Candidate Information Form: Utah House – District 61

Name: Deon Turley

Registered Party: Democrat

District: 61

Address: 1481 W 1170 N

Phone: 801-377-5668

Email: electDeon@gmail.com

Website: deonturley.org

Candidate Background Information

Occupation: homemaker/community volunteer

Education: BS Mathematics, BYU 1981

Prior Experience: participation and leadership in community organizations such as Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters; PTA; AFS, Intl; Civil Air Patrol; BSA.

Questions

The League of Women Voters has made every effort to present accurately the candidates' responses as they were submitted.

1. If elected, what two things do you hope to accomplish as a member of the House of Representatives for the people of Utah ?
   
   I would like to help pass ethics reform for the legislature.  I would also like to see that public education is funded in order to reduce class size.
   
   
2. 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
   
   There is currently redundant testing in public schools required by various entities. Stream-lining evaluation would save taxpayers' money. I would also like to promote more local control on expenditures.  When the legislature earmarks funds for education and mandates specific programs to public schools, they add to the administrators' workload without necessarily meeting their needs. I would like to see local educators have greater say in what the spending priorities are for their schools.
   Our nation is, by and large, a nation of immigrants with a tradition of assimilating and celebrating diverse cultures. Immigrants come with the hope of prosperity and expectation of responsible citizenship.  This becomes possible with education.  It is not only for their dreams that education is essential; our nation's future depends on having an educated population for its economic wellbeing. 
   Education for prison inmates must be part of a comprehensive plan to promote rehabilitation.  The cost of crime and repeated incarceration is far greater than rehabilitation.  It makes sense both socially and economically to help convicts prepare for legitimate and productive futures.
   
   - Energy resource development and clean air
   
   Geography has given us a challenge in maintaining clean air in the Wasatch Front.  That should not be an excuse for doing nothing. Government should lead the way in promoting energy efficient practices. These include building and landscape design, opportunities for recycling materials, and public transportation.
    Utah has natural resources that can be developed, but I advocate long-range planning.  The key to security is having a variety of sources that are interconnected. Abundant sunshine, geothermal features and wind will be more productive as technology advances. Development in these areas should be promoted.  We must mitigate the environmental impacts of proposed nuclear energy plants and existing coal burning. We must shift to the cleaner, renewable sources as soon as possible.  Government sponsored incentives could spur that shift.
   
   - Water development and conservation
   
   Unlike energy, new sources of water cannot be developed. Whether we are aware of it or not, our limited water is constantly being recycled. The population that it will support is largely dependent on how carefully we use it. Since we have not wanted to control growth of housing developments and industries that require a lot of water, we must be willing to conserve water at all levels--individually, as families, and as communities. If we continue to allow rampant growth, we will be faced with additional requirements, such as giving up green lawns and other optional uses of water.
   We must also be vigilant, that our precious water is not siphoned off by other states in this dry western region.
   
   - Better communication between elected officials and their constituents
   
   Communication must be a two-way commitment. Elected officials must do all they can to stay in touch with their constituents and voters must do all they can to stay informed, and exercise their voting privilege.  Beyond that, democracy benefits by organizations, such as the League of Women Voters, that facilitate dialogue between elected officials and the people they represent.
   
   
3. If the State had a revenue surplus of $100 million, how would you allocate the money? (Response should include $______________ for ________________________________.
   
   $65 million toward public education and $35 toward healthcare reform
   
   reducing class size in public schools and for increasing health insurance access for poor families.