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PROVO — Lingering bad feelings from an earlier confrontation between the two candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in Utah’s 1st Congressional District didn’t spill over into their primary election debate Tuesday.
But Kurt Weiland and Lee Castillo have not made peace, though they both say they would support the other against Republican Rep. Rob Bishop in November if they lose the June 26 primary.
“Tick, tick, tick, tick. It's a time bomb,” Weiland said in response to a reporter's question after the hourlong debate at BYU sponsored by the Utah Debate Commission. "It hasn't been solved, and I regret that."
Castillo said the two haven't talked much and have "gone our separate ways" since the April 14 incident at the Davis County Democratic Party convention during which he called the police.
"I tell my clients that if something happens to immediately call law enforcement, and that's what I did," said Castillo, a social worker.
Castillo placed one of his political signs near a table Weiland had set up at the convention — too close, Weiland thought, hindering access to those interested in learning about his campaign — and the two traded sharp words, the Standard-Examiner reported last month.
Weiland put his hand on Castillo’s arm during the exchange, prompting Castillo to call Layton police.
Although there was some tension between the two candidates on the debate stage, they stuck to the issues and didn't take personal shots at each other. KBYU will air the debate on Thursday, May 31, at 6 p.m. and Tuesday, June 19, at 6 p.m.
Though Castillo and Weiland are dissimilar people in many ways, they're mostly on the same page politically and in their campaigns to put Bishop out of office.
Castillo, 40, is the single parent of a 17-year-old son. He works for Utah State Hospital, helping with the people suffering from mental illness in county jails.
He said he would "make history" as the first openly gay Hispanic Utahn to serve in Congress. Castillo said the divisive rhetoric in Washington, which he sees as alienating the district, motivated him to run.
A retired Army officer, Weiland, 72, has run a leadership training business the past 28 years. He and his wife of nearly 50 years, Kathy, are the parents of six children and "a bunch" of grandchildren.
Weiland said friends in the Democratic Party asked him to run. "That was a tough call, but because there was a need, I thought I should," he said.
Both candidates say they would approach the job in Congress differently than Bishop, who has held the seat since 2003. He has said he would not seek re-election after 2020.
Castillo said the biggest difference between himself and Bishop is that he wouldn't target public lands for their natural resources.
"We're rich in oil in Uintah," he said, adding "we need to make sure we are allowing those workers to continue working" but incentivize their companies to develop clean energy.
Weiland said he would offer more access to the office than Bishop does. He said he would hold monthly town hall meetings in the district.
"Your representative must listen to you," he said.
Although they agreed on repealing the death penalty, they disagreed about the state of the criminal justice system.
Castillo said it's biased against African-Americans and Hispanics. "If you don’t want to look it as an issue, you're saying racism doesn’t exist," he said.
Weiland said he takes issue with calling the system racist because it has worked well the way it is.
Both candidates say they favor the medical cannabis ballot initiative but don't support legalized recreational marijuana use. They lamented the Trump administration downsizing Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. Both favor equal pay for women and paid leave for birth and adoptive parents.
