Q. Are the three county commissioners the only elected executives in Utah County?
A. There are 10 elected county executives. They include the three-member county commission, the county attorney, county sheriff, clerk/auditor, surveyor, county treasurer, recorder, and the assessor.
See: http://www.utahcounty.gov/CountyInfo/ElectedOfficials.html
Q. What is the role of the Utah County Commission?
A. Utah County is governed by a three-member Board of County Commissioners. The Board has executive, legislative, and quasi-judicial functions, set by State statute. The board oversees unincorporated lands, and infrastructure needs common between cities and towns. Working with and through city officers and unincorporated residents the commission is responsible for levying taxes, adopting ordinances, and making policy that affects all of Utah County’s nearly 622,000 residents.
The commission’s legislative and quasi-judicial roles are disbursed to or shared with separate citizens and city mayors. Legal counsel attends each “legislative board” to provide a check in to their powers with advice and consent.
See: http://www.utahcounty.gov/Dept/Commish/index.asp
Q. Do you support changing the size and scope of the County Commission?
A. I hesitate to expand the county board of commissioners, but I am open to improvements. After 10 weeks (March 2019 – June 2019) the Good Governance Advisory Board (GGAB) recommended we adopt the Mayor and Council form of county government, it also reported that more was needed before it could provide detail comparisons but that it didn’t have sufficient professional or personal time to fully weigh the pros and cons of such a structural change.
Creating political districts within Utah County also creates separate cultures. Segregated communities tend to have unintended issues. A mayoral, council form tends to develop an unresponsive, centralized power in government.
What is needed are commissioners who to take the job head-on and work it together a full 40-60 hour each week, allow differences without challenging the integrity of the other commissioners, and weekly meet with departments as equals.
As I share insights with Utah County residents and have a dialogue, perhaps we’ll vote No for a Mayor/Council form of county government in November 2020.
• Recent examples of a Mayor/Council form:
A mayor/council form of county government decided in 2018 that it was going to put three homeless shelters in West Valley and in two in South Salt Lake This without full insights from the affected residents and their city mayors. (Homeless Shelters http://kuer.org/post/salt-lake-county-chooses-five-potential-homeless-shelter-sites#stream/0).
Salt Lake County’s “Olympia Hills project.” A great idea or not, despite the strong opposition of affected residents, and that of their district’s councilmember, the rest of the county council members and mayor voted in favor of the development. (https://www.ksl.com/article/46722255/salt-lake-county-gives-olympia-hills-development-a-green-light-despite-opposition-from-residents)
• Comparing Utah County with a few other counties in the U.S., see:
Los Angeles County, CA population: 10.2 million, 5 Supervisors (“commissioners”). Through cities, each supervisor oversees support of 2.25 million residents.
Baltimore County, MD population: 622,000, 9 Commissioners. Through cities, each commissioner oversees support for 69,111 residents.
Miami County, OH population: 104,000, 3 Commissioners. Through cities, each commissioner oversees support for 34,700 residents.
Gwinnett County, GA population: 920,000, 5 Commissioners. Through cities, each commissioner oversees support for 184,000 residents.
Salt Lake County, UT population: 1.136 million, 9 Commissioners (3 at large, 6 district oversight). Through cities, each commissioner oversees support for 126,222 residents.
Q. Do you support the Constitution of the United States of America?
A. Yes! There is no higher civil law. The Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence provide a framework and further clarifies the Constitution. The Declaration provides background on why the Constitution was written the way it was and sheds light on the thinking of the signers.
These documents are the foundation of this United States and are the basic underpinnings for my 30-years of Marine Corps service. Americans should be reminded that the national flag is a symbol, to peoples of other countries, that there really are constitutional liberties in this rarest of nations.
See: Hillsdale College on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Q. Do you support the Constitutional mandate to protect and secure our national borders?
A. Yes. This is an Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4 of the Constitution law, “The Congress shall have power to …provide for the common Defense and general welfare of the United States.”
Decades of a careless attitude toward legal immigration and terrorist groups flowing through our open borders make this necessary phase in U.S. history.
See:
What Authority Does the U.S. Constitution Give the Federal Government Regarding Immigration
Demographics of Illegal Immigrants within the United States
Terror and the Mexico border: How big a threat?
Fox News: Nancy Pelosi and Illegal Immigration
Q. Do you oppose illegal immigration and all forms of amnesty or legal status for illegal immigrants?
A. Yes. The Utah Compact provides an ideal means to accomplish that.
What to do now: Utahns and the Utah delegation should continue to promote Utah’s Compact, to influence the federal government and fellow states to follow a similar approach to legal immigration. Confine or deport criminals to their home countries. See the Party Platform and Utah Compact: https://the-utah-compact.com
Q. Do you support the caucus/convention process or signatures?
A. Yes! Absolutely I support the Caucus/Convention process; it’s the only route I’m taking for my campaign. I also support the Rule of Law and will work within the constraints of Utah’s SB54 (2014). There is a misunderstanding of the “grassroots” nature of neighborhood precincts and those delegates elected by their neighbors.
While the state of Utah provides funds to all political parties within the state, there wasn’t an “understanding” that the state could dictate how political parties organize so long as everyone is free to be involved to whatever level they choose.
I support state parties to be financially independent of the state, AND support passage of the state senate bill SB91.
10th District Court’s review:
See: Utah GOP continues fight against election law upheld in federal appeals court