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Subject:
Questions from The Utah Freedom Activist Newsletter
Issue: General
Date: July 27, 2004
Author: Ken Larsen
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Dear Candidate,
As a candidate for office in Utah, our readers are interested in your
viewpoint on several topics. We have narrowed these topics of interest
down to four and would enjoy hearing your input on them.
The Utah Freedom Activist Newsletter (UFA) (http://www.UtahFreedomActivist.com)
is a bi-weekly publication, published both online and in print, focusing on
conservative and constitutionally-minded topics of interest to Utahns.
The following questions should be answered in essay format, with each
answer being as long or as short as you wish. Your answers will not be
edited or commented upon by the UFA. Please keep your total response
to 700 words or less for space considerations. Answers from all
candidates for each office who respond will be printed, along with their
competitor's answers, in a single issue for consideration by our readers.
If you would like to receive a complimentary copy of our newsletter, via
email or print, please indicate so with your response and include the proper
contact information.
Thank you and good luck in your race!
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Questions:
1. Many recent abuses, most notably involving
the Salt Lake County Mayor's Office, have been in the news highlighting the
apparent lack of oversight and misuse of publicly-owned funds and property.
How would you, in your capacity in public office, combat these kinds of
abuses?
Answer:
Let me briefly state that I do not speak for the
Personal Choice Party and the
following answers are mine and mine only.
Article VII, Section 5, paragraph (1) of the Utah State Constitution
says:
"The executive power of the State shall be vested in the Governor who shall
see that the laws are faithfully executed." As Governor, I will be
responsible for overseeing all state executive officers, including elected
officials at the city and county levels. It will be my duty to
initiate impeachment proceedings if, in my opinion, any executive officer
may have committed a high crime, a serious misdemeanor or malfeasance in
office." Judgment in such cases shall extend only to removal from office and
disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit in the State,"
(Article VI, Section 19). I will ask every State officer who has taken
an oath to support and defend the Constitution to report such violations to
the Lieutenant Governor's office. I will ask my Lieutenant Governor,
Talea Shadowind, to see that
oaths of office are properly taken, signed, filed and obeyed. I will
ask my Lieutenant Governor to establish a Commission to receive citizen
complaints and determine if judicial action is warranted when government
officers are accused of violating their oath of office.
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2. In 2003, several protests and events were
conducted regarding apparent abuses by the Division of Child and Family
Services (DCFS). How will you, as an elected official, view family and
parental rights and how would you work towards those ends?
Answer:
Article I, Section 7 of the Utah Constitution says, "No person shall
be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law."
I do not see how the right of parents to their children is not included in
that mandate. Unless the child is under clear and immediate danger, we
must respect the right of the parents to "due process" including all the
protections of the Bill of Rights, such as, counsel, witnesses, a speedy,
public jury trial and a conviction of a crime in a court of law, before
denying them their children. In cases of extreme and immediate danger
to a child, I would expect the DCFS to remove a child and then insist that
the DCFS obtain a court order within 2 days or return the child to its
rightful parents. I believe all parents have full legal rights to be
heard before a court with all the rights of any accused person. Any
law to the contrary would be unconstitutional and it would be my duty, as
Executive Officer of the State, to ignore it.
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3. For several years now, both locally and
nationally, "hate crimes" bills have been introduced into our legislatures,
city and county councils, etc. What is your view of these types of
legislation and would you actively support any such legislation as an
elected official?
Answer:
A crime consists of two essential elements: the intent to cause harm,
and the actual commission of harm. I very strongly oppose adding the
statements and/or philosophies of the perpetrator to the crime.
Increasing the penalty because of the beliefs of the perpetrator will only
create "privileged" victim groups and prolong the healing process so
essential if our society is to learn tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Hate must not be made a criminal act. If we are not free to hate, our
love is not genuine. Please, let's not create any legal pressure to
say we like each other.
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4. It is well-established that Utah is one of
the highest-taxed states in the Union and that our costs of living continue
to rise while wages and salaries rarely keep up. Do you support
cutting taxes, fees, etc. and if so, how would you accomplish this as an
elected official?
Answer:
I have already given my solemn promise that I will actively oppose
and veto any bill that will raise taxes in Utah. As our economy grows,
the percentage taken by government should constantly decrease, due to
economy of size. For example, a school should be able to teach 20
students for much less than twice the cost of teaching 10. I will
actively work with the Legislature to eliminate unnecessary expenses.
I will work to encourage private enterprise, especially in education.
I will seek to reduce government spending, so that tax relief naturally
follows. I will insist that the Federal Government release the lands
within our borders it has no constitutional authority to control. We
have a vast treasure of untapped resources in those lands. I would
seek to develop those resources in ways that could generate considerable
wealth without destroying our watersheds and wilderness lands.
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Thank you.
Ken Larsen, Candidate for
Governor
Personal Choice Party of Utah
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