Randy Rounds - Leg District 10 Candidate Profile

Randy Rounds is running for the our very own Legislative District 10 hoping to replace our dear Brent Wallis and regain the seat for the democrats.  He stopped by my house yesterday and we had a great chat about his desires and issues.  Essentially his reasons for running come down to these key points:

1. Ethics.  He told me of his desire to see some real ethics reform in the legislature.  Also his concern for big corporations and banks and how they influence legislation.  It bothers him the way credit unions have been attacked by the banks and thinks ethics reform can help correct that. 
2. Education.  (He is a former educator/principal from Uintah) You can tell he has a real passion for education and desires to find ways to bring more money into schools and to find ways to adjust the budget.  He is tired of Utah being last in education spending per child. 

Randy was great to talk with and he hit on a number of issues dear to my heart, especially his strong support for Credit Unions.  He is currently on the board of Weber Credit Union and is a former principal from Uintah Elementary. He is also a lifetime resident of South Ogden.  I was really impressed with our visit and look forward to more.  However I must disclose he did grow up in my neighborhood and his mother attends the same church as me.

He has a simple website that is laid out in blog format.  It hasn't been updated in a while but has all the info it needs at this time. You can get the basics about him, his issues and also his background through the site.  The website is in a similar format as the Weber County Democrats website, so it appears they have really jumped in and are helping him.  Check it out here: http://randyrounds.weberdemocrats.org/

Once again, great visit and a great man.  Look for my Dixon Pitcher profile soon.

Affordablity of Student Tuition

During yesterday's Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee we were given a great analysis of the USTAR program and also how tuition compares around the state. Our own Rep. Wallis asked a great question of Dave Buhler from the State Board of Regents. Why is the cost so high at our community colleges in comparison with other western schools? He noticed, though most of our Universities are below the WICHI average, our community colleges are not in comparison. Mr. Buhler explained most states use property tax as well as state appropriations and tuition to lower costs. Since we do not allocate any property tax to community colleges, their costs are much higher.

Mr. Wallis stressed a need to have cheaper options here in Utah. The comment was made a number of times that Utah is above the norm when it comes to number of kids in school. Many families have more than two of their children attending college. This can cause a huge burden on families. Efforts need to be made to bring the cost down to allow more people to attend.

I liked where Rep. Wallis was going with this. Maybe it is time to re-look at how we fund these institutions. I am glad we are making efforts to avoid any cuts this year, but how are we going to be able to fund future growth of Higher Education. If not property tax, then something needs to be looked at to give schools more options of funding.

I smell some new legislation in the future for Mr. Wallis on this issue.

HB 24 - Economic Development Incentives Act Amendments

Rep. Brent Wallis has hit a home run with this bill. HB 24 is straight forward and to the point and brings needed accountability to economic development. We often hear about stimulus programs or incentive programs that lure businesses to Utah and promise job creation. But what if what they say isn't true? Is there any holding these people accountable? Mr. Wallis' bill would require these businesses to prove they have done what they have promised. The amendments state the following:

103 (d) documentation that the business entity has satisfied the performance
benchmarks
104 outlined in the agreement described in Subsection 63M-1-2404 (3)(a), including:
105 (i) significant capital investment:
106 (ii) the creation of high paying jobs;
107 (iii) significant purchases from Utah vendors and providers; or
108 (iv) any combination of Subsections (2)(d)(i), (ii), and (iii).

As you can see, this are significant requirement additions and also needed. If we are going to give tax incentives we must have accountability. This bill is now on its way to the senate having received only nine nay votes in the house.

Great Job Mr. Wallis.

Legislative Distritict 10 Community Meeting

Rep. Brent Wallis is reaching out to the people this week. He is holding another one of his well attended Community Meetings. The meeting is scheduled for this Thursday at 6:30 pm at the South Ogden City Offices. Mr. Wallis said, "The intent of the meeting is to give a brief overview of some of the issues the 2010 Legislature will deal with as well as give me opportunity to listen to the people and the concerns and issues important to them."

Due to a scheduling conflict, I will be out of town; so I expect a full report from our readers. Should be a great meeting.

What is going on in South Ogden?

