Vicki Varela: Fast-Track Career Covers Journalism, Education, Politics, Business

By GM Jarrard

This BYU journalism graduate didn’t plan on becoming a land developer, a public policy expert, a consultant in high demand or a spokesperson for a governor. All she wanted to do was write, tell stories and uncover the truth. And somehow, somewhere along the way, make a difference.

And that Vicki Varela has done.

Today, she is the chief advisor for government and corporate relations for Kennecott Utah Copper and Land. Kennecott Utah Copper has mined here for more than 100 years. Now, Kennecott Land is building Daybreak, a planned community in South Jordan, on Salt Lake Valley’s West Bench.

A native of Denver, Colorado, where she was raised and went to school, Varela landed back on the Front Range after graduation from journalism school as a correspondent for Associated Press, feeding stories to the national wire on anything and everything newsworthy that happened in Wyoming and Colorado.  If a rancher in Lander, Wyoming, delivered a two-head calf, it was her job to report it. An opportunity to work at a daily paper brought her to the Deseret News in 1978.

That move made all the difference to a young writer and editor who would mix and mingle with Utah’s movers and shakers, people who would soon come to recognize her unique gifts and talents—gifts and talents that perhaps even she didn’t realize she possessed. One of those people was LaVarr Webb, then the paper’s political editor.

“LaVarr was my mentor at the News who first inspired me to run marathons. He was easy to pick out in those days; he was the only runner who wore black church socks with his running shoes,” she said with a smile.

Varela has been running ever since and discovering in herself the strength, grit and determination that others recognized right off.

One of those was Wm. Rolfe Kerr, the Commissioner for Higher Education for the State of Utah. After seeing her byline on education articles for years in the Deseret News, he wanted her to come to work for the State Board of Regents.

“It was a momentous week,” Varela noted about Kerr’s job offer. “I turned 30 one day and agreed to change careers the next day. When I found out I was pregnant on the day after that, I went back to Kerr to tell him I would stay at the Deseret News where I would have more flexibility. He wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

That wouldn’t be the last time that people in high positions would refuse her refusal.

“Commissioner Kerr, a great boss by the way, simply said ‘we’ll give you all the flexibility you need.”

Like the marathon runner she had become, Varela had to stretch herself again, and when she hit walls, just run through them. One of those challenges was a statewide ballot initiative in 1986 that she was asked to coordinate.

“It was a simple initiative, but it was my first foray into politics,” Varela explained. “The Board of Regents was not officially constitutional, and the initiative would clarify their governance authority. Not knowing what to do or where to turn, I was told to call a political consultant who had run various campaigns and was handling another one for the state hospital association. The thought was we could piggy-back our amendment on the initiative he was running. His name was Mike Leavitt.”

Ironically, Varela’s initiative passed, but Leavitt’s didn’t. But, it did begin a long professional relationship between the two.

Two years later, the two teamed up again to defeat three tax limitation initiatives (Initiatives A, B & C) being pushed by Merrill Cook.

“We were concerned at the Board of Regents that, if passed, the initiatives would gut funding for Utah’s colleges and universities at a time when funds were already tight,” she said. Tax limitation measures had already passed in California and Michigan and why wouldn’t they in conservative, tight-fisted Utah? But the coalition that brought Varela and Leavitt together pointed out the flaws and discrepancies in the initiatives and they were eventually defeated. It would not be the last time that Leavitt, Varela and company would face off against Cook.

That would happen in 1992. Her friend and political confidant, Mike Leavitt, had now become a candidate himself. And former mentor-turned political operative LaVarr Webb (still in his black socks) was running the Leavitt campaign. Varela sat it out quietly on the sidelines at the Board of Regents, silently giving Leavitt and Webb her support. She had a great job as assistant commissioner of higher education, comfortable by any stretch of the imagination. But it wouldn’t last if Mike Leavitt had anything to say about it.

On Halloween night, 1992, Mike Leavitt came trick-and-treating to the Varela household. He called Vicki and said he’d been reading poll numbers — something he was very good at — and they predicted victory next Tuesday in a tight three-way race (against Cook and the Democrat). Would she consider joining the inner circle of his new administration?

“Naaah” was her quick, shoot-from-the-hip response. “I like my job and it doesn’t run my life; I’m comfortable where I am. But thanks, though. Oh, and Happy Halloween.”

“Well, just think about it,” he said and the conversation was over. She thought it was anyway.

Leavitt’s prediction was correct. He did finish first out of three. So, he called Varela again.

She was thinking, what is there about the word ‘no’ that he can’t understand? Again, she politely declined. Varela explained she wasn’t being coy — she didn’t want to get any deeper into politics than she already was. He retorted: She didn’t have to decide right then and there.

“What I didn’t know then was what a great negotiator he was. But I was about to learn.”

The next time Leavitt called he asked her to meet the rest of the team. The rest of the team? She wasn’t part of any team. By now she was weakening.

When Governor-elect Michael O. Leavitt announced his cabinet, there was Vicki Varela, ex-AP stringer, former education editor and most recently assistant commissioner for higher education by his side as the governor’s communications director and chief spokesperson.

“It was an amazing ride,” Varela said. “For him, an eight-hour day was like eight hours of sleep for the rest of us. It literally energized him for a second shift, which could be anything from brainstorming policy in the back office to giving three or four back-to-back speeches.”

