Friday, March 28, 2008

David Leavitt - running for U.S. House Rep. District 3

Last night I had the opportunity to go to a meeting to hear David Leavitt. He is running for U.S. House of Representatives. To be fair, I must mention that I arrived an hour late, but according to his campaign staff, they started late and I hadn't missed much of the Q&A. Since I missed the beginning I also stayed after to listen to individuals questions and David's responses.

Here are his literature facts:

  • David is married to Chelom and they have 7 kids (currently live in Nephi).
  • David was an elected county attorney for 8 years (Juab county).
  • He practiced law in the private sector.
  • Has international experience (American Bar Association asked David to spend a year in Kyiv, Ukraine assisting the Ukrainian government in converting its criminal justice system from a Soviet based system to one that more closely approximates the American criminal justice system).

Issues that were talked about:

  • Government Budget
  • Social Security
  • Tax Reform
  • Immigration
  • Why running
  • Iraq
  • Vouchers
  • Protecting Families
  • Welfare
  • Trade
  • Committees he'd like to seek appointment

BUDGET: He feels that the government needs to be fiscally responsible. Entitlements are earmarks are only a small part of the problem. It's not the role of government to fix every persons problems.

SOCIAL SECURITY: He feels that those who are 50+ should have Social Security that is underwritten by the government. Those that are younger than 50 years old should have the option to have Social Security through private companies.

TAX REFORM: He likes the Fair Tax, but there is not much enforcement. The Flat Tax makes sense. It would be easy to collect.

IMMIGRATION: He feels that the current program is broken. He feels that the Rule of Law needs to be instated: If we don't have law we don't have order. He thinks that those who are here illegally should go to the border and then come back. He thinks that the Smartcards should be issued at the border, thus enforcing that they all go back to the border and centralizing where they will be issued. This would make it so our local offices won't be bogged down with issuing the Smartcards, which would likely be done at our post office. Says the Law of Mercy should also be used. Saying they can come back, and allowing those that haven't broken the law the same right to be here. He thinks that there shouldn't be a line, so that one wouldn't be punished by having to go to the back of the line. He also says that the building of the fence is a farce. He says that we should spend that money in enforcing the laws. We don't do any favors to those here illegally by not enforcing the laws. He also feels that if you are here illegally and you have a child here, than that child is now also here illegally. (Foreign Diplomats children, who are born in the United States are not citizens of the United States)

WHY RUNNING: He says that you should replace those with seniority on the downside of their cycle. He says that the benefit of Seniority is gone with Chris Cannon. He feels like there are two types of congressmen - ones who are voters and ones who are influencers. He thinks that Chris Cannon is a voter and we don't need voters. He says that we need influencers, those who have the ability to change the entire body. He thinks that you need to be able to persuade voters through logic and civility.

IRAQ: He thinks that regardless of how we got there we are there and we need support our troops. We need to stay until it's solidified or the Iraqi government asks us to leave.

VOUCHERS: He thinks that our public schools need to be able to compete at a better level. He thinks that perhaps the private sector would do it better than the government. However, he doesn't think that the government should just hand people a check to go to whatever school. He ultimately voted for vouchers, but as a way to voice that the government needs to look into it and do something.

PROTECTING FAMILIES: He thinks that the government has the responsibility in protecting families. They need someone with the courage to enforce the laws that protect us. All people want safely when they follow someone.

WELFARE: He thinks that the welfare system should be administered by the states. He feels that the states would manage the money better. He feels that people on welfare need to have accountability and understand that it is a two part system, that the government isn't going to continue to support you forever.

TRADE: He feels like we are in bondage. Half of our trade deficit is to China and feels like this is a serious threat to us.

COMMITTEES: He would like to seek appointment to any of the following committees - Constitution Revision Committee, Appropriation Committee, Rules Committee, Finance Committee.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Daily Herald Article

Mark Johnston from the Daily Herald came to our caucus meeting. He took pictures and published the following picture and article in todays newspaper.

MARK JOHNSTON/Daily Herald

Travis Parry, left, fills out a ballot as Keri Witte, right, collects votes for legislative district 61, precinct 20 during the republican caucasus at Independence High School Tuesday, March 25, 2008. "I don't think I have much of a say in a national election but hopefully can make a difference locally," said Parry who was also nominated for county delegacy. "This is really grassroots, really student government type of small town voting."

Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Caucus-goers choose delegates
DAILY HERALD

Caucus meetings were held around the state Tuesday night for Republicans and Democrats, where voters elected delegates and precinct officers, and talked about candidates and issues.

For Republicans, county and state delegates are elected at caucuses, according to the Utah Republican Party's Web site. Usually for Democrats, county delegates are elected at caucuses, and state delegates are elected at the county conventions, according to the Utah Democratic Party. In Salt Lake County, elected county delegates are automatic state delegates.

"I don't think I have much of a say in a national election but hopefully can make a difference locally," said Travis Parry, who was nominated to be a county delegate during a Republican caucus at Independence High School in Provo. "This is really grassroots, really student-government type of small town voting."

The delegates go to the parties' county convention and help choose candidates for the primary or general elections. It's there that a crushingly predominant party makes the real decisions. For example, if the convention chooses a candidate by more than 60 percent, that person skips the primary and goes straight to the general election. Because Utah County hasn't elected a non-Republican based here for more than a decade, a GOP candidate coming out of the convention all alone has a perfect record in the general election.

The Utah County Democratic Party's convention will be at Dixon Middle School on May 3, with the state convention May 9-10 at the Cal Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. The Utah County Republican Party's convention will be at Orem High School on April 26, with the state convention on May 10 at Utah Valley State College.

Why?

I want all people in our precicnt to know what is going on. I want you to have better access to your delegates, who are suppose to be your representatives, your voice. Please let us know how you feel about the candidates and the issues. This will allow us to better represent you when we vote at our conventions. As I meet with the candidates I will let you know what they had to say, how the experience went, and perhaps some of my personal feelings. I have invited the other delegates to do the same. Please comment on anything you would like to have addressed. Thank you so much for allowing us the opportunity to serve you.

Caucus Meeting

Last night, March 25, our precinct PR20 elected precinct officers & delegates. The following is a list of those who were elected. They will serve for 2 years and our next caucus meeting will be in 2010.

Precicnt Officers:
Chair: Christy Gomm
Vice Chair: Terry Ventura
Secretary: Deby Jensen

County Delegates:
Evan Frederickson
Chris Gomm
Christy Gomm
Gina Martine
Travis Parry
Terry Ventura

State Delegates:
Christy Gomm
Ron Phillips
Luke Ray

Have you ever felt like your vote doesn't count?

Here is my plug for caucus (A meeting, especially a preliminary meeting, of persons belonging to a party, to nominate candidates for public office, or to select delegates to a nominating convention, or to confer regarding measures of party policy; a political primary meeting) meetings.

Your vote most certainly does count at a caucus meeting. We had almost 40 people there and only 33 who were voting. We had races where the winner won by only 2 votes. This is true grassroots politics at it's best, paper ballots and all! Be sure to come in 2010 - we need our voices to be heard. You can do this by showing up and participating. This is where a few hours of your life can really make a big difference!