Education
As a child of two educators, the husband of a teacher, and the parent of four children in the public education system, I feel strongly about the importance of getting a good education. I understand the challenges that Utah faces with having large families and limited resources. I have been a strong advocate for local control and feel that decisions are best made at the level closest to the student and parent. I have aggressively pushed back on efforts by the Federal Government to influence education policy in our state. I believe we have a much better understanding of what our students need to succeed than those in Washington. I also passed a bill that pulled back much of the micromanagement from the state level down to our districts on teacher evaluations. I don’t believe in a one size fits all approach and want to empower those at the local level. I feel that our teachers and principals are innovators, and I passed a bill that establishes the Utah Leading in Effective and Dynamic Education program in the state. This will create a clearinghouse of innovative and effective practices from throughout the state, which will be a very helpful resource for our teachers and principals.
Job Creation
Utah has a rich history of entrepreneurship, rooted in our pioneer heritage of self-reliance and hard work. As an entrepreneur, I understand how challenging it is to build a company from the ground up. It is the entrepreneur that takes the risks and puts in the efforts that produces the jobs of tomorrow. We need to continue to support groups that help in entrepreneurs being provided the right tools and then step aside and let them flourish. The best thing that government can do is support these small business owners and not burden them with over regulation.
Transportation
As a resident of Saratoga Springs since 2004, I have seen the population in our area explode. While serving on both the City Council and Planning Commission, I was very involved in transportation issues and long term planning for the eventual build out of our area. I believe this experience will be critical as I work with the state on transportation issues statewide, while bringing a much needed perspective from our district.
Transparency
In my time serving on the City Council and State Board of Education, I have been a strong advocate for open and transparent government. When going through a severe budget shortfall, I pushed to have a series of open meetings to go over every department and evaluate every expenditure and determine what was a must-have versus a nice to have. In addition, I pushed to solve our fiscal issues by going through a public truth in taxation process, rather than hiding the increase through overtaxing fees. I want the public to know exactly where their tax dollars are going, regardless of the potential political fallout of doing so. I passed a bill that required that every city be completely transparent about how they use these enterprise funds (http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=5458967&itype=CMSID).
As a member of the State Board, I realized shortly after being elected that our budget and spending were anything but transparent. Even as a board member, it was very difficult to understand how we were spending the funds that were allocated. After several board members aggressively asked questions, it became apparent that we needed to make serious changes to the oversight and transparency of the finances. I helped to lead the charge on adopting spending plans, a formal budget, and improved accounting processes. I feel strongly that transparency leads to greater accountability and I will continue to fight for that as a member of the legislature.
Taxes
I believe strongly in limited government. I have fought for fiscal responsibility and transparency at the city and state levels. I feel that government should provide only those things that the individuals cannot provide by themselves. I will continue to fight against government waste and inefficiencies that lead to higher taxes.