OCR Text |
Show Page 22 THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume III, Issue I November 1, 2000 Governor Leavitt Visits Ogden Valley Governor Leavitt was on the campaign trail Saturday, October 16, visiting Weber and Morgan Counties with a host of other Republican candidates that will be on the ballot next week, vying for an opportunity to represent their county or district in local and state positions. The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS was invited to spend the afternoon touring with the governor in his campaign motor coach as he visited with local residents, and customers at the Valley Market in Eden. The following is a transcript of an interview Shanna Francis, editor of the OGDEN VALLEY NEWS, had with the governor while touring with him in the Valley on October 16. ---------------Four years ago, as part of a growth summit, you promised that farmland would be preserved, along with wetlands, as part of future Legacy Highway plans. Considering that it takes two acres of upland for every acre of wetland, in order for wetlands to remain healthy and viable, how is the state moving to ensure that upland farmlands are also protected in conjunction with sensitive wetland areas? “I’ll just make two points. The first is; part of the benefit, in my assessment of Legacy parkway is that, at least on the lower portions of it, it forms a western barrier to development. Much of the land to be protected is valuable upland land that will ultimately be developed if we don’t create that barrier. Hence, then not only the upland will be developed, but the wetlands will be lost. So, I see the Legacy Highway as being valuable for two purposes—the wetland preservation that it creates, as well as the transportation benefit. Now, when you get into the northern part, you start talking about Legacy through Weber County—western Weber County. It appears to me to be at least twenty years off. The longer I focus on this, the more evident it is to me that the higher priority for transportation in Weber County needs to be I-15 renovation and expansion. I assume that at some point in time, there will be a desire for the Legacy Highway to extend through the western part of Weber County, and I think they ought to find a way that balances, just like you have in the southern part of Davis County, the wetlands against the transportation need. I think you need to do the same thing in that corridor. But it is a lower priority to me, than the I-15 extension through Weber County.” What about the idea I have heard of making the Legacy Highway more of an express route with minimum on and off ramps? “Yes, that’s what it will be. It will be designed to have fewer exits and fewer delays. Our hope is that we will be able to divert a lot of the interstate traffic, a lot of the trucks that won’t need to be on I-15 with frequent stops or exits.” In our last issue of the Ogden Valley News a reader wrote in about the struggle of farmers to remain in the business, due to the current economics of farming balanced against high land values. According to many, the current plight of the farmer is a national tragedy. Consequently, many farmers along the Wasatch Front are selling their farmlands to developers at the same has dramatically improved. The pie has expanded. The idea has not been to keep it as a matter of a constant percentage. Our goal has been to increase the pie, and we’ve been able to expand the economy dramatically, and so 85% additional investment with 4 ½ percent more students is the result. Now, how is it that we’re able to do that, and reduce taxes? Well, we’ve been able to do it because our economy has been so strong that we’ve been able to grow the pie. And so a smaller percentage of a much larger pie is still substantially more.” With increased fundGovernor Leavitt visits with the crowd. ing going towards educatime our burgeoning population is tion, how will other departments in crying out for preservation of open the state be affected by the shifting of spaces. Could you tell our reader- the budget? As an example: As the ship something about what the state population continues to grow rapidly is doing regarding this issue, such as within the state, stresses on our natuprograms that compensate farmers ral resources continue to mount. In light of concerns with quality of life for development easements? issues, how do you respond to con“The primary focus of the state’s cerns about relatively low funding effort would be through the Quality for such departments as the Utah Growth Commission. Our primary Department of Agriculture, which focus is through the Quality Growth works with locally elected conservaAct of 1999, which created the Quality tion boards that have a mandate Growth Commission. It will provide a from the state to identify and carry limited amount of money, right now, to out conservation programs in Utah? local communities who are interested “Well, I would say that might be one in planning and preservation on their own. The Commission can also con- of the most defining differences tribute to projects that are undertaken between my opponent and me. He has by communities and local conservation indicated that education should be groups. We have, so far in the first funded before anything else, and then year, been able to preserve almost he would get down to funding other 10,000 acres—much of it farmland. In agencies. The problem with that is that each case, the state has not been the there are lots of legitimate needs. We instigator of those projects but we’ve have children that are abused and negbeen a participant and/or provided lected. It doesn’t do any good to send technical assistance to complete them to a school if we’re not caring for them. We have roads that have to be them.” built. It doesn’t do us a lot of good to Education has been a big issue in have schools if we haven’t got roads this election. Democratic chal- that safely take them there. We have lengers in many races are accusing prisons that have to be built and mainRepublicans of not being serious tained. Again, if schools are not safe when it comes to providing quality places, then it’s not a good environeducation in the state. I’ve heard ment, so we have been able to expand Orton quote statistics that indicate the economy dramatically. Our state in that the state, while thriving econom- 1990, just before I took office, was 29th ically, is allotting, percentage wise, in household income. We are now much less funding toward education eighth. We’ve grown 275,000 new jobs than it has in the past. How would in the state during the time I’ve been serving, and they’re not just jobs— you respond to this accusation? they’re better jobs. Our incomes are increasing favorably against inflation. We’re moving into high technology. We’ve gone through a period where we’ve been able to save Hill Field, but the percentage of our total jobs that are dependant upon national defense is now smaller than the technology sector. By any measure, the formula we have is working. Leavitt’s Campaign Motorcoach heads over the North We’re growing our econoOgden Divide, bringing the Governor to the Ogden Valley. my, we’re investing record amounts in education, we’re building roads, we’re caring for “Well in terms of the dollars that the truly needy, and we’ve been able to we’ve allocated, we’ve spent 85% more reduce taxes. Now they call Utah the money in the last eight years—we’re best managed state in America. And I appropriating 85% more money, and feel, in part, it is because we’ve adoptwe only have 4 ½ % more students. So, ed this philosophy: We pay our debts; the level of expenditure we’re making we pay as much as we can with cash, and not debt; we look ahead, and we plan. This is a remarkably prosperous time, and I feel confident that we have invested it well, and we’ve given some of it back. Taxpayers ought to be part of the beneficiary when times are good.” I’ve noticed that there has been a large push within the state to repeal controversial House Bill 320 (HB 320). Many are calling for a special session of the legislature to be called in order to repeal the bill. Would you share your perspective on this, and explain to our readers why you allowed the bill to become law without your signature. “I felt it was a critical discussion to have. Before I was governor, I participated as a member of the Utah Insurance Recodification Commission. We spent four years writing a bill that was 760 pages long. We then passed the bill without a single amendment, and without a single dissenting vote because it had a deferred inception date a year and a half later, giving the legislature time to put some changes in place, and then correct the pieces that Representative Joe Murray and Govenor Leavitt take a moment on the North Ogden Divide to enjoy the view. needed to be corrected. On hard issues, that is what you have to do. Nothing changes with HB 320 until July of 2001, and they have now met. They’ve made a decision that they’re going to have an independent consumer panel. I’ve actually appointed the panel. The legislature will act in January. If they don’t, I’m prepared to call a special session of the legislature then. There’s no reason to call one now, in that they’re going to be meeting in three months, and nothing changes until the following July.” In summary, if a resident of Ogden Valley were to ask why they should cast their vote for you in November, how would you respond? “I would point to the fact that the state is moving in a very positive direction. Our economy is good, our education system is improving, our air is cleaner, our water is cleaner, we’re building roads, and we’ve cut welfare in half. It’s a very positive direction and I would say, if they like the momentum—the direction of the state—I would appreciate their support. If they don’t feel good about the direction we’re going, then this is the time in which they should express that. But I think that, overall, people feel good about the direction, and I’m very anxious to continue my service.” |