Support Constitutional Amendment A

It appears there is an effort to make secret ballots open during elections for unionization.  Do you want your neighbors knowing how you voted last year?  Do you want your pro-union coworkers and boss knowing that you voted against unionization in your workplace? Or vice versa?  I think not.  This Amendment would prohibit such abuse of our liberty.

Please support Constitutional Amendment A this November which reads:

All elections, including elections under state or federal law for public office, on an initiative or referendum, or to designate or authorize employee representation or individual representation, shall be by secret ballot.

I have pledged my support of this measure.

Issues of Importance - Response to Reader

I recently received an email from Joyce Wilson:

Jeremy - back to the real issue of worthwhile legislation.  I am sure you probably have researched this, so to save my time, do you have examples of the types of proposals Mr. Hansen has tried to bring to the committees or legislature?  On rare occasion we will read items in the Standard-Examiner of some of his proposals but as I wrote, it is rare.

Scenario - you are now the Leg 9 representative - what are some bills you would craft to bring to committee (or however the process works)?  

Joyce Wilson

Thank for the email Joyce.  Before diving into Mr. Hansen's proposals, let me first highlight several issues that need to be addressed:

1.  Illegal Immigration

I have written extensively on this.  Please click here to see my proposed solutions.

2.  Eliminating the Tax on Food

This is an issue that I have not had the opportunity to write about.  Yet, I feel that it is important, especially for our district, to have the sales tax on food eliminated.  The tax on food is a regressive tax (meaning those who make less pay more as a percentage of their income) and that fact impacts our district more so than most other districts in Utah.  We were working to eliminate the tax on food up until 2008 when the economic crunch forced the legislature to reinstate the full tax.  It is my belief that with the revenue projections stabilizing, we should begin down that road to eliminate the food tax once again.  It is something that should be done gradually, say over a period of 6 years, but nevertheless it is something that should be done.  My thoughts on this subject are heavily influenced by Adam Smith's opinion on the topic:

"The middling and superior ranks of the people, if they understood their own interest ought always to oppose all taxes upon the necessities of life, as well as all direct taxes upon the wages of labor." - The Wealth of Nations

I won't address the tax on wages issue but the logic behind his statement is that the cost of everything we buy is driven by the cost of labor to produce those items.  In turn, the cost of labor is driven by the cost of the necessities of life that are required to sustain those laborers.  Therefore, when taxes on food are eliminated and the cost of food decreases, the working class is able to better support themselves at a lesser cost. A portion of that savings translates into wage savings for producers and therefore cheaper goods for the populace at large.  Everyone gets more for less under his theory.  Intuitively, I agree with this.

The question regarding this issue that I often get asked is: Where will the money come from to pay for this tax break?  Keep in mind that I do not have the benefit of a legislative research staff at my disposal.  But, my hunch based on my own observations is that there is a lot of waste and fraud in our state welfare system.  This would be the first place I would look to balance the equation.  Also, economically speaking, we may be able to grow our way into the tax break over a 6 year period as well.  I am open to ideas that work and make sense. 

3.  Economic Growth

Obviously, the issue that affects us all in Ogden is jobs and the job market.  We need more jobs.  More importantly, Ogden needs an advocate at the state level that can present Ogden in the best possible light and accurately represent all the opportunity that Ogden possesses for businesses who want to grow.  I do not have any legislative ideas to do this.  However, as the sole breadwinner in my home and being self employed for the past 11 years, I understand businesses and what it takes to profitably operate one.  Earning my marketing degree from Weber State University has been a blessing to my business and I know that those same skills can benefit District 9 when I apply those as Ogden's representative.    

Now on to Mr. Hansen's proposals.
Note: According to the state site, none of these bills sponsored by Representative Hansen have become law.


2010 - Click to see list of bills and link to actual text and last action.

HB0156    Regulation of Laser Centers 
HB0245    Voter Challenge Amendments 
HB0297    Compact Agreement among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote 
HB0322    Property Tax Valuation Amendments 
HB0358    Voting by Mail   
HB0436    State Officers' Salary Amendments   
HJR008    Joint Rules Resolution on the Selection of Ethics Committee Members

The State Officers Salary bill was interesting because it called for a reduction in executive branch salaries.  Yet, Mr. Hansen voted against several bills calling for Legislative pay reductions.  Quite interesting.

2009 - Click to see list of bills and link to actual text and last action.

