Healthy Communities
Healthy communities are places where people can thrive. They have good jobs and opportunities for entrepreneurship, high-quality accessible health care, diverse and strong educational institutions, a safe healthy environment, and opportunities for cultural and spiritual renewal and for recreation. I have life-long experience of the unique challenges of rural and developing places. I grew up in them, and I and my family continue to live primarily in them. I will work to foster an economy that is resilient to changing constraints and opportunities, high-quality affordable health-care that is accessible for all, strong public health and safety infrastructure, excellent educational institutions that provide diverse learning paths, and support and respect for our cultural and spiritual values and activities.
Land Stewardship
Healthy communities also depend on healthy lands. Cache and Rich counties are blessed with beautiful lands – and waters and skies - that we rely on for livelihoods, health, recreation, and well-being. Nevertheless, we must act to keep clean and ample waters, to have cleaner air, and to accommodate growth and development. We must act to meet the major challenge of global warming, including the changes rising temperatures have already brought and that threaten our future. For most of my life, I have lived and worked in rural places. I value public lands, agricultural and other working landscapes, and healthy neighborhoods and communities. As a scientist, I am part of the professional community that helps discover options to manage and sustain our lands and waters. I also am one of the many who work to anticipate, reduce, and adapt to the more extreme weather and climate that accompany rising global temperatures. I will work to preserve a healthy landscape that supports the priorities of Cache and Rich counties and all Utahns.
Effective Governance
Utah is fortunate to have a citizen legislature. We expect this legislature to catalyze governance we can believe in, by being broadly representative and responsive to all Utahns. We have both right and responsibility to make a government we can believe in. I am running for the Utah Senate to bring fresh ideas and a wider voice for people from Cache and Rich counties. As a scientist and educator, I am part of professional communities that enable creative solutions and help put them into action. I am ready to listen and to learn from you and to work hard to represent the breadth of perspective of District 25. I will work to rebuild governance we can believe in – a government we understand and trust; a government that we know hears and considers the interests of all; a government in which political contributions are limited to reduce unfair influence and corruption. I will make time to listen to you, will represent the priorities you care about, and will seek legislation that will have positive effects for you and other Utahns.
Good Growth
As northern Utah grows, we need to have thorough information to support decisions; to engage people in planning for our future; to steward our water, public lands, and other open spaces; and to think long-term as we decide how we grow our infrastructure, buildings, and, economy.
1) Build smart: Towns, cities, and counties make the big decisions on patterns of growth, through planning and zoning. Cache County and its towns and cities have master plans to guide development as the valley grows. These are periodically revisited and updated. That process works best with good community input and buy-in.
2) Keep and steward our public lands and open agricultural lands: They keep our beautiful views, rural feel, and easy access to outdoors – and they support our recreation and tourism industries.
3) Keep and steward our water: The new Water Conservancy District should help us do that, and we have a lot of room to get more from our water with conservation.
1) Build smart: Towns, cities, and counties make the big decisions on patterns of growth, through planning and zoning. Cache County and its towns and cities have master plans to guide development as the valley grows. These are periodically revisited and updated. That process works best with good community input and buy-in.
2) Keep and steward our public lands and open agricultural lands: They keep our beautiful views, rural feel, and easy access to outdoors – and they support our recreation and tourism industries.
3) Keep and steward our water: The new Water Conservancy District should help us do that, and we have a lot of room to get more from our water with conservation.