In 2018, a majority of voters voted for Prop 4 to create fair map guidelines and an independent redistricting commission. Our legislature needs to respect the will of the people and select or draw maps that conform to Prop 4 guidelines.
One person, one vote is a key principle of our representative democracy. Due to precinct size variability in the current caucus system, some people’s votes count as much as 10 times other’s votes.
As a state legislator, I will work to:
- Choose fair district maps drawn by an independent districting commission in accordance with the principles and guidelines outlined in Proposition 4.
- Improve the caucus and convention system.
- Delegates allocated according to one person, one vote.
- Nonpartisan caucus before the caucus so that neighbors, candidates, and delegates understand the needs of each precinct as a whole.
- Convention chooses the party nominee.
- Single open nonpartisan primary with Ranked Choice or Ranked Pairs voting.
- Signature gathering with reasonable number of signatures, so that no paid gathering is needed to enter the primary if not nominated.
- Implement Term Limits of 3 terms in the House and 2 terms in the Senate. I pledge to respect them personally even if they don’t become law.
- Implement Recall Elections with a reasonable threshold of signatures and fair process for time to gather them.
I will increase trust in an effective, open legislative process by:
- Using legislative power in moderation.
- Fewer bills each session, higher quality
- Providing bill content early, giving plenty of time for people to read, understand, and comment on bills.
- Holding town halls and dialogues where I listen more than I speak.
- Respecting and upholding the separation of powers between the people, judiciary, executive, and legislative branches.
- Collaborating with people, both in the majority and minority, to find fair solutions that meet the needs of as many people as possible.
- Following open, transparent processes like the independent redistricting commission approach to find fair policies that balance conflicting priorities.
- Providing transparency into all decisions. If a decision cannot stand up to public scrutiny in the light of day, it’s a sure sign that it’s not a good decision.
Our community is strongest when when we pool our funds to protect our common resources and provide services for the common good. I will work toward fair taxes by:
- Ensuring individuals and companies all contribute fairly since we all benefit from public infrastructure and other common goods.
- Ensure property taxes are based on realized value, not projected value and are only charged when property is transferred or improved.
- Eliminate the grocery tax and state tax on social security income.
- Wisely and transparently spend taxpayer funds.
Serving the public comes first, ahead of party hierarchies and special interests.
As a state legislator, I will:
- Defend your individual freedoms.
- Protect your constitutional rights.
- Respect your privacy.
- Honor your right to legislate via initiatives and referenda and make the process more fair and attainable.
I pledge to:
- Uphold the Utah and US Constitutions.
- Bring back constitutional notes on bills prior to passing legislation so that taxpayer money and time is not wasted defending laws known to be unconstitutional.
- Honor the separation of powers respecting the people, and the legislative, judiciary, and executive branches.
- Submit to the rule of law and respect our legal processes, abiding by the outcomes even when unfavorable.
- Recognize that just because something is legal doesn’t make it right, and eliminate laws that make exploitative or improper actions legal.
Empower local decision making and encourage civic participation so that we can responsibly manage our shared natural resources together.
To ensure that we continue to have plenty of water to meet our needs now, and our kids’ and grandkids’ needs in the future, we have the responsibility to be wise stewards of our water. I will help to manage our water resources for both immediate needs and long-term sustainability by:
- Continuing the momentum from the legislature’s initial great efforts to address the Great Salt Lake and other water needs.
- Collaborating locally, using guidance and best practices from the state and other parts of Utah.
- Providing support to transition to crops that work well in short growing seasons with less water use.
- Encouraging farmers to use techniques that conserve water and improve soil quality.
Let’s build a collaborative model for responsible growth where developers work with communities to understand and meet your community’s vision, goals, and needs. I will encourage responsible growth by:
- Finding balance between preserving the character of local communities and changing to accommodate growth and responsible development.
- Encouraging collaboration between community members, employers, government officials, and developers.
- Giving communities the flexibility to effectively plan for and coordinate development efforts locally.
- Limiting the duration of entitlements so that as communities needs and plans evolve due to changing circumstances, the entitlements can evolve or revert as appropriate.
- Balancing costs, risks, and rewards of development fairly across stakeholders so that current residents are not unfairly burdened, cities and counties have the resources they need to provide infrastructure and services to meet the new demand, and developers can earn a fair profit for their efforts while paying a fair share of the costs and risks.
