Guiding Principles and Issues

1. Limited Government. Government cannot solve all, or even most, of the world's problems. Government should do well what it is supposed to do, and then stop.
2. Balance the budget, no tax increases. This is obvious, but worth repeating.
3. Local control of local issues. Utah County has nearly 550,000 residents. We simply don't need, or want, the "assistance" of the federal or state government to solve most of our problems. Both Washington DC and Salt Lake City are taking too much money from us, and then either ignoring our problems, or trying to solve our problems their way.
4. Public Input, Public Information, Open Government. I will actively seek public input on every major decision. All information I get will be made public unless I am prohibited by law from doing so. I will send out a monthly email explaining what I have done the previous month, and maintain an active web site where I will post and discuss issues with the voters in Utah County.

Key Regional Issues:

1. Remove Obstacles to Economic Development. Economic development is not the responsibility of government. But an effective government can remove the obstacles to economic development. We need to find out what those obstacles are, and remove them. We need to create opportunities worthy of our young and talented work force, or we are going to lose them. There are also substantial opportunities for economic development in partnership with UVU and BYU that are not happening.
2. Transportation. We are growing faster than we are solving our problems. Utah County is at the mercy of both the federal and state governments on this issue. Our federal and state government should not be involved with roads that do not cross county lines. Instead, the federal and state governments should return the gas tax they take from us based on a simple formula, which would allow us to build our own roads and infrastructure. Building more roads alone will not solve our problems, and I believe congestion pricing, public transportation and bicycle trails will be necessary to keep Utah County moving.
3. Utah Lake. Utah Lake is the crown jewel in the middle of our county. We need to make it more accessible with trails and beaches, improve the ecosystem of the lake and build on the progress made to date. Until our citizens are able to access Utah Lake, very few will be aware of Utah Lake's potential, and it will remain difficult to build support for improving Utah Lake.
4. Investment Fraud: Various forms of investment fraud are rampant in Utah County. Victims of fraud in Utah County lost $45 million in 2006 and 2007 together, $64 million in 2008, and well over $100 million in 2009. Right now, the Utah County Attorney's Office will not even investigate or prosecute claims of investment fraud less than $100,000 due to lack of resources. This investment fraud is wreaking havoc on our community. Millions of dollars that could be used to pay for retirement, or a college education, or a mission, or to start a new business are instead being wasted on these schemes. Furthermore, Utah County has a notorious reputation for being the center for these kinds of schemes in the State of Utah, which damages our ability to attract legitimate business. What can we do? We need to go hard after these schemes BEFORE they have stolen millions of dollars, and try to return as much money as possible to the investors. Also, because these crimes are very complex and the criminals can hire expensive defense attorneys, it can take years to prosecute them. I would favor settling these cases promptly so long as the criminals return everything they can, provide a written explanation and an apology for what they have done, serve a few months in jail, be prohibited from soliciting investments going forward and provide several thousand hours of community service where they educate the public on investment fraud. We urgently need an effective public campaign to raise awareness that any investment with a return over 15% is VERY risky and there is a very good chance you will lose your entire investment. We also need to help the public better understand how these criminals operate, how affinity fraud works, and why anything that sounds too good to be true almost certainly is!
5. Prescription Drug Abuse: Utah is ranked #1 in the country for prescription drug abuse, with over 300 deaths in 2009. In contrast, only 245 individuals died in car accidents in Utah in 2009. In other words, we have more people in Utah dying from prescription drug abuse than car accidents, yet we are giving prescription drug abuse only a fraction of the attention and resources it needs. Like investment fraud, we need an active public campaign to educate the public about the problems and dangers of prescription drug abuse. We also need our doctors, pharmacies and drug companies to better understand and appreciate this problem, and work with us to prevent addiction from happening in the first place. We need them to consider both the short and long term consequences before prescribing a drug to us or a family member.
6. Reform County Government. Utah County still has three full time county commissioners, which is an old fashioned form of government that was instituted by default over 100 years ago. This form of government is not modeled after the US Constitution, and the Utah County Commissioners have "executive, legislative and judicial" powers. In other words, no separation of powers, no checks and balances, and no regional representation. A process exists in Utah law that allows relatively more mature counties, like Utah County, to consider changing their form of county government. This process is not complicated, but does require the County Commissioners to trust the voters, and put the issue on the ballot. I trust the voters, and would put this issue on the ballot, so the voters can decide how they can best be represented going forward on regional issues.

Please let Joel know what you think the key regional issues are in Utah County, and how they should be addressed, by emailing him at Joel@ElectWright.com or by giving your input at one of the other locations below:

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