State House District Three
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect accurate information.
Patrick Belmont
Party: Unaffiliated
Campaign website: belmont4utah.org
What would you say to the students who have been negatively impacted by the results of HB 261?
HB 261 harms our entire community and undermines the mission of our educational institutions throughout Utah. Some students are more severely impacted, including some of the most vulnerable students we serve. To those students I would say that I am deeply sorry that we failed to protect you in allowing this legislation to get through our broken political system here in Utah and I will work every day to reverse this law. HB 261 was intended to be divisive and punitive and represents one of several egregious over-reaches of our state legislators into the operations of our public education system. Such bills demonstrate what happens when the vast majority of our legislators are from a single party and bills do not receive proper debate and scrutiny.
How will you advocate for the students living in State House District Three, especially in the midst of Logan’s housing crisis specifically?
Rent and entry level housing costs are out of control because the legislature has failed to put common sense solutions into place. Three in ten Utahns are either homeless or are paying 50+% of their monthly income for housing. Utah is also one of the states that is most skewed in terms of landlords having power over tenants. For example, landlords can force evictions in as few as 3 days if someone is unable to pay rent. This is one of the factors contributing to the fact that chronic homelessness in Utah went up 97% from 2019 to 2023. It doesn’t have to be this way. As your representative, I will fight for stronger rights for tenants. I will also work to make better use of our existing housing inventory, reinvest in our existing neighborhoods rather than incentivizing low density sprawl of single family homes, and incentivize building of new affordable housing for renters and first-time home buyers.
Many students will be first-time voters in these upcoming elections. What policies would you advise a first-time voter to look for?
Look for people who you think will represent the issues you think are most important. As a water and climate scientist, energy expert, and university educator, I am in a very rare position to bring perspective and expertise in all three of these critical areas.
Utah’s future depends on getting these issues right, yet our Legislature has very few representatives with expertise in any of them. And poor decision-making in the legislature affects us all. Also pay attention to all the damage that has been done by having a supermajority of our legislators all from the same party. Our capitol has turned into an echochamber with only a few voices dominating the discussions. We need a broader range of voices to ensure we make smarter choices moving forward.
What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid or adult?
Haha, great question! When I was 5 I dressed up as the ‘Great American Hero’, which was from a TV show about a teacher who was gifted superhuman powers that he had no idea how to use…so every episode was a hilarious series of whimsical, lucky, and unpredictable events that led to him saving the world day after day. I am laughing now as I’m reflecting, really only because you asked this question, on how well aligned that feels with my everyday life today! 😉
Jason Thompson
Party: Republican
Campaign website: electjasonthompson.com
The candidate did not respond to The Utah Statesman’s request for an interview.
The Utah Statesman sent out emails requesting interviews to all candidates. Those who responded did so through email.