Local Control
It all comes down to accountability.
Voters need to be able to hold the representatives they elect accountable, and that’s best done when the people making decisions also live with those decisions. That’s why I want to drive decision-making down to the local, community, and family level. I believe if someone has the power to raise your taxes, they should be directly accountable to you.
Education
Education is one of our shared core values. With changes in family demographics and the rapid growth of our population, we need to be judicious with our education structure, staffing, and funding in order to provide our youth and communities with innovative solutions and outcomes that will lead to success.
Pre-K Education: 6 out of 10 low-income children in Utah are not kindergarten ready in literacy standards when they start school. The Utah School Readiness Initiative provides pre-kindergarten education for at-risk kids. 93% of the children who have participated in the program have avoided special education, resulting in $1.7 million in savings for taxpayers. We are expanding early learning to more families through the UPSTART program. These programs deserve more support from the legislature. It’s fiscally responsible. More importantly, it puts these children in a position for educational success.
Elementary through High School: Education policy in Utah needs to be driven by analysis of education outcomes so that education expenditures can be more focused and effective. For example, children that are not reading at grade proficiency by 3rd grade are four times less likely to graduate from high school than those that are reading proficient at that age. STEM education is a priority in our state. Utah should be leading the nation in educational achievement. Current studies show that is not the case, and that Utah students may be increasingly falling behind. While financial investment is a key component of success, we must also be better at managing our education infrastructure and at reducing the administrative burden on our teachers, counselors and principals, so that more or our education investment is spent on, you know, education.
Applied Tech Colleges (ATC): Our state's ATCs are an underutilized resource for students that do not want to pursue a college degree. We have an acute shortage of skilled labor in key industries that can be addressed through this system. These are well paying jobs with potential for career advancement. The availability of skilled labor is a key factor in enticing industry to locate and expand in Utah. We need to capture these opportunities if we want our kids and grandkids to be able to live, work, learn and play in our state.
Rein in the Federal Government
The government that governs best governs least and closest to the people. I will work with our federal delegation and state agencies to strengthen Utah’s control over their destiny as a state and let individuals control their own lives.
For example, we should not be further expanding Medicaid under ObamaCare. A University of Oregon study showed that Medicaid actually resulted in worse health outcomes than having no insurance at all. It is yet another government program that was intended to be compassionate, but in reality, it is not only unwise but sacrifices true compassion at the altar of feel-good policy.
The Federal Government should also stay out of local decisions that should be made by local communities. We know better than the politicians and bureaucrats in DC how to use our local lands, what our school curriculum should be, and how best to protect our local environment. Again, the larger the role played by the Government in DC, the smaller the influence of local families and communities will be. We need to keep the Federal Government reigned into its limits set in the Constitution.
Financial Values
Balanced budget: The best way to limit the growth of government is to limit the revenue that government takes from taxpayers. Utah’s State Constitution has a very important provision that each year we balance our budget. Our state does a great job of balancing the budget and we continue to be recognized as the best managed state in the country. We need to continue this practice of fiscal responsibility. This money belongs to taxpayers. That fact must never be forgotten as we seek to use their funds prudently.
Limited debt: We need to continue to limit the amount of debt that we take on in our public institutions. Debt is not always a bad thing, for instance, when bond rates are low and costs for needed projects are rising at a much higher rate, but it needs to be managed very carefully. It should be used on one time projects and not for ongoing budget issues that should be dealt with through policy and spending changes. It is NOT a tool for avoiding difficult decisions in balancing the budget. We have to remember that debt never sleeps, and never takes a vacation.
Reduce the burden on taxpayers: During good economic times it is far too easy to increase government spending in an irresponsible way that will leave the state in a situation requiring significant spending cuts or a tax increase. We need to plan today, while the economy is doing great, to deal with downturns without drastic measures. By managing our debt and continuing a balanced budget, we can reduce the burden on taxpayers and fund a responsible and responsive government.
Protect Those Who Cannot Protect Themselves
We cannot cede the issue of caring for those that CANNOT care of themselves to liberal policies that leave our mentally ill a danger to themselves and others, homeless or in jail without proper care.
We can no longer allow the cycle of dependence that leaves our poor, hopeless, and suffocating under the very system meant to free them. What we have done in the name of helping those in poverty is appalling. Liberal policies have devastated generations past and future and damaged society as a whole. I am not naive. I know this seems a monumental goal, but I cannot stand by and watch those whom we are morally bound to care for drowning in liberal policies because the task is too difficult.
Economic Development
Taxation policy: Our state tax code has not had a major overhaul in several decades. During this period, a myriad of tax breaks, conflicting provisions and redundancies have made our code difficult for businesses, especially small business, to navigate. It has given some industries and companies an unfair advantage and we need to close the loopholes and level the playing field.
The 2nd Amendment
I am a concealed weapons permit holder (CCW). I strongly support the 2nd Amendment.
I believe in the individual right to keep and bear arms and understand that the Second Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights to allow the citizenry to protect themselves against a tyrannical government and not to protect the shooting sports.