20110426 Utah County Officer candidates

I arrived a bit late to this meeting at the Wells Fargo Building in Provo, so I missed some of the other candidates opening statements. The closing statements were canceled to due to a lack of time. There were a number of people there, including Speaker Lockhart and Senator Bramble. It was a good chance to connect, but the format of the questions and answers (40 seconds for some questions) made it hard to really get to know the individuals.

Lisa Jensen (T) I have been a Republican my entire life. Since a very early age. I have acted in many offices. I am on 2 NPO boards. Tall Lisa Jensen and I ask for your vote for Treasurer.

Scott Bell running for Treasurer. I have a degree in accounting and am the Controller at a company that I started. I am running on the 9 for 5 team. I also ran for Alpine School Board this year. I am a new chair and have a lot of frustrations with what has been happening.
There is something that is lacking and that is vision and teamwork. On the team I see a vision and we are working towards a common goal. If you have a focus you will succeed. If you don’t have a focus you will have irrelevance. We need to be a beacon to the rest of the country.

Steve Reed running for Treasurer. It really means a lot that you would come out to meet us. There are a lot of new delegates here and older delegates.
I want to make a difference, that is why I am running for treasurer. I have worked in big business and now work in a small business. I have overseen people and was a store manager. I am now a CFO. I have the responsibility to work with people and bring people together. I pledge as an independent business man to work with whomever gets elected.
It is important that we express our opinions and move on. I have a tremendous experience with managing money. I appreciate your vote. stevereed4treasurer. blogspot.com.

Q? Would you support a proposal for open Republican primaries?
Steve Reed(T) – My first reaction is that if we have an open primary it allows our Democrats to vote.
Scott Bell(T) – I would say no.
Lisa Jensen(T) – I think limited to registered Republicans.
Kristen Chevrier(S) – Republicans
Jared Jardine(S) – I think it would be nice if we were open to unaffiliated. In our family when I grew up we voted Republican but we believed in the principles of some other parties. We can drive people away from the party by being closed.
Lisa Shepherd(VC) – We are Republican and should stick with the party. We should give unaffiliated a reason to be Republican.
Adrielle Herring(VC) – Parties that are in the minority are trying to get people involved so they open to all. In the case of majority they don’t have to be open.
Dave Duncan(C) – We have pretty open primaries and caucuses now. You can register as Republican there. I think we could increase the requirements to register to a week before even.
Kirby Glad(C) – I chuckled listening to Jared’s answer because I disagree entirely and it should be closed.
David Acheson(C) – Some have talked of eliminating caucus and I like it the way it is.

Q? Ideas for how to grow the party to reach out to the young and increase turnout?
Lisa Jensen(T) – This is a hot button for me since my sons lean to Democrat because it is hipper. We need to use more technology and younger voices to appeal to them.
Kristen Chevrier(S) – I have done a lot with my own kids and take them to mock trial and speech and debates and other functions. Some of them are interested and they are getting involved in their own way. I think we can educate parents better.
Jared Jardine(S) – The key is to pull together and move forward. In my precinct I tried to get literature out to every candidate. When my volunteers were doing good things they participated because I asked them.
Lisa Shepherd(VC) – I agree. I believe we are missing the boat with social media. I am interested in doing “I am Republican” campaign. We should promote our platform. I am currently working with the State party to help the TAR to grow.
Adrielle Herring(VC) – We need to have a branding campaign for our high schools. The young Radicals beat out the Young Republicans. We need to figure out how to get them involved. And we need to teach about conservative principles.
Dave Duncan(C) – I believe in the principles of the party. When you dig you will come to our conclusion of conservative. We need to return to our principles. We can bring back people who have drifted from the party.
Kirby Glad(C) – I can see better standing. We need to have clubs in the High Schools and include them in campaigns and activities. We have more on the website that is complete.
David Acheson(C) – We need to get TV and radio in our campaigns. We need fundraising. PR firm and conferences for our up and coming leaders. That is where they can learn and lead out.
Steve Reed(T) – Growing the party through leadership. People like competent leaders. I have a different personality. The most important is fair, honest and listening. We need to show that donations will be accepted at our meetings.
Scott Bell(T) – I don’t have original ideas. I am glad my associates have ideas. If we can work together and focus on a vision they will come.

Q? Number one challenge in Utah County as a party?
Jared Jardine(S) – We need to address Unity. When you look at us here they are setting aside time to make a difference. The things that unite us are in the platform. We should (?not?) question each others motives.
Lisa Shepherd(VC) – I think voter apathy is hurting us the most. That is why we didn’t win Philpot. We could have done it in Utah County. We need to give them a reason why they should participate.
Adrielle Herring(VC) – I agree that voter apathy is a problem. The root cause is that we are not getting along and focusing on what matters most. We get sidetracked. We should focus on a Get Out the Vote drive.
Dave Duncan(C) – I’m like a broken a record. We should empower the delegates and the platform. If we do that the rest will follow. The simple fact is that we have every position in the County and should clean our house.
Kirby Glad(C) – One of the differences is that I think we should focus out. Our record is 1.5 hours to adopt an agenda in our meetings. We have circular firing squads amongst ourselves. It is hard to reach out.
David Acheson(C) – We have delegate disconnect. People groan and are frustrated with these meetings. We want them to come and participate.
Steve Reed(T) – Taking a stand and standing by your stand. We have a platform that we have pledged to support. When we don’t do what we say we’ll do then they leave. We need to take a stand and stand by it.
Scott Bell(T) – I’d say the number one challenge is the focus. If we have a vision and focus the will of the people will prevail. We can provide vision for the rest of the county and country.
Lisa Jensen(T) – Even though we live in a conservative state and county, they have forgotten what it means. There is apathy and we need to connect at a very grassroots level and talk about being conservative.
Kristen Chevrier(S) – I think the biggest problem is multi-faceted . Better leadership, Roberts rules, integrity matters and lack of it causes apathy. More respect.

Q? HB 116?
Dave Duncan(C) – I believe in the platform and it is clear on this issue. I am in a quandary as an LDS. I haven’t received any personal direction as others have. The platform is clear on this. I do not believe we should be uncompassionate.
Kirby Glad(C) – I believe that we need an impartial chair. I think meetings go longer because there is perceived partiality. Once the central committee takes a stand I will help that.
David Acheson(C) – I don’t think chair is a legislator. We pay our legislators to duke these things out. I think we should facilitate the structure for conversations to happen.
Steve Reed(T) – I support the repeal of 116. I sense a tremendous need to reach out on this question. We don’t want to come across as the party that is racist or uncompassionate to our fellow man. We need to talk but go in a different direction.
Scott Bell(T) – I agree with Steve. I lean one way and then I listen to try to understand the other side. I am open minded to listen to others on this topic.
Lisa Jensen(T) – The system needs reform. A worker program is helping people pay taxes and participate. It does not bring citizenship. Our Utah National Delegation should bring something forward to solve this.
Kristen Chevrier(S) – Our current system is broken. We need to address the reality of the humans who are here. We should discourage others from coming. We should make it more easy to be legal.
Jared Jardine(S) – Immigration does not unite us. I supported Sandstrom and support those who passed this bill. I would like to hear more information about why they voted the way they did.
Lisa Shepherd(VC) – I believe it was last Thursday I was asked to vote in Central Committee. I didn’t hide behind a vote. I raised my hand to Repeal. We are not in our positions yet.
Adrielle Herring(VC) – It is no secret that I am not a fan of HB 116. I know there are others who disagree with me. It is not an up or down vote to repeal. We should have more information. We should have had more meetings.