Gov. Spencer Cox is speaking out after a news report shed light on a taxpayer-funded security project at his home in the central Utah town of Fairview.
The project is a small, 320-square-foot security house and a carport for the governor’s security detail with a price tag of about $260,000, according to publicly available plans posted on Utah’s public procurement website.
The construction documents also detail plans for two 6-foot high wrought iron lift gates and a wrought iron security fence at the property’s entrance, as well as a new chain-link fence surrounding the perimeter of the property.
The project, first reported by the Salt Lake Tribune, was funded with taxpayer money through a bill, SB222, approved during the Utah Legislature’s 2021 session to fund “security and protection for public officials and the state capitol,” according to the bill, but with no specific mention of the plans to fund construction on Cox’s home property.
The governor’s office and other involved agencies have declined to comment on specifics of the project, citing security concerns.
“The Department of Public Safety made these recommendations because of security concerns. We can’t say more than that,” the governor’s spokeswoman Jennifer Napier-Pearce said in a statement to the Deseret News on Thursday.
But the governor spoke out Thursday on his personal Twitter page, both defending the tight-lipped nature of the project while also detailing “serious concerns” that prompted it.
“For very good reasons the Dept. of Public Safety will never comment on these issues or share security details for state buildings or officials and they would prefer I didn’t either,” Cox posted. “But I know how these things work, so let me share some context.”
The governor said after he was elected, the public safety department approached him and his wife Abby Cox with “serious concerns about real threats and vulnerabilities.”
“Abby and I were sick to learn how dangerous things had become,” Cox tweeted. “They proposed significant security measures including a fence and security building.”
Cox added they “hated the idea of feeling trapped,” having removed fencing on the property before, “but told them we would support whatever they felt was necessary to do their jobs. We offered to let security stay in the spare bedroom, but that would be a violation of protocol.”
The governor also said they explored the idea of using rental property nearby, “but that would ultimately end up costing more money.”
The governor also noted the public safety department had initially proposed plans for a “very nice outbuilding. But we felt it was too much.”
Previous plans also available on the state’s public procurement website reflect a much larger security building, which would have been nearly 1,300-square feet including a living room, bedroom, kitchen, utility room, security office, a locker room and garage.
Instead, Cox said “we settled on a very small building where the security team could stay warm and monitor the property.”
“Abby and I also insisted that we would pay for any upgrades or to have them removed — out of our own pocket — when our service is finished. We were told that wasn’t necessary but did it anyway,” Cox tweeted.
While state officials’ silence on details of the project led to questions about the budget approval process, Cox said legislative leadership “is briefed and security upgrades to buildings and officials are always included in a single line-item” in the budget. That’s “so the bad guys don’t know where the vulnerabilities are,” Cox said.
“Now everyone knows the security upgrades aren’t complete,” the governor added. “Which is fine I guess.”
Construction documents indicate the project isn’t scheduled to be completed until February.
The governor in his Twitter thread addressed criticisms about the project and whether it’s necessary.
“To those who believe these types of threats are exaggerated or overstated, I assure you they are not. We have had several security violations over the past year, including this one at the mansion that also prompted security upgrades.”
Cox posted a photo of what appeared to be damage to a window of the governor’s mansion in Salt Lake City.
I’m sure there are some who will criticize me for spending time in Fairview when we have a secure home provided by taxpayers in SLC. And it’s a fair criticism. I can only tell you that Fairview is the only place I can be me and feel connected to the soil and soul of our state. 8/
— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) January 27, 2022
Cox also addressed criticism of his decision to split his time between the governor’s mansion in Salt Lake City and his hometown of Fairview in Sanpete County, about 100 miles south. When the governor took office about a year ago, he and Abby Cox moved into the mansion, but said they expected to return to their farm on weekends.
“I’m sure there are some who will criticize me for spending time in Fairview when we have a secure home provided by taxpayers in SLC. And it’s a fair criticism,” Cox tweeted. “I can only tell you that Fairview is the only place I can be me and feel connected to the soil and soul of our state.”
Cox, when he first agreed to be former Gov. Gary Herbert’s lieutenant governor, did so on the condition he could commute the 200-mile round trip from Fairview to Salt Lake City. Cox said he made that commute — driving 60,000 miles a year — “to preserve that connection.”
“I promised the people in rural Utah I would continue to spend as much time there as possible. I intend to keep that promise,” Cox tweeted.
The governor also defended his security detail.
“My security team is made up of the best humans on this planet. I love every one of them as if they were family,” he tweeted. “It hurts me to know they are putting their lives on the line every day to protect me and my family. Stuff like this puts their lives at risk more than mine.”
Cox also expressed misgivings with the need to have a security detail in the first place.
“I know some love the idea of having a security team to drive and follow every move. But it’s not me,” he tweeted. “Those that know me know that I hate everything about it and pray that someday we will live in a world where none of it is necessary. Thanks for your kindness and support.”
