- Do you support or oppose the Independent Redistricting Commission and Standards Act that Utah voters approved in 2018? Please explain your reasoning.
- I support Independent Redistricting Commission and the Standards Act to keep our elections fair. No politician should decide who their voters are. It is the need of any republic to make sure that the people's voice is heard. Anything which stands at odds with that commitment must be rooted out and disposed of. The Independent Redistricting Commission and Standards Act takes us one step closer to ensuring that voters choose their elected representatives in fair elections.
- What should happen when the legislature disagrees with a map the commission produces, and what would you do in that situation?
- Accept the map the commission produces and try to find ways to meet the needs of the voters in my district. Listen to their needs, wants, desires and complaints and match what my message is as best I can. If I suspect the maps the commission produces were in error there are legal avenues to challenge those but understand that once those legal avenues are complete that it's my duty as a candidate to accept it. I have not seen any such evidence to date that maps have been produced in error.
- Do you support Utah's vote-by-mail system as it stands?
- Yes. We should allow vote-by-mail to all citizens of Utah for any reason. If a registered voter chooses to vote by mail they should be freely allowed to.
- What would you do to encourage more people to vote who currently don't vote?
- We should have a statewide holiday to allow people who hold jobs to have a chance to have that day set aside to vote. If our candidates are not up to the standard that would encourage people to vote we should raise their standard. Public messages about taking pride in voting even if your "side" may not win can be helpful.
- Utah voters can put questions on the ballot through citizen initiatives and referenda. Should the threshold for passing them be changed? Why or why not?
- The threshold for passing citizens initiatives should be a majority of voters. It should not be raised to 3/5 or 2/3 of voters. In a proper republic the majority speaks and it is our duty to listen.
- What do you see as the relationship between transparency and corruption?
- As an environmental scientist I saw too many instances of contamination that was ignored. I have seen, with my own eyes, reports that say "this is a false report" and nothing was done about it but file it on a website that nobody sees. While transparency is vital in combatting corruption, from a gasoline leak at a gas station to a public official taking bribes it must be more than filing it away somewhere hoping that nobody reads it. More needs to be done to inform the public of the goings on of their state and matters that affect them and their families.
- Does Utah's GRAMA support the public's right to know, or does it need strengthening? Or is it too stringent?
- I feel that too many agencies withhold records to protect their interests over those of the public. More record requirements would improve accountability. However, we need to ensure the privacy of personal records. We can maintain a balance to ensure employee and individual records are kept protected while also ensuring that government agencies and businesses are open to public review.
- Describe a specific action you would take in office to make sure every person in your district has equal access to government services and equal protection under the law, regardless of citizenship status.
- I would propose immediately that we stop all police actions in Utah that do not protect every person's constitutional rights. All people in the United States are allowed the protection of the US constitution whether citizens or not.
- Is there anything else you think is relevant that our questions did not reach?
- A republic falls if its citizens cannot exercise the seemingly simple act of voting for their representatives and laws. We are under threat from a federal government that does not agree with that and so we must ensure that Utah stands above and that we protect everyone in our state the right to fair and equal representation.
