Bill Lee: “earlier this month, Utah lost one of our very finest--former Congressman Jim Hansen, a great leader, an amazing husband…”

“earlier this month, Utah lost one of our very finest--former Congressman Jim Hansen, a great leader, an amazing husband and father, and a fantastic, loyal friend. It is my privilege to honor his life today. Jim's first and most important rule for getting involved in politics was ``get involved because you have a cause, and not simply because you want a job.'' In fact, his own motivation to first run for local office was with the objective of improving the local water system in his small town of Farmington, UT, where the water supply was sometimes dirty and sometimes even nonexistent. Though he had lived in Farmington, UT, for only a few years at the time, he was elected to the Farmington City Council in 1961, and he oversaw the installation of a new utility system--no small feat for that small town. That water system allowed the community to grow and to flourish, just as it continues to do to this very day. Thus began Jim Hansen's 42 years in public service. After serving on the city council in Farmington for 12 years, Jim was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 1973. He worked hard and eventually rose to the position of speaker of the house during his final term. It was then that Jim launched his congressional bid for Utah's 1st Congressional District, defeating five-term incumbent Gunn McKay in 1980. He got right to work in representing the citizens of Utah--this time at the Federal level.…”