When change is occurring, and it feels as though federal politics is in disarray, it is necessary to reconsider, and sometimes reaffirm, our beliefs.

You may recall a recent example of this perceived chaos when, on the national stage, attempts by the Republican Party to settle on a selection for speaker of the House took 15 ballot rounds. Finally, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, received the absolute majority of votes and was elected to the position.

Aside from being an embarrassment for the GOP and its less-than-stellar messaging since the midterms, it’s a moment and an opportunity to ask ourselves whether local government in Utah may soon follow suit.

Should this occur, I harken back to the words of Edmund Burke to guide me. Burke served as a member of Parliament in Great Britain in the late 1700s, and is widely considered the founder of American conservatism.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

He once said, “A disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman.”

Given many of the issues facing the state of Utah, this message carries significant meaning for our time.

It’s one that, despite being said hundreds of years ago, can apply to issues such as the preservation of our open spaces and water resources. It can also apply to the improvement of our air quality, roads and infrastructure. The preservation of Utah’s values and the ability to grow jobs in the state’s rapidly changing economy also come to mind.

Being a conservative in local government requires that, despite principled disagreement, we are still able to find common ground and a cohesive direction for our communities.

On occasion, an oversimplification occurs. A generalized opposition to increasing taxes can get in the way of building better local roadways through necessary investment. Respecting and enforcing private contracts between homeowners and HOAs can disallow cities from properly conserving the state’s water resources.

Isaac Hale, Daily Herald file photo

This is not to say I support increasing taxes for this purpose, or that I support interference in private contracts. Quite the contrary.

What I am trying to say is that conservatives across Utah’s local governments should unite around a common vision for improving the quality of life for our residents without allowing overgeneralizations to stymie good public policy. We have this ability, and we ought to pursue it.

Those who find these generalized principles of use, however, should be guided to one I agree with to get some clarity.

Defining conservatism in the United States today is the right of the states to some level of self-determination. It follows then that Utah’s conservatives should find fellowship with the chaos in federal right-wing circles disagreeable.

It’s the conservative way: a desire for less centralization, and more individual freedom, to echo President Ronald Reagan.

Alex Brandon, Associated Press

This is a call to action for Utah’s conservatives in local government to better define just what it means to be to the right of the aisle.

Given the changes the GOP is undergoing, the most measured path forward is for local conservatives to reclaim the narrative around clean water, jobs, good schools, property rights and conservation. Nothing in these issues prevents a conservative approach that can maintain fiscal responsibility.

Right-wing perspectives on many of these topics have been stolen from public discourse. This is a tragedy.

Instead, I’d like to envision high-quality thinking to guide conservative decisions that help families, businesses, infrastructure, conservation and efficient government. This is of paramount importance.

These also fully embrace John Locke’s tending to the “preservation of the life, the liberty, health, limb, or goods of another,” as he said in his “Two Treatises of Government” in 1764.

Instead of shaping our opinions and beliefs from the muddle of our national politics, it shows wisdom to begin with the needs of local government.

Conservatism can take many forms, but its starting place can lead to substantially different outcomes that can show a disposition to preserve and an ability to improve.