Election countdown countinues
The 2002 elections are 11 days away, and there are many issues and people to learn about.
Rep. Jim Hansen is not seeking re-election this year.
Various debates and open houses have been held in Cache Valley with the candidates during October.
Citizen’s State Initiative No. 1 has been heavily debated throughout the course of the month. Both Democratic candidate Dave Thomas and Republican candidate Rob Bishop oppose the initiative. Wednesday night Bishop said he believes radioactive waste should be stored where it is produced – not in Utah. Thomas said he is against the storage of nuclear waste anywhere in Utah.
“We can’t let this happen,” Thomas said.
Green Party candidate Craig Axford said he supports Initiative 1 because of the restrictions it will put on the more toxic class B or C waste and other high-level waste.
The corporate scandals of the last year, like Enron, were addressed by the candidates in differing ways. Thomas said CEO’s who have caused problems need to be “prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
“They sold all of their stocks,” he said, “and they left us to follow the dip all the way to nothing.”
Thomas suggested the assets of those responsible for the corporate failures in the country be liquidated to compensate as much as possible for the losses of the stockholders and employees of their corporations.
Axford was in agreement with Thomas and used businessman Mike Milken as an example. Milken admitted to violating regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission in the 1980s, but he is now trading actively on Wall Street. People should not be allowed to lose other people’s money and get rich because of it, Thomas said.
Bishop is taking a different stance. Big changes are not going to be necessary, he said.
“There is a legal system. Allow that system to work,” Bishop said earlier this month.
Regarding the economy, Axford said the public needs to have its faith restored in businesses. That can’t happen while companies are avoiding paying taxes by having P.O. boxes in Bermuda, he said.
Bishop said permanent tax cuts are going to be necessary to have sustained growth in the economy. He noted that the current tax cuts are scheduled to expire in 2011.
“Washington does not know how to best use our money,” Bishop said.
Thomas said the current tax cuts are not working.
“Borrow and spend is not right,” he said. “What we need to do is make sure our taxes work as hard for us as we do for them.”
Money spent on defense and the potential war were addressed by all candidates in the various forums.
Axford said the United States spends 15 times more on defense than China, Taiwan, and all the countries belonging to NATO combined. The United States needs to shift its money from defense to humanitarian aid, he said.
The United States has reversed its political stance when compared to previously volatile war situations, Axford said. It has successfully averted wars between North Korea and South Korea, China and Taiwan, and India and Pakistan, he said.
“We must take the high road,” Axford said. “There is a risk of winning the war and losing the peace.”
Thomas said, referring to the stance the United States has taken on the war with Iraq, “Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate.”
The United States needs to be careful with how it goes about taking care of its business, he said. It doesn’t want to have an accumulation of enemies.
Bishop said government officials must do what is best for the country.
“That is the best foreign policy we can have,” he said.
At the end of an open house earlier this month, Axford gave the concluding comments.
“Vote on the issues. Vote, vote, vote,” he said.
The Nov. 5 ballot is also going to include candidates for the Utah House of Representatives.
Morley Cox, Connie Morgan, and Loraine Pace participated in a debate Wednesday night at the Whittier Community Center in Logan.
As with the U.S. representatives, the state representatives faced questions about Initiative 1.
Cox said each state’s waste is its own issue, and Utah should not have to store other states’ waste.
Morgan said the initiative would eliminate classes B and C waste forever.
“I don’t think Utah should continue to be dumped in or dumped on,” she said.
Pace said her biggest concern about the initiative is the lack of public debate on the issue.
Another topic the candidates debated involved the Legacy Highway and its delayed completion.
Morgan said the Legacy Highway has been mismanaged, and it is causing the state to waste $40,000 per day.
Pace said the project was not mismanaged. She said people file lawsuits, and, until those lawsuits are settled, the companies contracted to do that work are working on other projects in the state.
Some legislators are suggesting the state gas tax be raised to help fund various state highway projects.
Cox said he believes the current gas taxes are too high, and he will not do anything to raise them if he is elected. The current taxes should be sufficient for the state’s transportation needs, he said.
The candidates were asked whether they support the Cache Initiative – Cache Valley’s master plan. The plan is to contain growth, preserve open spaces and expand job opportunity over the next decade.
Morgan gave her “absolute support for the Cache Initiative.” She said open government and citizen participation are needed for it to work.
Pace said she supports the Cache Initiative for the good it could possibly bring to the valley.
Cox said property rights need to be balanced with the needs of the community, but he said he supports the initiative.
“It’s going to take money and it’s going to take planning,” he said.
-jonryan@cc.usu.edu