Candidate Background Information
Occupation: Criminal Justice Advisory Council, Director; Salt Lake County Mayor's Office
Education: B.S. Sociology/Psychology - Westminster College (1994); M.A. Social Sciences - University of Chicago (1996)
Prior Experience: Served as Utah State Legislator since 2001
|
Questions
The League of Women Voters has made every effort to present accurately the candidates' responses as they were submitted.
- If elected, what two things do you hope to accomplish as a member of the House of Representatives for the people of
Utah
?
My first priority will be health care reform. As a member of the Healthcare Systems Reform task force I feel it is essential that the Utah State Legislature in partnership with the Governor's Office continue down the path established during the 2008 General Session that all Utahns have access to affordable and quality health care when needed. My second priority will be ensuring that ALL children in the state of Utah have access to quality public education.
- How would you address the following issues? (Please answer each question in 200 words or less.)
- Adequate funding for education, including funding for disadvantaged populations such as non-English-speakers and prison inmates
Adequate funding for education is about making education the number one budget priority. Education has always been, and will continue to be, my number one priority in the state budget. During the 2008 Legislative session, I supported funding that was appropriated specifically for English Language Learners (ELL) and education programs for inmates; I will continue to be supportive of these initiatives.
- Energy resource development and clean air
For the future, we must continue to adequately fund the USTAR project which will provide cutting-edge research including energy resource development. During the 2008 Legislative Session, we passed voluntary Renewable Portfolio Standard legislation that sets an aggressive goal for the use of renewable sources of energy. We must closely monitor the impact of this legislation to assess its' effectiveness and whether it truly leads to greater use of renewable sources of energy, and be prepared to consider mandatory standards if the voluntary goal is not met.
- Water development and conservation
Water conservation is key. The state should look to the success of progressives cities, such as Salt Lake City, that do an excellent job of promoting water conservation for opportunities to duplicate such initiatives statewide. Through wise use of our limited resources, hopefully, more impactful water development projects can be delayed or will not be necessary.
- Better communication between elected officials and their constituents
During my service as a Utah State Legislator, I have paid a great deal of attention to communicating with my constituents. I regularly attend community council meetings; I send updates to constituents; and I visit with constituents regularly. This will continue. I also believe that the Utah State Legislature should continue to explore ways that, as a body, we can be more responsive to constituent requests and questions through our non-partisan staff (e.g., a specific office for constituent outreach or building capacity within the Office of Legislative Research & General Counsel).
- If the State had a revenue surplus of $100 million, how would you allocate the money? (Response should include $______________ for ________________________________.
40
20
20
10
10
Public & Higher Education
Public Safety
Health & Human Services
Environmental Quality
Transportation Infrastructure
|