HB0049    Voter Challenge Amendments 
HB0049S01    Voter Challenge Amendments 
HB0158    Motorcycle Helmet Law Amendments 
HB0166    Election Law Reforms 
HB0175    Professional Licensing Amendments 
HB0196    Provisional Ballot Amendments for Unregistered Voters
HB0200    Designation of Certain State Buildings 
HB0217    Utah Indoor Clean Air Act Amendments 
HB0227    Prohibition on Citation Quotas   
HB0282    Task Force on Legislative Reform   
HB0311    Utah State Railroad Museum Authority   
HB0311S01    Utah State Railroad Museum Authority 
HB0363    Property Tax - Determining Value for Tax Assessment 
HB0367    Legislative Compensation Amendments 
HB0406    Compact Agreement among the States to Elect the President by National Popular Vote   
HJR026    Joint Rules Resolution on the Selection of Ethics Committee Members

I am grateful the property tax valuation bill did not pass.  It would have allowed for a value assessment every time the property sold.  On the surface, this seems like a fairly benign proposition but unfortunately it is this type of legislation that has opened the door to transfer taxes that have stymied affordable housing in other states.

There is quite a bit to digest here.  Thanks for reading and taking time to learn about the issues.  If you have any questions for me, send me an email or post a comment.

Enjoy your weekend!

Q and A on Mr. Hansen's Record

In response to this post card I recently mailed to voters I received the following question from a "Chancy":

Jeremy, I just got my a post card from you in the mail, why are you lying about Rep. Hansen by saying "he has been totally ineffective in our legislature."
Are you telling me he has done totally nothing as a state rep.?

Excellent question Chancy. Thank you for the opportunity to expound on this issue.  First, I think it would be appropriate for us to define the word "effective".  In this instance, effectiveness can be described as a Legislators ability or capacity to write, submit, and have legislation passed into law.  It seems that this would be an appropriate definition since a Legislators ability to craft legislation that benefits his district would be of importance to voters and the interests of those living in that particular district.

Now, for the record, the average Democratic legislator (being in the minority party at present) passes roughly 40% of their proposed legislation each year.  In 2008, our current legislator, Mr. Hansen, only passed 5.8% of his proposed legislation.  Mr Hansen's career record for the past 12 years is approximately 12%.

By this definition Mr. Hansen has been ineffective.

Now, I am not one to propose legislation just for legislation's sake. Ideas should be proposed and put forward only if warranted.  But, being able to pass a worthwhile piece of legislation should be of paramount importance.  In this case it appears, based on the record, that our current representative would be unable to do so even if the legislation was of superior quality and worthy of passing.

I won't digress on why this is the case but my point is simply to draw attention to the record at hand.

If anyone has any further questions please feel free to post.

Thoughts on Life and Death

In the course of work and campaigning I have the opportunity speak to people that I only get to communicate with every couple of years.  It is interesting to see how life changes for each of the people that I meet over that time and how quickly life's circumstances can rearrange themselves.

There have been several occurrences this week that have caused me to pause and take an inventory of how I am living my life:

On Monday I received a phone call from the wife of Mark, a client that I have been working very closely with over the past year.  Mark and I had been shopping for homes last week and I had emailed him on Saturday.  Mark's wife called to tell me that he had fallen 30 feet off a ladder and sustained significant, likely life altering, head injuries.  Mark is a man in his prime with adolescent children and at the peak of his career.  Out thoughts and prayers are with him.

On Tuesday, Chester Bolingbrook, a former bishop in our ward and a longtime fixture of our neighborhood passed on after several years of ill health.  Chester and I had an extensive conversation just last month in the foyer of our church building.  He was a good man and despite the inevitability of his passing, its always poignant when it happens.

Finally, yesterday while campaigning I stumbled upon the home of the Pratt family whom I have worked with in the past on real estate related issues.  Two years ago I was informed that Don has passed on.  When I knocked on the door and asked for Lenora, I was informed that she has passed on as well.  Both of these neighbors were in their 50's.

I related these experiences to a good friend yesterday and the impact they have had on me.  We are all at the mercy of that Great Creator who is the chief arbiter of our lives.  Often, we don't know what plans are in store for us.  The old adage comes to mind: Man Proposes But God Disposes.  It's my hope that I live life it in such a way that my fellow men can say that I lived honorably, my wife and children can say that I loved them, and that I am worthy of peace and rest in the hereafter.  

Ethics Reform

The Utahns for Ethical Government sent me a questionairre by email.  Here is the email and my responses:

Utahns for Ethical Government

                                                                                                            September 7, 2010

Dear legislative candidates,

            We would appreciate your answers to the following five questions. Please respond within the next 2½ weeks--by Friday, September 24^th [now Tuesday, September 28th]--by hitting the reply button on this email and checking your answer in the blank spaces provided. We believe that interested voters have a right to know your position on our legislative ethics initiative, and we will post these responses on our website and release them to the media. Please include your name at the bottom of your response to facilitate an accurate tabulation.

