Engelman seeks to represent the unrepresented, favors severance tax, nondiscrimination law

ST. GEORGE – Democratic candidate Dorothy Engelman is running for Utah House District 74 and seeks to give voice to those in the district who feel disenfranchised and unrepresented. She also hopes to bring diversity of opinion and makeup to the Legislature.

House District 74 consists of Bloomington, Bloomington Hills, Dixie Downs, Entrada, Ivins, Santa Clara, the Shizwits Reservation, and SunRiver, and is presently represented by incumbent Republican Rep. V. Lowry Snow.

Representing the people

“More than 50 percent of the district is made up of people who have lived here less than 15 years,” Engelman said, adding that with those move-ins comes a different perspective that may not be adequately represented. “A representative represents those people in his or her district, and not necessarily what they perceive the thoughts of the people to be.”

If elected to office, Engelman said she hopes to help change the seemingly one-sided way the Legislature does things.

“Anyone who knows me knows I can be a squeaky wheel,” she said. “We need squeaky wheels and that’s what I want to be in the Legislature.”

Engelman moved to Southern Utah five years ago and has since made a name for herself in Southern Utah politics as the former chair of the Washington County Democratic Party. She has made her opinion known on a variety of subjects as well, not the least of which are the ever-present and often belabored issues of public lands and the Lake Powell Pipeline.

Public lands, public education funding, and the Lake Powell Pipeline

On the issue of public lands, Engelman said, she feels the state’s attempting to force the federal government to transfer management of lands to the state “shows a lack of judgment by the current Legislature.”

There likely are public lands that can be negotiated over, she said, but even if those are transferred over to state management through a compromise, how those lands would be used is still a concern.

On the related subject of using the state’s land assets to fund education, Engelman said, she has looked into ways to achieve better funding and she favors applying a severance tax on coal mined in the state.

A severance tax is a state tax applied to companies extracting nonrenewable resources from below the earth. Utah has a severance tax that currently applies to gas and oil only.

“Not that money is a panacea, but we need to provide adequate, sustainable funding for our schools,” she said.

Engelman is a former educator herself, and said she is proud to be endorsed by the Washington County Education Association.

As for Engelman’s stand on the Lake Powell Pipeline? “It’s still ‘no,’” she said.

Overall, she continues to support the need for an enforceable water conservation plan, as well as people paying the actual price of the water they use over the cost being subsidized by property taxes.

Nondiscrimination bill

Will Engelman support a renewed effort by Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, to pass a nondiscrimination bill related to housing and employment for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community? “Definitely,” she said.

“I commend Sen. Urquhart for bringing that bill,” Engelman said, noting it’s likely been to the senator’s detriment in some ways.

It’s a disservice to our citizens to not broaden our definition of discrimination,” she said, “and make it so all citizens in the state of Utah have the same rights.”

Voters who would like to meet Engelman in person can do so on Tuesday at Perks! Espresso & Smoothies at 1515 W. Sunset Blvd. at 6 p.m.

For more information on Engelman and where she stands on the issues, visit her website.

Ed. note: It was originally written that Engelman moved to the area 15 years ago. This was incorrect and has been corrected in the body of the text.

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23 Comments

  • lee October 19, 2014 at 1:24 pm

    You forgot to add in your story that this is the same Dorothy Engelman who set up / hosted a celebration party to cheer the 40th anniversary of the ‘right’ to kill an unborn baby. History will look back on people like this and wonder how a ‘good’ society could have tolerated her. I hope our community will not try to ‘gloss over’ what this woman believes in – and celebrates, or put her in a position of being able to speak for us.

    • Twilightzone October 20, 2014 at 9:07 am

      I own a business . I define squeaky wheels as those that are so selfish that they feel entitled to be put in line ahead of others. They want a cheaper price than others and are the first to complain .
      When you are stuck in traffic. this is the person that passes everybody in the emergency lane.

  • Burton October 19, 2014 at 2:42 pm

    Energy companies are the enemy! Tax them to death. Moral Christian values are all wrong! The federal government is always the answer. Go Dems, rah, rah, rah!!!!!! I can’t wait till they pass legislation to force us all to be vegetarians, cause carnivores are evil too!

  • You Know It Is True October 19, 2014 at 3:00 pm

    A squeaky wheel that is a new comer to the area, has come to “rescue” us from the “error” of our ways. Wants to raise taxes, give preferences to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Anti gun.
    Just another tax and spend democrat, with more interest in herself than in anything else. Should we be stupid enough to elect this woman, we will get exactly what we deserve!

