Former Salt Lake County Councilman Randy Horiuchi died on Thursday. Horiuchi spent most of his life serving in political positions. Until late last year, he was a member of the Salt Lake County Council. He had also served as the chairman of the Utah Democratic party.
When he wasn’t holding an office, he worked on the election campaigns of some of the state’s most notable Democrats. Current Utah Democratic Party Chairman Peter Corroon became friends with Horiuchi during his time as Salt Lake County Mayor. He says whether they know it or not, everyone living in Salt Lake County has been impacted by something Horiuchi has done.
“We wouldn’t have the arts we have," Corroon says. "We wouldn’t have the recreation that we have. We wouldn’t have the senior services that we have, the aging services that we have, if it weren’t for Randy Horiuchi.”
Horiuchi’s brother Vince echoed the sentiments that he was a master politician. But he also said that Randy was a lot more than that, especially to his family.
“Randy was just a great dad to these kids. And he was just a fantastic brother for me too," Vince says. "And I’m really going to miss, you know, being able to talk to him and turn to him when I needed advice and, you know, when I needed to talk to him about whatever, he was just that kind of guy.”
The family is planning on holding a public memorial service after Thanksgiving.