It has been nearly a week since we have had a quality post on the From Where I Sit blog. That is no guarantee this post will be of top caliber. I took a hiatus from posting last week to accomplish some personal goals around the home. However it is time for a summary of what is happening:

SB 208 - We have been following this piece of legislation closely with a number of posts an quality debate between Joel Campbell and myself. The idea is to move public legal notices to an online website managed by the State of Utah.  This would essentially pull it from newspapers whom are understandably hesitant to the change.  Today the Utah League of City and Towns has endorsed the legislation giving it a huge boost. Of course they would, the savings to SLC alone would be $100,000. Lincoln's Legislative Blog (blog of ULCT) has a nice post explaining some more details of the bill. You can check out their post here (See Here).

HB 274 - Our Esteemed Rep. Wallis has been trying to push his first piece of legislation through.  It seems to have been bounced around the legislature.  During the House Political Subdivisions Standing Committee they discussed the bill regarding some of the issues.  It appears Mr. Wallis has done some good work to update the bill to make it an effective piece of legislation.    Rep. Wallis gave a great presentation with some guest speakers explaining how better use of the impact fees will protect and save the state money.  Everyone agrees impact fees is very confusing and this legislation will help clarify some of the confusion.  Mr. Wallis was praised for taking the time to work with everyone involved make the bill a top quality piece of legislation. The bill passed through committee with a favorable recommendation.   The overall feeling was Rep. Wallis has done such a great job on his first bill and people are very impressed at his work ethic. We made a great decision voting him to the legislature.

HB 66 - A funky property tax bill that threatened public education was defeated today.  No worries there. I have been receiving great emails about this as of lately.  People were passionate about this one.

$2.5 Million South Ogden Basketball Court - As far as we know this is a go, even thought South Ogden City Council admits the majority of South Ogden will not use the dang thing.  I hope we don't come back and wish we had done more on this one.  With the Municipal Elections coming up, it will be interesting to see what issues are brought up.  Raising taxes in election year is usually not popular.  

South Ogden City is having a short city council meeting to discuss the 2008-2009 fiscal budget.  I am excited to hear how we are doing fiscally going into this year.  Will Council member Bradly and Scott Darrington stick to their methodology that South Ogden is not in trouble financially? We will see tomorrow, however I will not be in attendance for tomorrows meeting.  I will be relying on the minutes and blog readers to fill me in on the conversation.  I will be attending our Weber County Lincoln Day Dinner and hope to Twitter and Blog about the night.

We will keep you posted soon.

Rep. Wallis Town Meeting / Gay Rights Vote

Today was an eventful day for District 10's esteemed Representative.  His day ended with a Town Hall meeting here in South Ogden.  But he made headlines at the capital being the only republican to vote for HB267.  The measure would have protected transgender and gay Utahns from employment and housing discrimination.  Wallis has jumped party lines and voted to yes to help push it through committee and into the legislature.  Unfortunately the bill failed to get the votes needed and died in committee. 

During tonight's Town Hall meeting, Rep. Wallis shared with us his reasoning for voting for HB267.  If you remember from my post on January 9th 2009 (See Here), Rep. Wallis sent out a legislative survey asking his constituents what there top priorities are for the 2009 legislative session.  The response rate was nearly 40 percent, which by marketing standards is huge.  From the survey he found 55 percent of District 10 supported expanded civil rights for gay and lesbians.  Therefore he felt obligated to vote for it and push it onto formal debate in the legislature.  He did point out he wasn't sure how he would have voted if it had made it to the legislature, but it did deserve debate.  I agree with his decision and hope we can expand these rights to everyone; however this is a post for another day.

Some more of the survey results are as follows:

• 22 percent said economic development and health care were top priorities
  
• 28 percent said we should do nothing on transportation projects and wait for the economy to improve.
  
• 25 percent said we should use money to stimulate the economy by recruiting news business to Utah. - Rep. Wallis is working on legislation to help with this.
  
• 38 percent said we should ban gifts to legislators and 27 percent felt they should ban personal uses of campaign contributions. On Hotels Reimbursement Wallis said, "If you need it, use it. If you don't, you lose it"
  
• 69 percent said they support measures to combat illegal immigration (Like last years SB81)
  
• On health care it was about neutral when it came to who should pay and health care access.
  