    • Inski October 19, 2014 at 8:02 pm

      You’ve already shown your stupidity by allowing the big business masquerading as a church run this state. Maybe just maybe Dorothy could help your grandchildren pull off the blindfold so they don’t continue the stupidity!

    • Simone October 20, 2014 at 12:19 am

      Versus what? Another spend first, spend again, spend some more then when nothing is left but debt start another war Republican?

    • Dana October 20, 2014 at 10:14 am

      @ YOU KNOW IT IS TRUE….who exactly wants to give preference to the GLBT community? Don’t confuse preference with equality. I know the concept may be difficult for you to grasp, especially if you are the product of the Utah school system.

  • Maggie October 19, 2014 at 6:48 pm

    Mmmmmm,those of us here less than 15 years are not represented? Seriously? I got out and started to learn about and work in the community and I feel represented. All is not perfect but it is sooooooo much better than the Democratic controlled areas that I previously lived in.

    Utah should NOT request their lands back? Wonder why (again) the Democratic controlled states in the east got their lands back. Now most of us are not talking about our state and national parks,but the rest of our land that cound be used for ranching and developing and to earn taxes for schools and other needs by Utah citizens. Or perhaps just to care for more effectively by people who live around the land. I do not know Dorothy most of us who came here in the last 15 years escaped from “Democratic utopias”,that are ineffective and high priced and are not wanting to be represented by unrealistic utopians again.
    Now the water problems in the west…….may agree with you on some of these things. Like it or not we should not grow beyond our ability to produce affordable clean water supplies, but if there was ever anything we should help subsidize those who need help it is water. Not phones but water. It really is a life sustaining need unlike a phone or marijuana or prepared foods ,etc that working people subsidize now for lower income citizens and non citizens.
    The LGBT community should not be treated any differently than anyone else for sure,not any better not any worse. Standing on soap boxes re LGBT causes is wearing a bit thin even for those in the LGBT community who have common sense. Many of you have called attention to those on the wilder side as examples to the rest of us and it is not helping anyone including the politicians. Think about that a bit . I think sensible folks are waking up on all sides and are offended at politicians trying to use us against each other. Find a real issue to pursue like how Utah can reduce it’s need for so much federal monies. Or how to improve our schools. We are a right to work state so unions are a small part of our problem in our schools but money is a problem and solutions need to be found. The education problems are nationwide and the interference by the feds in education is not helpful. How,by the way, are you going to use the taxes from coal mining when the POTUS is supporting the EPA closure of coal mines?

    • Bender October 20, 2014 at 3:45 pm

      “Wonder why (again) the Democratic controlled states in the east got their lands back.”
      .
      MAGGIE lacks a basic grasp of land settlement history in the U.S.

  • anon October 19, 2014 at 7:16 pm

    At least she isn’t strutting around trying to shove that stupid pipe down everyone’s throat like the good ol’ boy morman politicians, who are only in it for the $$$. Keep watching your fox news and keep being uninformed.

    • Twilightzone October 20, 2014 at 11:26 am

      It’s your own party that believes we are drying up. So you take the pipeline of the table because you don’t trust government ? The alternative to Fox News is MSNBC with Al Sharpton keeps your brain sharp, ha ?

  • kat October 19, 2014 at 7:26 pm

    They move here for what we have to offer and then immediately want to change it… I for one will never understand it….

    • Twilightzone October 20, 2014 at 10:24 am

      Ms Engelman is known everyone that knows her as a squeaky wheel or a spoiled child…… Quite frankly, I’ve always hated the squeaky wheel expression. It feeds into the whole “I’m going to kick and scream until I get my way” mentality, which shouldn’t be rewarded for children OR for adults.
      Does that help you understand.

  • DAVE RABBITT October 19, 2014 at 8:28 pm

    If more than 50% of the district is made up of people who have lived here for less than 15 years, perhaps that is exactly why all we ever seem to read about are robberies, domestic Violence and drugs, just to name a few.

    Those who live here now and complain about the legalization of marijuana, the legalization of same-sex marriages and only being able to purchase liquor in a State-run store – are exactly the type of diversity that we don’t need (and certainly do not want) in this area.

    St. George, Utah use to be a nice, quiet little town. And as much as I often express disdain over the attitudes of the members of the LDS Church, at the very least will applaud them, for wanting to striving to live by above-average moral standards.

    Why vote for someone who has lived out here for “only” 15 years, rather than someone who was born in Utah, over 64 years ago?

