Richard Watson
Candidate for: State Senate district 23

Political party: Democratic
Birth date: Nov. 5, 1955
Birthplace: Travis Air Force Base, CA
Current city of residence: Bountiful
Family members: 4
Current occupation: Space Analyst/Merchandiser (Assoc. Food Stores)
Education: Utah State University
Hobbies/Interests: Sports, coaching youth sports, traveling, fishing.

1. Using 150 to 200 words, please state your reasons for running for office. What compels you to take on this responsibility? 
   
   Several issues have motivated me to run for the legislature. However, without an open and honest government, we will continue to observe an indifferent legislature where issues like education and healthcare will never receive the proper amount of attention they deserve. In addition, nothing is more irritating than to hear the excuses of lawmakers as to why they believe accepting gifts from lobbyists is okay. Or to hear the rationalization of why any conflict-of-interest questions should not be raised and we should just accept the fact that lawmakers know better than we do. Or to hear there was no time to debate and vote on any ethics reform legislation.  In this election year, most candidates will be running on similar issues, like education and taxes, but few candidates will address the need to fix our government by creating a transparent atmosphere for everyone to see. And I would like to be the watchdog and the thorn in the side of the secretive legislature. In addition, I want to remind the people of Utah that lawmakers are employees of the citizens of Utah and the citizens are the employers.
    
2. What do you consider to be the top three issues currently facing Utah? Please list them in order of priority to you (with #1 the most important) and explain why they are important to you and to Utah.
   
   Public Education: Funding for Public Education has to happen if we want any type of economic development to take place, especially in Davis County. And Public Education is more than an investment in our future; it is our hedge in creating socially, responsible citizens. Even though Utah is at the bottom nationally in funding our schools, we often hear that our schools are doing well with what we have. Instead of “doing well”, we should be “doing great”.
   Taxes: By mentioning the word taxes, everyone instantly has an opinion to express. With good reason, taxes affect everyone. But how do we balance the revenue for necessary services to protect us versus the services we would like to have to improve the quality of life in our city? Every election year we hear candidates addressing taxes, yet the predictable outcome after the elections often yields more complaints from voters. What's more, having our state legislators be dictators on how our local governments tax their residents is wrong. Our local residents should decide if our taxes should be raised or cut. After all, residents are closer to local problems than our legislators are. In addition, if our locally elected leaders are not connected with their constituents, then the voters should elect others who will listen. In other words, government is for the people, not for our state lawmakers.
   Economic Development/Transportation: For growth to continue in Utah and for economic development to make sense, we have to tackle the problems of transportation. Instead of reactionary planning we have had from our state lawmakers, we should be implementing goals that meet our objectives of long term planning. Two years ago, Envision Utah reported that our state is headed for a transportation crisis. As resources become more scarce and government funding is shrinking, we can no longer depend on the “building highways as needed” approach. Nor can we afford to point fingers for past mistakes.
    
3. What do you plan to do to address your top three issues?
   
   1-Education: Every candidate uses education as a campaign catchphrase and the message soon becomes lost with each repetitive, sound-byte message. But we need to reach beyond the sound-bytes and provide the best education for the future of Utah children. Moving forward in improving Utah’s public education, we have to follow the steps of educators and parents who want to maximize the education of our children. We should start with a cooperative channel of communication between the school and the home, which will result in providing the best public education possible. In addition, smaller classrooms with well-trained teachers will give more focus on individual students. And with more local control, schools will be able to adapt more to education reforms and curriculum changes. Our public schools should also be open to any educational options with equal access for all students. As a result of creating better public schools, we can move forward with greater accountability and provide the transparency necessary for funding. Furthermore, I will stand against private school vouchers and remind our legislative leadership not to drain our public school funding by bringing back the voucher issue.
   
   2-Taxes:  This is where voters have a say in our government. City and county governments in the past few years have had their revenue adjusted and minimized from state legislation. As a result, our “big brother” state government continues to hover over our local communities. Of course, we need to put some taxes in check, like our high property taxes. But as citizens, we should push our leaders to be more connected with the community. In other words, citizens and government working together is a government that works. By such involvement, we can move forward with a more open government in our communities.
   We should also demand state government to work with local governments in creating budgeting guidelines with revenue enhancements. And we can do all of this without raising taxes. In the past dozen years, one of the problems we have seen from our state government is the shifting of tax burdens to the working, middle-class families.
   And over the years, candidates continue to make promises they can never fulfill. Another problem we have is the complacency of accepting a one-sided government with few discussions, few debates, no dissenting votes and no accountability. This year, instead of voting for a divisive, secret and manipulative type of government, voters should know that I am on their side. As a state senator, I will be in a position of objectivity and I do not have to abide by legislative leadership. Moving forward with responsible budgeting will help keep our taxes down.
   
   3-Economic Development:   Another popular campaign topic among candidates is economic development. But what does economic development really mean? And how much can a state senator provide for economic development? In reality, economic development is actually the total of a big puzzle. Too often we plan for growth after bringing new businesses. To attract businesses to our state and county, we have to have in place well managed public schools with the resources necessary for our children to excel. In turn, businesses will be more attracted to our state because of our public schools. In addition, we need long term planning for transportation needs, proper water management, safe neighborhoods, and local governments accountable for their actions. 
     
4. What are your most important accomplishments that would make you the most qualified candidate for office?
   
   As Chair of the Davis County Democratic Party, I helped encourage our party members to contribute to the local food banks at least once a month. As a result, our donations have helped several families over the past few years. Also, being involved in the local schools has helped me understand the needs of individual students, teachers and families. As a member of three different Community Councils and as a volunteer for the PTA, I have observed that every school has different needs. And, I have learned that the concerns from parents and teachers are from real people with real qualms about the unresponsiveness from most of our elected leaders. But, my biggest accomplishments have come from coaching little league baseball and Jr. Jazz basketball. By teaching them the basics along with patience, it is rewarding to see these young men grow in a sport they enjoy.
    
5. What skills, talents, and strengths do you have that enhance your ability to be an effective office holder?
   
   Because of my involvement in the public schools, I have learned to understand the complex budgeting of public schools. Each district has their challenges and each district receives their revenue from several different places. Also, for the past three years I have been a columnist for the Davis County Clipper. The column was a Democratic viewpoint on a question from the editor which contrasted the GOP viewpoint. As a result, I have become better informed about the issues in our state and county. Furthermore, I have been a supporter of Dr. Ward’s curbside recycling drive in Bountiful. And, I have given volunteer time, as well as donate, to the Bountiful Community Food Pantry. Simply put, I have involved myself in the community on various functions, thus I have a better understanding of the people who live in South Davis.
   Having been in politics for the past several years as a leader in the Democratic Party, I have also learned the good side and bad side of politics. For that reason, I have had the attitude I can be the watchdog to keep our government open for everyone.
    
6. Why do you belong to your political party? 
   
   Principles. As stated above, our donations to the local food banks is an example of how the people in our party do more than talk about helping people. Our examples show that we care about people and we care about our communities. We would love to dispel all the myths and stereotypes of our party, but we know that by example, we must live our lives by helping others. The Democratic Party believes in opportunity, not handouts. Also, our principles of open government are real and we are constantly challenging the other party to govern more openly. Furthermore, the Democratic Party believes that public education is the most important investment we can make as a society for the future of our state, counties and cities.