Meet Nathaniel Woodward
From Coal Country to Congress
Early Life.
I was born in Wellington Utah and moved to Price when I was a toddler. I was fortunate to have a big family that valued spending time together and was raised by parents who taught me the importance of hard work, community, creativity, and compassion.
School.
I am a proud Carbon High School Dino, College of Eastern Utah Golden Eagle, Utah State University Aggie, and Willamette University Bearcat. I wasn’t always a great student, but I’ve always been a good learner and I am a much better person for all the lessons those wonderful institutions taught me.
Family.
Being a father is the greatest thing I, personally, will every accomplish. My three children are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I take the responsibility of making the world a better place for them seriously. I know I’m biased, but my kids are the coolest.
Work.
I worked for several years running sleep labs in rural Utah while I completed my undergraduate education and then attended law school before beginning my career as an attorney. I also spend time each week as a member of the faculty of a small medical school where I teach healthcare law, ethics, and bioethics to graduate students. I chose to return to my hometown so I could be the “country lawyer” I’d always hoped to be and involve myself directly with the growth of my community.
Politics.
I am unapologetically a progressive liberal. I believe that a person has a fundamental right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and all that goes along with ensuring that those rights are protected. The role of government is not to dictate how we choose to live or who we choose to accompany us on that journey, but rather to ensure that we have a level playing field and that every person has access to the necessities of life - housing, food, medicine, employment, and recreation.
Leadership.
I have many strongly held viewpoints, but I also know that in order to get a job done I have to be willing to work with others, many of who will have very different views. A good leader recognizes their own shortcomings and continually seeks to improve their ideas by having them challenged, especially from sources that disagree with them. If your idea is good, it can withstand the arguments against it, if it is weak and your humble enough to learn, the idea can be reformed and strengthened using what you have learned. Bipartisan cooperation is failing because we have a “us vs. them” mentality, when in reality the only thing that should matter to our leaders is whether or not the idea helps our communities. In Congress, I intend to lead by example.