Overview

Government’s purpose is to protect every individual’s God given rights.
The founding of this country was truly miraculous and was the beginning of a global expansion of freedom.
We have a profound moral obligation to protect all life including the life of a child in the womb.
The family is the fundamental unit of society, strong families lead to a strong nation.
Government should be as frugal as possible.
Elected officials are fully accountable to the voters and should be open about their actions and accessible anyone seeking help or information.

Indepth Issues

Education

Public Education

The family is the fundamental unit of society and the authority in the education of its children. Education is first and foremost a family matter. Every policy consideration in our public schools must take that into account. I fully support educational choice that empowers parents, including a robust and well-funded public and private education system with well-paid and highly respected teachers partnering with parents to provide our children with the best possible education preparing them to be responsible and contributing members of society. I support giving parents of all income levels the ability to teach their children at home or at a private institution if they so choose. I will vigorously oppose any attempt to undercut the parent–child relationship and parental authority in educating their children. All schools must operate with complete transparency in their curriculum, use of public funds, and school policies.

Higher Education

Utah has a world class higher education system. I fully support keeping it that way. Students graduating from high school should continue to have a wide range of options including seeking a degree or a professional certification. I support enhancing vocational educational opportunities for Utah as well. I am appalled by what happened at Harvard, MIT, University of Pennsylvania and other higher education institutions in the wake of the war in Israel. We must ensure that students in Utah get a fully balanced and clear perspective on the major issues of the day. Our institutions of education must be places of learning not centers of indoctrination. I have served for 8 years on the Higher Education Appropriations subcommittee and have developed a good relationship with our colleges. I will use that relationship to ensure that our institutions remain places of learning where any form of discrimination is not tolerated. The public has the right through its elected representatives to exercise oversight of K–12 and higher education. For publicly funded institutions, academic freedom does not mean freedom from oversight. I will vigorously resist education being co-opted by narrow interest groups that seek to push self-interested agendas into K–12 and higher education.

Limited Government

The Declaration of Independence says it best: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” I believe in limited government. As Ronald Reagan quipped, some of the most frightening words for freedom-loving people are, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” As your elected Utah State Senator, this means that “doing something” often means cutting back on how much the government is involved in our lives. The U.S. Constitution reserves to the states all power and authority not specifically granted to the federal government. States were to be the greenhouses for new ideas. Utah is overall an example of such exemplary governance. Government should not be running the economy or become a tool for interest groups. Free-market choices represent the voice of the people and the governance of our economy. Limited government is not about carrying out some government idea of what’s best for us. Regulation should be directed toward stopping bad actors. Nevertheless, the federal government has greatly expanded its power and threatens our state and local self-governance. The federal administrative state exercises power over individual citizens, businesses, schools, and local and state governments. Further, the administrative state is increasingly becoming an independent government, engaging in legislative rulemaking, executive enforcement with its own armed officers, and independent administrative judges and judicial actions. Our Founders envisioned limited government securing the freedoms of its people to act for themselves and not be acted upon. With a view toward that vision, I will seek opportunities to reinstate limited government in our lives. Every action we take as elected officials must be with this purpose in mind. Both taxes and regulations must be kept to a minimum.

Conservative Values

What “conservative” means to me: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. . . . to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” I believe in the principles of the Declaration of Independence, and in the U.S. Constitution as our governing document to secure these ideals. These founding documents declare and protect individual freedom, enabling us all to pursue our dreams and ambitions unfettered by government. We have a Creator and our rights come from him, not from government. All persons have equal claim to the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The right to life extends to all persons of any age and condition—including the unborn. The role of government is limited to protecting and preserving our fundamental rights—not to mastermind our society or micromanage our lives. I honor and will support the freedoms secured in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States In the present time, as your Utah State Senator, I will be particularly vigilant concerning: Freedom of worship, expression, and assembly. No person is free who cannot freely worship, gather, and speak. We must vigorously defend these rights as a state and a country. Freedom to keep and bear arms. Freedom to be secure in our properties. Equal justice under the law—the rule of law. The right to a speedy trial by a jury of our peers. Freedom from excessive punishments. I believe we should focus on helping all persons become honest, law-abiding, contributing members of society. Freedom of the people and the States to retain all rights and privileges not enumerated in the Constitution as a Federal power. The word “conservative” also means “marked by moderation or caution.” Governments should be moderate in scope and power in our lives, limit taxation, and exercise power with caution.