    She was quoted in another article as stating:

    “Oftentimes, the voices that we hear from Southern Utah are voices who have been here a long time. When you look at the population, especially in my district, more than 50 percent of those have lived here 15 years or less. They are not folks who were born here with the red sand beneath their toes; they are people who chose to come here for a reason. They like what they saw and want to make things better”.

    These people DID come here for a reason and that reason was that it has beautiful scenery , low crime, and little traffic. People who want to make things “better” are those who move here and want a liquor store on every corner, adult magazines in every Maverick and all LDS temples, with every corresponding curch, to openly accept the LGBT way of life.

    You know exactly how these people can make things better? Go back to where you came from, focus on making THAT area better.

    If you’re a Republican male and hope that Snow wins over Engleman, you better make sure you vote – ‘Cause there will be a huge turnout for her, simply because she’s playing the “minority female / same-sex / justice-for-all” blues on her saxophone, for the Ellen DeGeneres show. (Bill Clinton analogy, for those of you too young to know any better).

    She wants to tax the companies who mine coal and claim that the revenue will go towards school? Ha! – More likely it’ll go to putting a Planned Parenthood on every corner, building more apartment complexes to house even more “out-of-towners who seek to change things” and maybe a couple-a-dozen more roundabouts in places where they’ll likely cause twice as many accidents.

    The only thing she says that makes any sense, is “NO” to the Lake Powell pipeline. It’s already cost us almost 25 million dollars, just for “studies” and we simply cannot afford the almost 2-1/2 BILLION dollars it may take, to actually build it.

    If we didn’t have such a tremendous growth spurt over the last 15 years, then perhaps we wouldn’t have the need for the Lake Powell Pipeline. – Must be all these “newbies” out here, washing that red sand outta their toes?

  • Maggie October 20, 2014 at 7:32 am

    Nicely put Mr Rabbit! I am a newbie,non LDS and love it here. Look around you at what these “evil” people have built and preserved that all of us are enjoying now! Let’s elect somebody who can make us as common as all the other cities that are in debt,many close to bankruptcy,dirty and poorly run. Good grief ,those 50 % who took all the time and money to move here cannot all be that dumb. I hope!

  • Twilightzone October 20, 2014 at 8:19 am

    Engelman preaching Hope and change for southern Utah.we have already heard that from Hussain Obama , How is that working for you folks?

  • Twilightzone October 20, 2014 at 8:53 am

    Has Engelman not heard about the lose of jobs and poverty that Hussain Obamas war on coal mines and coal fired power plants have caused back east . Engelman wants to put more burden on this industry with more taxes , don’t she think they have had enough already?
    I’m sick and tired of gay rights. politicians think that all they have to do is say they are for gays and they win a large portion of the voting public. I would be ashamed to think that I belonged to a group that is so narrow minded and self serving as to vote for that issue only.

  • Koolaid October 20, 2014 at 11:11 am

    A Utah politician representing the unrepresented in this state? Now if that isn’t a big fat whopper! Consider how the St George good ole boy city council with its appointment of one of their own represents the unrepresented or anyone but themselves.

  • lissy October 20, 2014 at 11:55 am

    She’s hideous.

    • Bender October 20, 2014 at 3:49 pm

      You don’t say LISSY? I dare say that a future post-menopausal LISSY will be hideous both inside and outside.

  • el jefe October 20, 2014 at 2:47 pm

    Good luck Dorothy “the carpet bagger” Engelman. Should have stayed wherever you came from. You could have tried to change things there instead. Dorothy “Mrs abortion” Engelman WILL NOT win.

  • beacon October 20, 2014 at 9:52 pm

    I wonder if many of these commenters really know what they’re writing about or if they’re just spouting what they hear. There’s so much hate in these comments. I would be different if they were presented in a reasonable manner, but they are not. I’m just glad it’s Dorothy running for office rather than these folks. Now, that’s scary!

  • An actual Independent October 21, 2014 at 6:02 pm

    I generally vote Republican in Presidential elections, but I am so sick and tired of seeing unopposed Republicans on ballots here. I never fill in that bubble……would be kind of like voting for Sadam Hussein. When there is no choice, what’s the point? What’s really sad is that we can’t even have an honest discussion about issues here, because there will be no option for voters to choose something else. Many candidate forums here usually include a whole row of people sitting at a table in the front, saying “Vote for me. I’m exactly like everybody else sitting here.” Ugh.
    I would vote for Dorothy if I lived in her district. I don’t always agree with her, but she’s a smart lady who’s willing to discuss alternatives, and that is BADLY needed around here.

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