ST. GEORGE — Prospective voters heard from the candidates vying for their spot on the upcoming primary ballot during an election debate event organized by the Washington County Republican Party.
Tuesday evening at the Dixie Convention Center in St. George candidates for House Districts 72, 73 and 74 took the stand to share their takes on issues and policy – mostly. Nina Barnes, a candidate for House 73 was unable to attend the debate due to a prior commitment. This left her opponent, Colin Jack, with an hour of uninterrupted time to speak.
Topics of the debate varied from race to race, with discussions over water, parental rights in education and a pledge to seek the repeal of Utah’s signature-gathering path to the primary ballot being among them.
The House race debates got underway following a debate for Washington County Commission Seat A between incumbent Commissioner Gil Almquist and challenger Allen Davis.
House 73
Just before the debate for House District 73 got underway, county party leadership received a message from Barnes stating she hadn’t confirmed her attendance to the event and had prior commitments in Orem due to her role as the vice-chair of the Utah Board of Higher Education.
“I look forward to continue to work hard, to reach out to and listen to Utah families who are concerned about the future of our state and finding compassionate solutions to our biggest problems,” Barnes stated, according to the message read by Lesa Sandberg, the chair of the Washington County Republican Party.
The House 73 race originally had three candidates – and evidently still does on paper. Barnes, Jack and incumbent Rep. Travis Seegmiller all seek the seat for House 73, which was formerly known as House District 62. However, Seegmiller recently announced his resignation as he and his family will be moving out of the district at some point in the near future.
Despite his pending resignation, Seegmiller has yet to officially remove his name from the race.
“I would encourage voters to vote for one of the other two candidates so they don’t waste their vote,” Sandberg said.
Seegmiller’s resignation from the Utah House doesn’t take effect until July 1, two days after the primary election.
In the meantime, the county party has set up a special election to select Seegmiller’s interim replacement.
Barnes chose not to participate in the special election and stated in a press release that she found the timing of it suspicious and believes it will primarily only benefit whomever “party insiders” have in mind to be Seegmiller’s replacement.
Despite the absence of Barnes and Seegmiller having dropped out of the race earlier this month, the debate continued with Jack being its sole participant.
Jack, who is the COO of Dixie Power, took 56.1% of the delegate vote to Seegmiller’s 43.9% during the party’s nominating convention in April. Unable to secure a threshold of 60% in order to avoid a primary, the two were to face each other on the June ballot. Now Jack will face one opponent instead of two, as Barnes secured her spot on the primary ballot through signature gathering and not the caucus-convention process.
While addressing the voters of House District 73, Jack said he has been involved with the Republican Party for the last 15 years and vowed to “protect God-given, constitutionally-protected liberties and exercise fiscal restraint” as a member of the Utah House if elected.
He also pledged to seek the repeal of the state law that allows candidates to bypass the caucus-convention system by collecting a set number of signatures. He argued that it has allowed “big money” to begin to influence elections in Utah as it has in other states.
Jack also said that while he feels confident about election security in Washington County, he is not so sure about it in other parts of the state where irregularities have allegedly been reported.
House District 72
The race for House 72 featured two men of similar backgrounds and perspectives in regard to the topics of the evening. Willie Billings and Joseph Elison both come from a financial services background and are seeking the seat currently held by Rep. Brad Last. Last chose not to run for reelection after two decades serving in the Legislature.
Billings, who has been a part of Utah Republican Party leadership in the past, gained 62.2% percent of the delegate vote over Elison at the April convention. Despite his victory at the convention, Billings still faces Elison as he also gathered enough signatures to secure a spot on the primary ballot regardless of the convention outcome.
During their debate, Elison and Billings were asked about their stance on protecting parental rights in education.
“Without fail, make sure they (government and school officials) understand parents are the primary stakeholders and they are in control of their kid’s education,” Billings said. “Empower parents so they have the choices they need.”
Both men called for better pay for teachers while also supporting the proposed HOPE scholarship legislation that failed to pass the Legislature earlier this year. The scholarships would allow education funding to follow the child, be it to a public, private or charter school.
“It gives us more choice,” Elison said. “Giving us more choices on a local level, that’s what I am about.”
Both men also expressed a dislike of the government having too much influence on the upbringing of children. Billings said it creates a dangerous precedent and reliance on the government rather than family and community. Elison went a step further and equated an over-reliance on government to a modern form of slavery.
House District 74
In another race where the convention winner faces an opponent who secured their spot on the ballot through signatures, possible legislation and water were both a primary focus.
Neil Walter, CEO of ERA Brokers Consolidated, is running against Kristy Pike, the executive director of the Washington County Children’s Justice Center and wife of former St. George mayor Jon Pike. Walter won the party nomination with over 73% of the delegate vote in April. While she was knocked out of the race early during the convention, Pike will still be on the ballot thanks to signature gathering.
Both are vying for the position being vacated by Rep. Lowry Snow who announced in December he would not seek another term.
When asked what type of legislation they’d like to introduce if given the chance, Pike said she would push for more funding for mental health care for first responders.
“Our first responders see horrific things,” she said. “They need our support.”
Walter said he would push for a bill that would provide a “safe place” for students attending state universities and colleges who don’t want to be “bombarded by some of the social justice and social change movement that is moving through our communities.”
Walter previously said places like Utah Tech University (the new name for Dixie State University to be made official July 1), should not be allowed to become “another anchor for social justice and change in the community.”
A question of water and what to do about it during the ongoing drought was also put before the two candidates.
“If the No. 1 issue in your mind here in Southern Utah isn’t water, then there’s something wrong,” Pike said. “Water is the thing we should be talking about.”
Pike said she favors pursuing voluntary conservation efforts and building new reservoirs for additional water storage. She also supports efforts to replace what is considered to be “non-functional” turf with landscaping that is more water-efficient.
“We need to remember we live in a desert,” she said.
Walter said the water problem in Utah was, in part, due to the over-consumption of Colorado River water by the Lower Colorado River Basin states of California, Arizona and Nevada. Still, he called for continuing conservation efforts in the county and the search for new water sources.
However, Walter said he does not support conservation efforts that result in the crippling of American industry and prompt companies to take their facilities overseas.
“Water is a huge issue,” he said.
The primary election is set for June 28. Mail-in ballots will begin to arrive the week of June 7.
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