The Foolish Optimist: Tenille Taggart, Salt Lake County Council

Tenille Taggart on Preventative Policy, Childcare Cuts, and Running for Salt Lake County Council At-Large Support her campaign at @TenilleTaggart, votefortenille.com, ActBlue. Get the Civic App in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store for all for your politics needs. Host Amy McDonald interviews Tenille Taggart, a gay and gender-fluid community organizer running for Salt Lake County Council at-large, about her path from conservative Mormon roots to clinical psychology and forensic mental health work. They discuss Salt Lake County priorities like childcare, libraries, arts, parks, and shifting funds away from heavy criminal-justice spending, plus concerns about criminalizing homelessness and proposed detention-style facilities. Taggart also outlines the local election landscape, the impacts of gerrymandering and the state supermajority, and how to support her campaign (@TenilleTaggart, votefortenille.com, ActBlue).   00:00 Why We Shouldn’t Criminalize Homelessness (Cold Open) 00:19 Welcome Back to The Foolish Optimist + Meet Candidate Tenille Taggart 01:36 Why Tenille’s Running: From Conservative Mormon Upbringing to LGBTQ+ Advocate 04:43 Forensic Mental Health 101: Rehab, Felonies, and Second Chances 07:41 Prevention Over Punishment: The Childcare Cuts and Their Real Cost 10:44 What the Salt Lake County Council Actually Does (Budgets, Parks, Libraries) 12:41 The Proposed Homeless ‘Internment Camp’ & ICE Detention Plans 16:22 Libraries, Arts, and Why Community Spaces Keep People Out of Crisis 17:52 Election Landscape: At-Large Seat, Viral Organizing, and Flipping the Council 25:42 Galvanizing Parents Into Politics + Utah Power Players (Governor Cox) 28:00 Spotting the ‘Disagree Better’ Gaslight: Why Polished Politicians Worry Me 29:21 RHINOs, Extremism, and the Charlie Kirk/Nick Fuentes Rabbit Hole 30:26 Utah’s Maps & a Shot at a Blue Seat: Fighting Gerrymandering and ‘DINOs’ 32:02 What It Really Takes to Run for Office: Stress, Money, and Filing Fees 32:52 PAC Money, Super PAC Downlines, and the ‘MLM’ of Political Loyalty 34:43 The Daycare Fight: Retaliation Claims, Conflicts of Interest, and Who’s Pulling Strings 35:40 From Utah to the Nation: Private Equity, Project 2025/2026, and Cutting Childcare 38:02 ‘We’re Not Cooked’: Beating Shock-and-Awe with Organizing and Midterms 39:47 Local Power in Utah: Flipping Seats, Breaking the Supermajority, and Getting Involved 41:29 Donate & Follow the Campaign + Rapid-Fire Q&A