kl-20040720-questions from the league of women voters

Subject: Questions from the League of Women Voters Issue: General Date: July 20, 2004 Author: Ken Larsen ****************** League of Women Voters wrote: League of Women Voters of Utah 3804 Highland Drive, Suite 8-D Salt Lake City, UT 84106 (801) 272-8683 lwvut@xmission.com fax (801)272-5942 www.lwvutah.org July 19, 2004 Dear Mr. Larsen, Congratulations on your candidacy! Busy voters tell us they appreciate having easy access to information about candidates. Therefore, the League of Women Voters of Utah is collecting information for our Voter Guide for the 2004 Election. This information will be included in our Voter Guide on the League website (www.lwvutah.org). Our site will link to the sites of our VoteUtah coalition partners including KUED (www.VoteUtah.org) and the national League of Women Voters Democracy Net site (www.congress.org). Links to libraries and other public and private websites are planned. The website will be promoted by use of flyers, PSAs, and news releases and through participation in KUED Channel 7 debates. In addition, we will publish the Voter Guide for distribution to libraries and other public gathering places, and we will contact local newspapers about including 2004 Voter guide material in one of their editions. In order to join our effort, would you: ... · Limit your responses to each question to between 50 and 75 words. We must edit longer answers. ... The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization. Our goal is to inform citizens about candidates and their positions on the issues of interest to voters. We hope that we can serve and educate the public by providing this Voter Guide, while giving you a chance to express your thoughts and objectives. We look forward to working with you. Sincerely, The Voter Guide Committee Sharon Walkington, Joyce Barnes, and Nancy Wingelaar ****************** QUESTIONS FOR CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR 1. GOALS: As governor, what two major goals do you believe you can achieve on behalf of the people of Utah? What I can achieve will depend on the people of Utah. I hope to restore freedom for every individual Utahn to choose their own pursuit of happiness, including maximizing the right to choose how to spend your time, your money, your life and your honor. My second objective will be to get the Federal Government out of Utah's sovereignty. I would like to restore the Bill of Rights, including the Tenth Amendment. ----- 2. ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE: What should the government of the State of Utah do to ensure that every Utahn has access to affordable health care? Get out of the way and let private enterprise do it's thing. ----- 3. EDUCATION AND FUNDING: Two federal laws, No Child Left Behind and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, require states to meet new educational standards for students in public schools. However, funding is inadequate. How do you propose to remedy this disparity? The Constitution does not authorize the Federal Government to control or finance education in Utah. The school trust lands should be better managed. There are several ways to improve financing of education. Most of them will work better in a private system. I would encourage private competition to improve techniques and relieve the overloaded public education system. I will oppose any tax increase. ------- 4. NUCLEAR AND HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT: What steps will you take to manage nuclear and hazardous waste stored in Utah in ways that protect the health, safety, environment and economy of Utah and its residents? I will insist that honest analysis demonstrate that the risk to Utahns is not greater than an additional freeway or a new manufacturing plant. I would certainly insist that they demonstrate that the waste disposal will be less dangerous than MagCor. I have worked with radioactive isotopes and I know it can be done without unreasonable risk. If the risk is unreasonable, so is the proposal. ------- 5. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: What specific policies would you promote to balance stewardship over limited natural resources--including clean air and water, open space and wilderness--with the need for jobs for a growing population? Number one is to restore to Utah the lands now held by the Federal Government in violation of the Constitution. Those who wish to lease these lands for grazing, mining, timber and recreation should be required to pay a fair price while respecting watersheds and wilderness. I think Utah's number one potential resource is tourism and we have not even begun to tap that giant treasure chest. ------- 6. TAX POLICY: What changes in Utah's tax system do you support that would make it fairer to all taxpayers yet provide adequate revenue for state government services? Reduced taxes would probably stimulate the economy and produce more total tax revenue. Then, we can continue lowering taxes until everyone wants to live and run their business in Utah. We keep talking about making taxes fair, but there is no such thing as a fair tax. As long as spending is high, it will harm the economy, no matter how the money is extracted. The simple answer to your question is to cut spending. ------- CONTACT AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION Name: Ken Larsen Political Party: Personal Choice Address: 856 East 100 South #2, SLC, UT 84102 Campaign Phone: 801-533-8658 Email kencan@personalchoice.org or kencan@xmission.com Web address: http://www.personalchoice.org ( -- or -- http://kencan.personalchoice.org ) Fax: Call to arrange Occupation: Candidate. Was Adjunct Research Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Utah Education: Ph.D. in Zoology from BYU in 1974 Prior Community Experience/Elective Offices Held: Working with, building and running on several alternative political parties in Utah, culminating in the Personal Choice Party ******************** Thank you for your participation!