New Leader at Conservative Sutherland Institute to Focus Think Tank's Efforts on Family Values Thursday, December 7, 2000   BY SHIA KAPOS THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE     The Sutherland Institute, a conservative think tank based in Murray, has a new president.     Paul T. Mero, who was with the also-conservative Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society in Rockford, Ill., takes over the job vacated by David Salisbury.     Mero says he doesn't foresee any philosophical changes in the direction of the nonprofit Sutherland Institute, but he does plan to focus more on family issues, a hallmark of the Howard Center.     "If there is any movement . . . it will be in supporting families as a fundamental unit of society," said the 43-year-old graduate of Brigham Young University. The Sutherland Institute traditionally has supported free market public policy issues.     The Howard Center, where he was executive vice president, is an advocate of the "natural family," which it describes as "a man and woman bound in lifelong covenant of marriage."     Before working for the Howard Center, Mero held positions with former Republican Congressmen William Dannemeyer and Robert Dornan.     "I bring a lot of public policy experience [and] the ability to work in coalitions," he said Wednesday.     It was during his stint in Washington, D.C., that Mero drew criticism from gay and lesbian organizations for a document he wrote titled "How Congress Supports and Funds Organized Homosexuality." Among the targets, the paper attacked AIDS education grants to education organizations, workplace diversity programs and announcements of commitment ceremonies in department newsletters.     Mero counters that such rhetoric was a result of working for conservative lawmakers. "I worked for two congressmen who had an interest in those issues," he said.     Mero added he now prefers to focus on building coalitions. "What we are interested in is reaching out into the Utah community to create good public policy," he said. He pointed to a partnership with the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, where the Sutherland Institute will join in talking about legislative issues. "It's not a matter of partisan politics. It's just good public policy for Utah."     The Sutherland Institute has been part of some of Utah's recent political debates. It supports privatizing prisons and opposes government involvement in tackling growth-related issues. The organization also has supported a universal tuition tax credit for education.     Salisbury became president of Children First Utah, described as a group that will provide scholarships to low-income children, allowing them to attend private schools of their choice.         © Copyright 2000, The Salt Lake Tribune All material found on Utah OnLine is copyrighted The Salt Lake Tribune and associated news services. No material may be reproduced or reused without explicit permission from The Salt Lake Tribune.