We need a balanced, open, and accountable government
Government in America is intended to be "of the people, by the people, and for the people." I believe that is best achieved when government is transparent, representatives communicate with and respect the will of their constituents, and appropriate checks-and-balances are in place.
As your representative, I welcome your thoughts and suggestions, I commit to keeping all of my constituents updated on issues and new legislation, and I will respect the will of the people in my district. I encourage you to sign up to receive updates and get in touch anytime via my contact page.
Gerrymandering is never okay. Gerrymandering is when elected officials draw voting district maps that are heavily biased to favor one political party. These 'gerrymandered' maps divide communities, dilute the voice of voters, and strongly bias election outcomes. Gerrymandering is un-American and anti-democratic.
Some important history:
1. In 2018 many Utahns worked hard to pass a ballot initiative in which we told the Utah Legislature not to gerrymander voting districts. Gerrymandering is when politicians draw voting district maps to favor one party...it undermines our democracy when we don't have choices in elections.
2. But the legislature ignored us and grossly manipulated many voting districts across the State of Utah in 2022. Notably, every Republican legislator representing Cache Valley voted in favor of these gerrymandered maps.
3. Fortunately, the conservative Utah Supreme Court recently issued a unanimous decision rejecting the legislature's argument for ignoring the ballot initiative, stating that "government-reform initiatives are constitutionally protected from unfettered legislative amendment, repeal, or replacement." We the people won (again)!
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4. That should have been the end of it. But Republican leadership apparently really doesn't want fair elections in Utah. Republican leadership recently called an 'Emergency Session' to propose an amendment to our state constitution to overturn the Utah Supreme Court decision and essentially eliminate our constitutional right to use ballot initiatives to pass overwhelmingly popular and beneficial legislation (Salt Lake Tribune | Deseret News). It's a desperate move to cling to power. Join me in voting NO on this anti-democratic amendment to our constitution.
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Better political balance will make for better policy. In recent years, Utah has effectively operated with a single-party system in which the governor and 78% of legislators are Republican. This super-majority enables the legislature to pass bills with very little scrutiny and over-ride vetoes from the governor. Better balance in the legislature will ensure greater scrutiny of bills and will uphold the division of power between the legislative and executive branches of the government.
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As your representative I will bring balance to the conversations going on in the capitol, I will advocate strongly for Cache Valley on the issues that matter, and I will work to overturn Utah's gerrymandered voting districts and put non-partisan district maps in place so representatives can be held accountable by their constituents.
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