• 72 percent support changing Utah liquor laws
  
• 73 percent support property tax assessment changes
  

We spent a lot of time talking about health care access, economic development and stimulus packages.  Mr. Wallis explained he is working on legislation to create in incentives for companies to invest in Utah, not just relocate.  This will probably be ready for the next legislative session.  

A number of great questions were asked and we had our resident conspiracy theorist try to tell us the government is evil.  But in the end, Rep. Wallis handled himself well and scored some big points with all those in attendance.  Many people mentioned they were really impressed and were glad he would go out of his way to hold this meeting.

Great meeting and look forward to the next one. 

Rep. Brent Wallis – Town Hall Meeting Tonight

Tonight is our semi-monthly City Council Meeting. From the looks of the agenda, there are a lot of things that will need to be covered. Not to mention Rep. Brent Wallis will be there to hold a Town Hall Meeting with all those in attendance. This is a great chance to get to know your legislator. The meeting starts at 6 pm.

We will be doing some live Tweets from the meeting, plus a blog post to follow after the meeting.

 

HB274 Making Progress - Other Impact Fee Bills

As we discussed in a previous post (See Here) Rep. Wallis has proposed a bill geared towards the assesment of impact fees. This bill has made it through the fiscal analysis office unscathed. It does appear there are some concerned voices out there but things are going well.   A great blog post on Lincoln's Legislitave Blog, written by Lincoln Shurt-The Director of Legislative Affairs, has analyzed not only Rep. Wallis's bill [HB274] but also a few more regarding impact fees.  It is worth a read to fully understand the bills.

Lincoln's Legislative Blog - Impact Fees Take Center Stage

Each of the bills mentioned are worth a read, but I am watching SB135 and HB274 closely. Remember Weber County is getting hit hard on impact fees from the Weber Sewer District and future laws could affect those fees.

SB135 - Wants to limit the impact of fees to certain areas or groups instead of spreading it amongs the entire group.  This could very interesting, especially those who will get charged.  Though impact fees can hit hard, it could hit even harder if it is not divided equally and properly.  This will be an interesting one to watch.  You can read the entire bill here: (SB 135)

HB 274 - Local Government Fees and Charges

Rep. Wallis is gearing up for his first legislative bill, HB 274--Local Government Fees and Charges to State Agencies.  This exciting bill would insure impact fees (fees charged to gov agencies and eventually passed on to the tax payer for new utilities, facilities, etc.) are not overcharged.  It appears Mr. Wallis has found a loop whole in the state code allows agencies to potentially overcharge impact fees to local governments.  Currently impact fees are subject to creative interpretation allowing some extra to be charged.  This essentially is a tax on the Utah resident.  Heading into tough economic times this is a very creative way of insuring we are not over-taxed.

South Ogden will be facing a big impact fee increase starting in February. (See More Here) With this law in place we can be sure we are not overpaying.  Not to bad for Rep. Wallis' debut bill.

Last update, it was in the Fiscal Analysis office awaiting a fiscal note.

We will keep you posted.

Higher Education – Which Institution is more important?

Yesterday's Higher Education Appropriations Sub-Committee was filled with additional testimonials of why education should be protected. As the meeting went on, it was obvious battle lines were beginning to be drawn to protect one's own constituent institution of higher education. The two ideas drawn out of the committee now head into today's Executive Appropriation meeting. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Rep. Brent Wallis, from our own District 10, was very vocal about returning money back to higher education in a fair and equitable manner. There is a potential of a nearly 3.5 percent (or less) "put back" of funds to higher education before we are done with this legislative session. Rep. Wallis has been encouraging his colleagues to put the money back where it came from pro-rata. If we took 3.5 percent from Weber, give them 3.5 percent back. Everyone's portion would be the same. It appeared he has rallied a lot of support from a number of other legislators on the methodology of giving institutions back what they put in (or gave up). Since the money has been removed pro-rata it should be returned so.

