Affordable housing and a path to homeownership are the foundations of the American Dream. Housing insecurity has created a domino effect of other problems including our substance use disorder epidemic and lack of civic engagement. It exacerbates poverty and discourages people from starting families and being integrated members of their communities.
Increasing homeownership and walkability in our towns will generate safer, richer, more healthy and beautiful neighborhoods for everyone.

• Relax zoning regulations and building codes that prohibit smaller, more affordable homes.
• Cooperate with developers and municipalities to encourage more walkable, community-oriented development.
• Protect the supply of detached single family homes from foreign and corporate investors.
• Advocate for fair rent control measures to protect tenants from excessive increases.

It’s imperative that we attract new businesses and a wider variety of job opportunities to rural Utah to become more economically resilient. With Artificial Intelligence set to further disrupt our economy, we must anticipate change and be prepared to adapt.

We should upgrade our coal-fired power plants by implementing carbon capture/sequestration in order to maintain the supply of affordable, reliable energy, good jobs and an industrial tax base.  At the same time, we can look ahead to the long-term future and be making investments in small-scale nuclear that will allow us to transition to a more powerful, clean, inexpensive and inexhaustible supply of energy. 

Mines and railroads built this country and in rural Utah we’re unapologetically proud of that fact.  But it was a diverse collection of hard-working immigrants that gave their lives to lay the tracks and dig the mines.  Our greatest asset as a community has always been and continues to be our human capital and industriousness; our pioneering spirit, resiliency and adaptability. 

Utah’s open-source, creative culture is attractive to young entrepreneurs, artists and remote tech workers.  We would be wise to attract additional talent, to promote and grow our art and film industries, while also continuing to develop our public lands for enhanced outdoor recreation opportunities and increased tourism revenues.

• Create more favorable conditions to attract new industry and grow small businesses.
• Regulate AI tech and tax AI-based businesses to develop contingency plans and manage the resulting economic fallout.
• Develop co-working spaces and incubators to enhance a culture of collaboration and innovation.
• Offer incentives to recruit remote tech workers and young entrepreneurs to move to rural places.

The substance use disorder epidemic has claimed many lives within our community and continues to be a major challenge. We need to address some of the root causes of SUD, namely housing insecurity, poverty, and a cultural crisis of disconnection, while also providing resources and support for prevention, treatment and recovery at every stage.

Pharmaceutical companies should be held responsible for unnecessarily pushing addictive opiates on patients, and these medicines should be administered with better medical oversight when necessary.

• Bring awareness and attention to the source of the SUD epidemic to help solve underlying issues.
• Advocate for harm reduction strategies and support organizations involved in treatment and recovery.
• Expand pathways for reintegration with society to those in recovery who are rebuilding their lives.
• Design better, more resilient and functional communities that prioritize people and public health.