Once again, Varela was wearing her running shoes. And in an adjoining office was her one-time running mentor, Webb, Leavitt’s policy deputy. They were both to play key roles in the Leavitt administration.

“We were always sprinting to catch up with Leavitt. He is creative and entrepreneurial. He would spout out ideas, we would return with recommendations often to discover he had gone onto something else. We had to learn to nurture his great ideas and kill his bad ones.”

The highs and lows?

“Three of them involve the Olympics: first, when we landed the Olympics, and second, when the full extent of the scandal became evident, then turning it around again, once Mitt Romney came on board. Those were interesting days.”

By the beginning of Leavitt’s third term, Varela was deputy chief of staff. She had had the run of her life, but after eight years, she was also ready for another career chapter. She left the governor’s office to become a third partner in a public relations consulting firm, Wilkinson, Ferrari and Varela. One of their clients was Kennecott Land, an offshoot of Kennecott Utah Copper.

“A few years earlier, some folks at Kennecott were considering what to do with the 93,000 acres of land that the mining giant owned abutting the foothills of the Oquirrh mountain range. They began investigating how to develop it and turn raw land into an asset. About the same time, a group called Envision Utah had been studying growth issues in the valley and how to protect green-belt areas, keep some farmland areas and extend transportation corridors and mass transit without encouraging sprawl. Eventually, the Daybreak concept grew out of this.

“Our parent company, Rio Tinto is an international mining company, and so they had to thoughtfully consider how to blend this new stewardship into their business model. Rio Tinto had made a commitment to sustainability — watching out for the social, economic and environmental needs of communities. Kennecott Land ended up making a lot of sense as the ultimate commitment to sustainability,” Varela said.

Eventually, Varela went to work for her client and assumed her current position.

“Some of my first responsibilities included meeting with state and regional leaders to explain how Kennecott Land’s plans coincided with theirs.” A key part of the Daybreak master plan was to utilize mass transit to cut down on environmental impacts of development. Varela put together a partnership involving Kennecott Land, Utah Transit Authority, the cities of Murray, Midvale, West Jordan and South Jordan. Every party contributed, and they were able to generate the money that was needed to complete an environmental impact statement on the Mid-Jordan light-rail line. The 10-mile line travels southwest across the valley terminating at Daybreak. Last fall, Varela and Webb tag-teamed again to advocate support of Proposition 3, a ballot proposal to build that and other rail lines. The proposal passed; the extension is expected to be completed by 2010. The new line will begin at about 60th south near Fashion Place and run southwesterly with stops along the way with three of those in Daybreak.

Varela explained that Daybreak is just the first of several planned communities on the western edge of Salt Lake County.

“Remember that as big as Daybreak is, it’s only 4,100 of the total 93,000 acres that Rio Tinto owns on the West Bench. By the way,” she interjected, “one of the things that was most important to me to accomplish was to give the West Bench the dignity of a name. People used to talk about the East Bench and the west side. Now they recognize what the ‘West Bench’ is, the beautiful foothills of the Oquirrh mountains. The West Bench will eventually be the most sought-after place in the valley, particularly if we build what could be the closest ski resort in the country to an international airport.”

“It is so exciting to see the changes that have taken place that will improve people’s quality of life in this first of new communities in this part of the valley. Daybreak is the first community in Utah where the community is being built around the transportation corridors — not the other way around when whole areas have to be retrofitted causing all kinds of disruptions in people’s lives. This is blank canvas on which creative minds are drawing an ideal community from the ground up to accommodate all kinds of needs, transportation, communications — including the latest technology like fiber optics — and retail and business needs. I’m proud to be part of such a team.”

In the April, 2006, edition of a publication called Urban Land, the editors point out that “in fast growing Utah, environmental stewardship and economic success may not be mutually exclusive.” Describing Daybreak, the magazine notes that “the first phase of Kennecott Land’s development at the base of the Oquirrh mountains is generating both buyer interest and accolades — and is expected to set the tone for future growth in the Salt Lake area.”

The article also points out that Rio Tinto’s holdings represent 50 percent of all developable land in the valley. And it explains that “ultimately, Kennecott is trying to take buyers beyond the decision to purchase a lot and home and get them to buy into the community.”

That job has fallen to Varela and her team. And, her role and the responsibilities of her co-workers have grown as well. She noted that because it is hard to separate Kennecott Land and its mining operations in the public’s mind — and because both entities enjoy widespread public support as responsible community leaders — external relations for the two entities is being combined.

“I will now generate the overall government and corporate relations strategy for Copper and Land. This is part of a new combined external relations team led by Alexis (Fernandez) Cairo. Larry Bunkall and Des Barker will continue to represent the Kennecott companies day to day on Capitol Hill.  I'm proud to be part of a company, Kennecott, and its parent company, Rio Tinto, that has a legacy of good corporate citizenship.  Through new technology, we expect the mine to be operational for at least 15 years.  It provides 1700 jobs, and has a great commitment to the economic, environmental and social viability of the region.”

As her role grows and changes, you can now expect her to say ‘yes’ to whatever challenge comes her way. Vicki Varela has now come to realize that she can keep up — as long as she keeps her running shoes handy.

Greg Jarrard is a veteran ad man, writer and publisher best known for running paid ad campaigns for Republican candidates. He is now in the publishing business, running a small-press publisher serving the natural foods industry. His recent book, "A Jack Mormon's Travel Guide," is available at Deseret Book. He resides in South Jordan where he digs weeds and claims it is a garden.