, we had some exposure to Bill Orton during election campaigns. I just remember being very impressed by him, and appalled by Cannon's underhanded campaign tactics. Some of this comes out in the article. Orton was an unabashed supporter of Obama. He married and started a family late in life, and has left two sons who are now without a father during a crucial part of their lives. The picture above was taken in 2000. Hopefully, they will have a strong support system surrounding them that will help carry them through. I wish his wife and children well.
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2 comments:
That's so tragic, especially with the young family he had to leave behind. :( I didn't know who Bill Orton was but he sounds like he was a great guy, and this must have been a loss for a lot of people.
Sounds like he was a wonderful Congressman and person. I like the posts you come up with--I always learn something new and enjoy that. Thanks!!
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