1) Do you support the ethics reform initiative of Utahns for Ethical Government that would establish a strict code of conduct for the Utah Legislature and a genuinely independent ethics commission to advise the Utah Legislature? (The full initiative can be accessed on each subpage of our website under “Full Petition.” www.utahethics.org )

            Yes _____

            No __X___

2) If you answered yes to question number 1, skip to question 4.  If you answered no, do you support the initiative if you take into account that if the initiative is passed by the voters, the Legislature itself can amend the initiative to clarify any unintended ambiguity that might cause unintended consequences?

            Yes ___

            No __X__

3) If you do not personally support the ethics initiative, are you nonetheless willing to support the constitutional right of Utah voters to vote on our initiative without new roadblocks from the Legislature?

            Yes __X___

            No _____

4) If you are elected, will you oppose changes to Utah’s initiative laws that would make it more difficult for an initiative to get on the ballot (for example, raising the number of signatures required, making electronic signatures invalid)?

            Yes _____

            No __X__

5) If you are elected, would you support lowering the number of Senate Districts or the number of signatures required to place an initiative on the ballot?

            Yes ____

            No __X__

Comments/Clarifications? _The Ethics Reform initiative as it is currently constituted is well intended but over reaching and will have significant unintended consequences.  We need simpler reforms that are rooted in common sense without trying to create a complex construct of behavior management for elected officials.  Some behaviors should simply be criminalized rather than deemed “unethical”.  However, other perceived misbehavior can simply be dealt with by the voters at the ballot box.    

Also, due to the nature of our republic and the responsibility each citizen has to participate in our process, I believe that maintaining the minimum standard for signatures required to get initiatives on the ballot is good policy.   I do believe that physical signatures should be required rather than being electronically submitted due to the ease in which misinformation and popular spirits pervade such a medium.  Keeping ballots, votes, and signatures in the real realm will protect our republic from the mobocracy and vacillating dispositions of the virtual realm. 

MORE THOUGHTS NOT INCLUDED IN THE QUESTOINNAIRE:

I kept my response in the email brief but here are a couple of ideas that I support for ethics reform:

1.  Elected officials should have a 1 year cooling off period before becoming lobbyists

2.  Campaing contributions should never be transferable to a candidate for personal use but should be given to a charity or other worthy cause when that candidate has ended his or her political ventures.

3.  Officials should not accept gifts of any kind from lobbyists (with the exception of a group meal at a large gathering).

4.  Officials should not harass, intimidate, or manipulate state employees whose jobs may affect the interests of a candidate.

These are simple and straightforward reforms.  The initiative proposed has many complicated and confusing constructs that would hurt more than help our state.  

Night with the Unitarians

A special thanks to the Unitarian Church of Ogden for hosting the Coalition of Religious Communities' Meet the Candidates Night yesterday.

It was a pleasure discussing some of the important issues on the minds of constituents in the community.  Although we may not see exactly eye-to-eye on every issue, I believe we were in agreement on some of the most pressing issues of our day which include relieving low and fixed-income households through abolishing the food tax and also bringing meaningful common sense change to our immigration system.

Despite the fact I was the only Republican present at the event (and making a scene by being the only guy wearing a tie) it was great to find common ground and listen to the various perspectives of those in our community.

Thanks again for the opportunity!

Abagail Adams and Why I am Running for Office

The Abagail Adams Project is an organization which aims to be a clearinghouse of information on candidate positions on various issues.  I filled out their questionnaire and also gave an explanation for why I chose to run for House District 9.

Here is the questionnaire (click to enlarge):

Keep in mind that some of these questions were somewhat loaded so if you would like clarification on a specific issue please email me or call.

On why I am running:

I am running because I believe that life, liberty and the persuit of happiness are best achieved when the people are able to pursue their own best interests while unimpeded by the "good intentions" of government.  I believe that effectiveness matters and I present myself as the effective, responsive, and enthusiastic alternative in this year's District 9 Race.  If elected, I will work to abolish the state sales tax on food as it is an affront to common sense and the well being of our fixed-income and low-income citizens.  I will also work to address illegal immigration in a fair but rigorous way to promote secure border, enforcement of existing laws, and demand accountability from our immigration system.  In conclusion, I feel I deserve the support of the people because, as a business owner, I know the issues that affect our community and I am prepared to do the hard work necessary to give Ogden its voice back at Capitol Hill.