United Utah Party Candidates Announce Legislative Agenda
By: Rhett Wilkinson
Tags: Unity, Government, Utah, Politics, Political Parties

You might say the United Utah Party is making it. The UUP has 18 candidates running for the Utah Legislature, which is the largest slate of candidates of any party other than the Democratic and Republican parties. Further, UUP candidates have drafted a statement that explains their legislative priorities as a caucus for the 2021 legislative session.

United Utah Party logo (photo credit: United Utah Party)

“Our UUP candidates want to hit the ground running in bringing about much-needed reform to our state government — campaign finance limits, term limits, and ranked-choice voting,” said Richard Davis, United Utah Party chair. “But they also want to find solutions to pressing problems such as homelessness and education finance.”

Davis noted that the UUP offers voters an opportunity to choose a candidate without partisan baggage.

“Electing all of these candidates will mean Utah voters will have a group that seeks practical solutions rather than pushing extreme ideological agendas,” Davis said. “They reflect the broad consensus of Utah voters who don’t feel at home with either of the two major parties.”

Richard Davis, United Utah Party chair (photo credit: Richard Davis/United Utah Party)

The UUP legislative agenda statement is as follows:

“We are State Legislature candidates from the United Utah Party.

“United Utah is a political party that aims to avoid partisanship and to find common sense and practical solutions to problems affecting our state. We don’t care about partisan fights, or proving which political side is right and which is wrong. We care about making Utah a better place to live.

“The following are the legislative priorities we will try to put into effect if Utah citizens elect us to the Legislature.

“These are not all of the issues we care about, and these are not the only things we would consider doing in order to address these problems. But they are a start.

“We will work with any member of the Legislature, from any party, to bring about practical solutions. And we are willing to compromise to create the necessary support for these measures.

“1 — We will propose legislation that would limit campaign contributions from corporations and special interest groups.

“2 — We will work to prevent gerrymandering, the practice of drawing political boundaries to favor any political party. We support Proposition 4, as passed by voters in 2018 and will work to restore the proposition’s original intent.

“3 — We will propose an amendment to the state constitution to institute term limits on state offices.

“4 — We will propose legislation that requires that all statewide general elections be done using ranked-choice voting.

“5 — If the proposed Constitutional Amendment G passes, we will propose legislation to ensure that education funding is sufficiently supported through other legislative mechanisms.

“6 — We will propose an independent audit of the money spent and the decisions made in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and use findings to install a plan for addressing future public health crises.

“7 — We will propose legislation that addresses the problems of homelessness and lack of affordable housing in our state.

“Signed:

Jeff Bardin

Adam Bean

Emily O’Hara Bergeson

Nils Bergeson

Ryan Boudwin

Monette Clark

Catherine Eslinger

Shawn Ferriola

Tanner Greenhalgh

Ammon Gruwell

Christine Heath

John Jackson

Dave Lundgren

Piper Manesse

Christopher Rawlins

Joseph Shelton

Austin Simcox

Kate Walters”