The challenge comes from institutions with smaller budgets or higher enrollment. The 7 percent cut is devastating to small schools like College of Eastern Utah. It is also tough on schools like Dixie and UVU whom have seen huge growth and would need more than 3.5 percent back to fund that growth. A number of legislatures want funds for their institutions based on this rational. Rep. Daw (Orem, R) has argued the institution he represents [UVU] has the most enrollment in the state and deserves extra funds. Essentially he would be against a pro-rata system of putting the money back.

It is easy to see why a pro-rata system would be beneficial and fair to the every institution. Giving money based on certain parameters or priorities would be unfair. Weber State (like other schools) is facing huge layoffs. With a pro-rata system they are cut the same and will get the same back, hence savings jobs and programs. If we went away with the pro-rata system and Weber State is not high on the priority list because enrollment is lower than Dixie, UVU, U of U and Utah State, Weber could get only 1 percent back. That is a loss we cannot afford. Push for the pro-rata "put back: of funds.

I welcome a health discussion and comments on the topic.

Update on Higher Education - Thanks Rep. Wallis.

I had a great conversation with Rep. Brent Wallis today with regards to my last post on education cuts. He informed me the meeting ended with the approval of the proposed 7.5 percent cuts. Good to know since the recording was cut off.

As we discussed the options to help higher education, the esteemed Representative explained now is not the time to deplete our rainy day funds until we know where the bottom is. One suggestion I mentioned was my experience at Dixie State. President Huddleston, former Dixie President, asked all the staff to teach freshman orientation and capstone classes for free. Then he asked all faculty to teach a class for free. He even started teaching accounting courses for free. It was a huge budget reduction in 2002.

Overall it was a productive and informative conversation, thanks Rep. Wallis.

Where do we go from here? Well the proposal now heads to the executive appropriation committee and then on to the legislature. I will keep the readers posted as to the progress of this issue.

How much? Higher Education looks at a 7.5% budget cut.

In a particularly interesting Higher Education appropriation sub-committee meeting, held last week, a budget cut was proposed for 7.5 percent. The original motion was made by our own Rep. Brent Wallis. Though I feel Co-chairman Valentine pushed him into the motion and that was not his original comment, the motion was made. The motion was later substituted and disappeared into thin air. (Gotta love Robert's Rules of Order) Before a new motion was made a 10 minute recess was called. Unfortunately since I listened to the meeting via podcast, we were not blessed to hear what happened. However there were three great things I would like to point out.

1. Besides his motion to cut education, Mr. Wallis had a great comment about our economic times and the future of Higher Education.
   

He said, "We must go forward as a committee and put forward a very very strong case of how important higher education is going to be. These elements that we are trying to save within these cuts will in fact help us stimulate or start the economic revival we are looking forward to. That is the message we need to really get across. We are losing a lot of talent here; this talent can help us turn around the economy"

I couldn't agree with Rep. Wallis more. But can a 7.5 percent cut accomplish this. Wallis was pushed into that motion and should have backed out and let someone else make it. Because that kind of motion doesn't represent what he said in the meeting about fighting for education.

1. Rep. Senator Urquhart had a great idea of prioritizing schools based on enrollment growth. The schools with the most growth would receive less of a cut versus the schools with the least growth would receive the most cuts. Great idea that should be looked at even closer. Some potential problems would be schools like CEU in Price. That could be the nail in the coffin for them. (I don't see why they are still open anyways). As a matter of full disclosure, the good senator was quick to point out the school in his district, my Alma Mater—Dixie State College, has had the highest growth. The fact still remains that his idea has merit.

2. The Governor's budget, though already out of balance to the tune of nearly $100 million, suggests that moneys be pulled from road projects and other state programs to reduce the cut to 3.5 percent. Many people loved this idea, but since the Governor's budget is already out of sync, it would need further debate as the proposals moved on.
   

You have to give credit to the Utah Student Association for coming out to speak their case and to the Commissioner of Higher Education for his "sales pitch" to reduce the cuts. But in the end it wasn't enough. How did the committee vote? Well they never turned the microphones back on after the recess so we are all deprived of the results. I have been checking newspaper feeds and have an email into Rep. Wallis, but I haven't heard.

