- Do you support or oppose the Independent Redistricting Commission and Standards Act that Utah voters approved in 2018? Please explain your reasoning.
- I support voters chosing their politicians vs. politicians trying to gerrymander our maps to game the system. I support independent agencies’ oversight and protecting voter’s rights.
- What should happen when the legislature disagrees with a map the commission produces, and what would you do in that situation?
- I think what we saw play out with this last session was a republican controlled legislation not willing to accept the results that We the people voted for. I am happy with the results but the fight to get there was an uphill and expensive one that we had to rally for. In a mature governing body, the legislators should have accepted the results and not had to involve the courts.
- Do you support Utah's vote-by-mail system as it stands?
- Yes
- What would you do to encourage more people to vote who currently don't vote?
- We need to invite more people in, show them that it is easy to do, and point out the importance of being civic minded and engaged. This can start in schools with civics education.
- 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 should not be changed, it is stringent enough and sufficient. If we switch to what is currently being proposed there will be less opportunity for citizen led initiatives and even less people will be willing to participate in the political process.
- What do you see as the relationship between transparency and corruption?
- If we are lacking transparency, we are inviting in corruption. Transparency is required for any relationship and should definitely be a priority in politics. The level of corruption we are currently witnessing in our politics undermines the whole system and weakens democracy.
- Does Utah's GRAMA support the public's right to know, or does it need strengthening? Or is it too stringent?
- Yes I believe GRAMA works as a tool when people know how to use it and recognize that regular citizens have the right to request information. The only thing I think we need is more of an awareness of this powerful citizen tool.
- 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.
- Work with sheriff’s offices to ensure they are not signing contracts or working in coordination with ICE. We just had this happen with a sheriff’s office in north Sanpete, they said they were surprised by ICE’s inappropriate conduct after allowing a raid at a turkey plant. This is unacceptable behavior, and every human, regardless of status, has rights and should be treated with dignity.
- Is there anything else you think is relevant that our questions did not reach?
- _(no response)_
