We already know there will be a new House Speaker next year on Utah’s Capitol Hill. It looks like the Senate President’s chair will be up for grabs too.
Sen. President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, tells UtahPolicy.com that even though he plans to run for another term next year, he probably won’t bid for a fourth term as the head of that body.
“It looks like I probably won’t, but that’s still up in the air, still,” says Niederhauser. “Being president takes a lot of time, and that’s time away from your business and your family, so it’s difficult. There’s a little fatigue in the body.”
Niederhauser’s reluctance to run again comes on the heels of Speaker Greg Hughes’s announcement that he would leave the legislature this year rather than run for re-election.
Even though the Utah Legislature is a part-time body, Niederhauser says heading up the Senate is a full-time job, one that he’s held for six years, so it may be time for someone else to take the lead.
“There are those who would like to have the opportunity to be president, and I look at that as a positive. There are very capable people in this body who will step up and be every bit as good as I am, maybe even better.”
Niederhauser has filed to gather signatures to get on the 2018 ballot to defend his SD9 seat, which he’s held since 2006 when he was appointed to fill the seat of the retiring Al Mansell.
The likely replacement for Niederhauser is Sen. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, but others will vie for the podium seat following the 2018 elections as well.