The Tribune had a "doom and gloom" article on the topic with regards to Weber State, you can see it here, (Weber State's President Battles Deep Cuts)

As always, comments are welcome.

Rep. Brent Wallis & 2009 Legislative Survey

Yesterday I received my 2009 Legislative Survey from Rep. Brent Wallis. If you couldn't tell from the first paragraph, the Utah GOP paid for the mailing.  I am very excited that Rep. Wallis is doing everything he can to reach out and learn more of what his constituents feel are priorities. In the survey we are asked to rank our economic priorities for the state and answer questions regarding ethics, immigration and health care reform,etc. My wife and I sat down (since it was addressed to our household) and answered the following:

• List your Priorities from 1 to 10
  

1. Public Education
2. Higher Education
3. Transportation
4. Economic Development
5. Health care
6. Public Safety
7. Environmental Quality
8. Rainy Day Funds
9. Tourism
10. Illegal Immigration

• How should fill the gap for future road projects

1. Borrow by bonding

• Economic Stimulus suggestions
  

1. Borrow money to keep road projects going and lower taxes (Counter Cyclical Policies)

• Prioritize ethic reforms

1. Personal use of campaign funds.
2. One year ban before a legislator becomes a lobbyist.
3. Campaign contribution limits.
4. Gift ban.
5. More timely campaign contribution disclosures.

• Support or Oppose laws for more stringent measures to combat illegal immigration.

1. Oppose

• Support or Oppose laws for domestic partnership rights (i.e medical care) for same-sex couples.
  

1. Support 

• How do you feel about health care reform.

1. We are leaned towards Employer Purchased and Optional Coverage
   

• Support or Oppose loosening Utah Liquor laws

1. Support

• Support or Oppose legislation for my assessments of property values.
  

1. Support

They have also asked for our email addresses, which I hope they will use in the future. Online surveys can be setup very easy and cheaply. In the future he could use those email addresses he has collected to save the GOP money.

On the back side of the survey Brent Wallis announces a town hall meeting on February 12^th at 6:30 pm at the South Ogden City Hall. This will be a must attend for South Ogden to meet your representative and discuss the issues of District 10.

 

Rep. Brent Wallis Committee Assignments

This maybe 100 percent political geekiness, but I am excited for the upcoming legislative sessions. I am particularly interested to see what our new Representative will bring to the stage. Rep. Brent Wallis brings lots of business and education experience to the legislative stage; therefore I was pleased to see he has been put on the following committees:

• Business and Labor Standing Committee.
  
• Transportation Standing Committee.
  
• Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee.
  

With his time at the Weber ATC and the Chamber of Commerce his knowledge should come in very handy. How they decide who is put on what committee is a mystery to me, but I think with this upcoming year, recession, budget cuts, etc, each of these committees will have plenty to discuss. I can't think of a better person to represent our district. Good Luck Rep. Wallis on your first legislative session.

To see the full committee assignments see here: (Standing
Committee) and (Subcommittee)

Election Results

I have had a few people ask me about election results.  There are a number of places to go.  I spent most of my time last night between two websites:

electionresults.utah.gov

and

The Weber County Elections Results Page

Here are some people of note that won.  Ryan Wilcox, whom I posted about back in June (See Here), had a great win!  Congrats Ryan. 

Also as I posted last night, Brent Wallis upset Edger Allen for District 10.  What a crazy night of elections.

I felt the Gage Froerer machup was closer than I would have expected.  His term will be interesting to watch in the coming months.  

Wallis Wins

I spent this evening glued to the computer refreshing the election website every 10 seconds. I saw Brent go from 10 percent down to WIN the election!

What an upset! I am sure Ed Allen broke out in a rash from all his sweating. I know a good doctor who can help him if he needs one.

Congrats Brent! What an amazing man. District 10 has been held by the Democratic party for 18 years. But no longer. Here comes Brent Wallis.

Why I support Brent Wallis?

Each political season I go in with the most open mind possible. I know what my core values and beliefs are. Each time I look for a candidate, I try to find one that fits my values. Sometimes this is Republican, sometimes it is not. In a post from many months ago (See Here) I didn't know Brent Wallis, but had heard of Ed Allen. I wasn't sure who to vote for.

