From about age eight, Mike Mower (JD '93) was fascinated by government and politics. He grew up in the small town of Ferron, Utah, about 45 minutes southwest of Price, and recalls meeting a candidate or elected official whenever they came to Ferron.
"I became fascinated with the law in high school during speech and debate, and that naturally led me to thinking about a career in law," Mower says.
After earning a bachelor's degree in international relations and communications from Brigham Young University, Mower applied to both BYU and the University of Utah's law schools. When Utah Law admitted him first, he took it as a sign to attend.
"I enjoyed BYU, but I thought it might be nice to get a different perspective. I benefited educationally from doing my undergrad at BYU and law school at the University of Utah. I served as the Student Bar Association president and got to know Dean Lee Teitelbaum and Associate Dean Scott Matheson Jr. through that role. I also got to know a lot of the faculty and really liked them, especially Professor Ed Firmage and Professor Dick Aaron," Mower recalls. "I would be hard-pressed to think of a professor I didn't learn something significant from."
Another thing that impressed Mower about Utah Law was its connectivity to Salt Lake City's legal and political community.
"Justice Christine Durham was on the state Supreme Court and had a very busy calendar, and she would take time every week to teach eight of us in a state constitutional law class. I've never forgotten her willingness to teach students at the same time she was adjudicating as a Supreme Court justice," he says. "It meant a lot to me that one of our state's top jurists was willing to come in as an adjunct. The S.J. Quinney College of Law continues to play a role in connecting people making key decisions in our state."
And the class of 1993 was one of the best at Utah Law, Mower says with pride.
"We are very active in the Utah Law Alumni Association and the community, and I feel our class was top-notch and a lot of fun. I'm in contact with classmates from my law school class every week," he says.
Utah Law also holds a special place in Mower's heart because he met his late wife, Sheri Williams, there.
"She was a year ahead of me in law school, and we both served as teaching assistants for Professor Firmage's Constitutional Law class. We married my last semester of law school," Mower says. "When she died of breast cancer in 2004, my law school friends were there. Several of her classmates, including Clint Jensen, Reyes Aguilar, Steve Taggart and Michael Zabriskie, came to the funeral, and Jensie Anderson actually spoke at it. I think the world of them."
Building a career in Utah government
Upon graduation in 1993, Mower worked at Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake for a couple years before working for Utah Congressman Chris Cannon and later serving as communications director for Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt's final campaign. He was also the director of community and government relations for the city of Provo, Utah. In 2005, Mower joined the staff of Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. on his first day in office.
"I've been fortunate to have a career in government and public service, and I've really enjoyed it. It's fun to get your fingerprints on Utah history and to be able to shape in some small way the debates going on in our state," he says. "I spent a year in Washington, D.C., and I've had chances to go back, but I love Utah. It's big enough that you can do great things and small enough that you can know a lot of the people and the players who were involved in making our state what it is."
Mower is currently the longest-serving senior staffer in any governor's office in America and says he has enjoyed being part of three governors' administrations in that time.
"I serve as Gov. Cox's senior advisor for community relations, and it gives me a chance to meet with groups and individuals all across our state who have needs or concerns they want to bring to the governor's attention. With a state of 3.2 million people, he isn't able to be everywhere he's invited, so I will often go and represent him at different functions," Mower explains. "It's a chance to be a generalist when it comes to policy, whether it's oil and gas law, Native American relations, transportation concerns, board appointments or historical issues. I'm involved in a lot of it and look forward to going to work every day."
His position also allows him to help Utah residents figure out where to address specific issues.
"My wife, Elizabeth, will remind me that there's a reason there's a political science major—because politics is a science. People don't know what the local government does versus the state and federal government and what things we can impact and control," he says. "I can educate people on the duties and responsibilities of the different branches of government."
'Disagreeing better' in Utah
Though he hasn't been in a courtroom for years, Mower says the lessons he learned in law school continue to impact him every day in his work.
"I represent the governor on the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) board, and we deal with a lot of oil and gas law and property law. I'm a much better board member because of my Utah Law education," he explains. "Gov. Cox stresses 'disagree better,' and I'm the same way. Judge Brooke Cotter Wells was my Trial Advocacy teacher, and she always asked whether we were prepared to argue both sides. We are going to have disagreements, but civility is still important to remember. I'm not perfect at it, but I do try to be nice to folks on both sides of issues and recognize that there is another side to the story."
He has also been impressed by Utah Law faculty members' willingness to help others in times of crisis.
"Even though they had run against each other for governor, Dean Scott Matheson Jr. and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. still had a lot of respect for one another. In 2007, the Crandall Canyon Mine collapsed, and Gov. Huntsman created a mine safety commission. At Gov. Huntsman's request, I went to ask Scott Matheson if he would lead that commission. He did it without hesitation," Mower recalls. "That's what you love to see. They may have been on different sides of a political campaign, but when it came to helping Utah and tackling a challenging issue, there was no hesitation on the part of Dean Matheson to jump in and help out. There is example after example like that."
Giving back to Utah Law
For many years, Mower has been a part of Utah Law's Alumni Board and says he is impressed by the many firms and individual lawyers who take their responsibility seriously to mentor and teach the next generation of lawyers.
"My daughter Abigail Mower Rampton graduated from Utah Law in 2023, so it's fun to have a multi-generational family perspective. The S.J. Quinney College of Law has trained a couple of generations of us, and we're all much better off because of the education we've had there. It's also a tremendous value for the dollar for our students, and a lot of that is because we have generous donors and the state of Utah that are willing to help step up and support what we do. It's that important," he says.
Mower plans to stay involved with Utah Law and says he is a big fan of Dean Elizabeth Kronk Warner's leadership at the College of Law.
"I think she brings a lot of enthusiasm to the position, and I've enjoyed getting to know her. I look forward to continuing to support Utah Law and my class, which has a reunion every five years," he says. "I can't say enough about the friends I made during law school. They are great people who are doing an awful lot to build up Utah and the nation, using their legal skills and also contributing to the community in other ways."
He plans to keep working in Utah politics as well.
"I've always loved Utah. If you cut me, I bleed Utah. I'm such a big fan of this state and the people here, and I plan on staying in Utah for a long time to come," he says. "Utah has been and always will be home."