The Utah Republican Women's Liberty Caucus Q and A
What is the proper role of government?
We specifically limited Government by the US and Utah Constitutions, but
there are obvious areas where we need Government. Driving from our home
to downtown, wouldn't happen without it. It has to provide basic
infrastructure. There needs to be basic security. We have the option of
deciding we do or we do not want something, such as a county theater in
Taylorsville, or proving basic safety and having enough jail cells
available vs a "catch and release" policy. We get to decide and we may
not all agree. That is OK.
How do you plan to help candidates?
Candidates
need some money and lots of volunteers. Over the years, I have
primarily helped by volunteering. The Party organization should be a
great source of volunteers and has been in the past, but not as much
recently. That needs to change.
What
are you going to do to improve the caucus registration and check in
system? (Some people believe it takes too long. Many people have to
re-register to vote, even if they have already recently registered?)
The
Counties and the State Party have not been cooperating re: data. Salt
Lake County tried something in 2016 that simply didn't work. I still do
not have a list of the attendees for my district.
I
was very involved when the SCC set up pre-registration for caucus
night, along with Same Day Ballots for Fire Fighters, Police, Mom's with
Sick Kids, etc. We can use simple methods and not a one size fits all
method.
How can we ensure that party election results are more accurate and mistakes are avoided?
Mistakes
can easily be avoided when we make counting simple. I was 2 votes shy
of getting out of convention last year for the Utah Legislature Primary,
but everyone knew the results at the same time as they were counted in
front of us. We were able to find the "extra" delegate prior to the
voting and remove their ballot, by simply counting off prior to voting.
Jake Parkinson ran my House District election. It worked for 70
delegates. We make things too complicated when we don't have to.
How do you plan to protect the privacy of voting registration records and personally identifiable information?
There
has to be a balance between getting information to voters and
protecting privacy. Changes have been made in the last few years.
What does party loyalty mean to you?
Party loyalty is based on good principles and should not void voting our conscience. Normally
I get to the bottom of the ballot and had voted for all R's, but
sometimes a D. This was the first year I had to go for write-ins,
unaffiliated candidates, and 3rd party as well as D's to fill up my
ballot. Yes, the majority of my votes were for Republicans, but I was not impressed with some of the options.
I voted for or against thousands of bills for 4 legislative sessions. I didn't vote yes or no because of the sponsor or their party.
I voted for or against thousands of bills for 4 legislative sessions. I didn't vote yes or no because of the sponsor or their party.
Do you support the caucus system?
Yes. I have been on the front lines for several years for fighting to protect it.
For more info:
Do you support SB54 in its current legal form?
2014
SB 54 was a bad bill to start with. I was not in the Utah Legislature
the year it passed but spoke against it for months prior to passage.
Was the original version of SB114 an acceptable solution to the perceived problems with SB54?
No! 2017
SB 114 sailed through the Senate and was scheduled to be voted on a
Monday morning prior to my writing the House Committee Sunday night. It
was off the agenda within hours.
Some
problems of the bill passed by the Senate I sent to the House
Committee: Under SB 114, the filing deadline will move from March, a
week after the end of the legislative session to the 5th working day of
January. Obviously there are pros and cons to this change. I believe
there will be a public backlash about the change of the filing deadline.
It takes away any accountability from the legislature. If members of
the House voted to do one thing and the voters didn't like it, the
deadline to file to run as a candidate against an officeholder has
passed and you will see voters cry foul. Perhaps that is the intent.
No Majority winner. 35% ? The whole point in dealing with plurality is
to get a majority winner that a party could stand behind. This doesn't
do that.
Do you believe that the lawsuit should continue until SB54 is repealed in its entirety?
The
lawsuit has caused heartburn for those wanting to raise money for the
party, but most of that money has been spent and pulling out now would
leave us in a worse position. Having an outside group deal with any more
costs helps. People forget that one of the main pieces of SB 54 was
struck down by the Court and has been repealed. Others are still in the
process.
Do you support Our Schools Now?
No.
A 17.5% income tax increase is not the answer, especially when there is
no limit to what is spent on Higher Education which can be spent by the
same Education Fund. If the Legislature doesn't fund Higher Education
to the level the Regents want, (and put some more back for K-12 Public
Education), the Regents simply raise tuition and blame the legislature.
That must change. We also do not spend all the $4.84 Billion in the best
way, with much of it not getting to the classroom.
If
you have held this (or another) party office in the past, how was your
meeting attendance and did you help with the party work?
I have been a member of the SCC since 2011 and have had perfect
attendance since 2010. I also have one of the best attendance records
for the Utah Legislature in the years I served.