| A recovering lawyer, Tim holds a B.A. in Political Science from BYU, and a law degree from Columbia University. After law school, he clerked for a federal district judge in Baltimore, Maryland, and then took a position with Sidley & Austin in Washington, D.C. and Tokyo, Japan, where he spent six years as an associate, practicing corporate litigation and constitutional (appellate) law. While at the firm, Tim had significant responsibilities on several Supreme Court cases, including Apprendi vs. New Jersey (2000), an important case that reiterated the Sixth Amendment's right to a jury trial.
In a Green Acres move, Tim and the family left the hustle and bustle of the big city and moved back to Utah in 2004, where they built a home near Centerville Junior High. Tim currently serves as General Counsel to the Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative. Prior to that he spent more than a decade as State Director for Trout Unlimited, a non-profit conservation group. In that capacity, Tim promoted collaborative and free market-based solutions in an area ripe for conflict and controversy- namely, water law and policy. A firm believer in public service, Tim has served on the Centerville Trails Committee and Landmarks Commission. He currently serves as a Board Member for Envision Utah, and co-chairs the Governor's State Water Plan Advisory Team.
From time to time, Tim teaches a class on professional ethics and media law in the Communications Department at BYU. When he can find the time (which is rare these days), Tim enjoys a variety of hobbies, including fishing, cooking, and gardening. He's also a free-lance writer/photographer and volunteer soccer coach.
In his own words, Tim has a "love/hate relationship" with politics. Engaged from a young age in conservative grassroots politics, Tim interned at the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia, and later served as a guest lecturer for Institute programs designed to train and educate young conservatives. In 1992, he served as the Youth Coordinator for Representative Bob Goodlatte's inaugural campaign in Virginia's Sixth Congressional District, recruiting and managing dozens of youth volunteers on a highly successful campaign. Later, he served as Chair of the BYU College Republicans. Ultimately, however, he became disenchanted with what he felt was an all too common "ends justifies the means" mentality in politics, where people sacrifice principle for short-term gain.
Having stayed away from politics for many years, Tim gradually re-engaged. In 2007-2008, he pushed a water-leasing bill through the Utah legislature, which reminded him how challenging and ultimately rewarding public policy can be. Later, he began attending local caucus meetings and Republican Party conventions, and pitching in here and there on campaigns. He served as Davis County representative for Governor Gary Herbert's re-election campaign in 2012, and has represented his precinct as a State Delegate.
After a lot of prayerful consideration and reflection, Tim decided in 2012 to run in a special election to replace Dan Liljenquist in the Utah Senate. Though he lost that race, he learned a lot through the process, and eventually decided to run for the Utah House in 2014. |