Why is Lin hiking & biking 170 miles this week?

This 7 day Lake Powell Pipeline trek from Sept. 12th to 18th represents a lot of work at a time when some people say I should be "campaigning." But this week is set aside for something very important--expressing my commitment to a new kind of politics in Washington County. What our County needs are leaders who engage the citizens in the decision making process instead of cut citizens out of the process by deciding behind closed doors before the public is heard.

My fellow hiker on the 170 mile trek is Scott Hirschi, Director of the Washington County Economic Development Council. He is a pro-pipeline opinion leader in our community. I am a pro-pipeline alternatives candidate. Scott and I are intentionally spending this week listening to nearly two dozen experts who support and oppose the pipeline. Our intention is to hike and bike our way to a more informed community. In fact, the subtitle of our trek is "Creating Dialogue to Facilitate Informed Decisions."

We're lucky enough to have newspaper and TV reporters and a documentary filmmaker/photographer on the trip as well. So our intention of raising awareness of all sides of issue is coming true. By September 18th, I believe the public will be more informed about the most important decision we need to make together as a community--the fate of the Lake Powell Pipeline.

So should I be campaigning this week instead? If I were a traditional, more-of-the-same candidate, maybe I should be. But this trek sends a clear message to voters: Lin is willing to go the extra mile (or 170 extra miles) to engage the public in a new kind of well-informed, bi-partisan politics.

And as a supporter said of my campaign yesterday "Finally, not a good ol' boy!"