I met Ed Allen and Brent Wallis months later (See Here). Within minutes I knew that Brent Wallis was a different sort of man. As time has gone on I have had a number of conversations with him about his ambitions and goals. I have grown to really admire and respect him.

What is it about Brent? Is it his experience in education? Sure that is a big thing for me. I have kids, I want them to have a great educations system. Someone with 36 years experience in the education system is important to me. But that is not it. Is it his fiscal knowledge? Sure the fact he managed million dollar budgets at the ATC and thousand dollar budgets at the Ogden Country Club are important. But that is not it. Is it his business connections and experience? Sure his experience with business leaders and being named to the chamber of commerce hall of fame is important. But that is not it.

One day, talking to Brent, he said, "Every person who has ever worked for me; went on to run their own ATC." I realized Brent is not only a leader; but more importantly--a mentor. He would love to serve in the House, but in the end he hopes to inspire and mentor others to do the same. I have met a number of great leaders, but this was very inspiring, he is an educator at heart and I am excited to have such a person in the House of Representatives to represent our district.

Still don't know whom to vote for? Read what I have posted about Ed Allen and Brent Wallis. I think it is very clear. Vote for a true leader, a mentor, and educator, a businessman; vote for Brent Wallis for District 10.

The Ogden Weber ATC

I had an interesting experience on Saturday.  I was talking to a neighbor about how things were going.  I knew the economy would be a concern for him; he normally lives paycheck to paycheck and has struggled in the past to put food on his table.  He told me today things are going pretty well.  He took a job at the local Deseret Industries and through the LDS Church they got him into classes at the Ogden-Weber ATC.  He now has learned HVAC systems and is doing very well in heating and air conditioning.  What an amazing program!  He was very thankful for the ATC and all it has done for him.

  This brings me to an interesting point.  I received Ed Allen's brochure in the mail on Friday.  His first paragraph mentions how supportive he is of the ATC and how amazing it is.  I am sure as a member of the LDS church he has seen this first hand.  He probably had similar experiences of sending people to work at Deseret Industries for a food order; whom later were given training at the Ogden Weber ATC. 

 The most interesting part about his statement of ATC-ism support, is the contridiction his statements make with what he has said verbally to everyone else.  On my own door step, on August 28th, 2008 (See Here), he told me that the ATC was a waste.  He mentioned a number of times he didn't think the ATC was all that great.  I have also heard him say these same things to other people as well. At the Chamber of Commerce "Meet the Candidate Night" he said the same and tried to discredit the ATC.

 Why is he saying these things?  Because his republican challenger - Brent Wallis was president of the Ogden-Weber ATC for 36 years.  This has been a pathetic attempt at discrediting Brent Wallis and all he has done for Weber County.

This is a classic example of a person, who wants to be a career politician, saying what he has to say to get elected.  Ed Allen came out against the ATC thinking he would win with voters.  Once he realized the popularity of the ATC and people love what it does, he had to back off and send a mailer and pledge his love to the ATC gods.  In a sense, he lied to people to win votes and now has changed his position.  We call this a "Flip-Flop" in the politcal world.

Ed Allen is a career politician wanna-be.  I am sorry but he is!  He lost his senate seat and couldn't get re-elected.  Now his running for the house.  He is dying to get back in so bad he will say anything to win.

A Democrat's view of Brent Wallis

For those of who read a lot of blogs in the Weber County area, you may know about the Weber County Forum.  They had a very intersting post about Brent Wallis and Ed Allen from a Democrats view point.

http://wcforum.blogspot.com/2008/10/this-democrat-is-supporting-brent.html by Dan Schroeder

Also here is one from Dorrene Jeske - Ogden City Council

http://wcforum.blogspot.com/2008/10/another-strong-brent-wallis-endorsement.html

Update on the Ed Allen Letter

Spoke to some people who live in North Ogden.  They are long time patients of Ed Allen and they admitted they have not received a letter from him.  Sounds like a campaign letter to me!

For more info see my post here: http://www.fromwhereisitblog.com/2008/09/ed-allen-did-he-break-law.html