WASHINGTON CITY — Washington County Democrats met Saturday afternoon at the Washington City Library to get the word out about the importance of voting.

“If you don’t vote, duh, your vote isn’t going to count,” Valerie Cazier, secretary for Washington County Democrats, told the crowd of about 20 people gathered at the library.

She noted that some 2,000 of the 8,000 registered Democrats in Washington County did not vote in the last election.

“But I think it’s wonderful that we’re offering choices, that we have a voice, and that we will never give up,” Cazier added.

Ivins City Councilman Mike Scott was the featured speaker at the event.

“You just got to go out and get more people involved,” Scott told St. George News after the question and answer portion of the meeting ended. “The community needs to know what the issues are, what the potential options are, and we need their input.”

At the city government level, Scott said, meetings are very formal and generally not designed for a free flow of dialogue. For instance, at meetings in Ivins, you have to fill out a form and then you get to speak briefly in the time set aside for citizen comments.

“But it isn’t just sort of a discussion session with the public. So I think some of the public feel that they’re left out of the process,” Scott said. “But if you are aware of the issues and you get involved and you talk to the council members, that does work.”

Even if citizens can’t attend meetings, Scott added, they can participate with ideas.

“And the best are suggestions for solutions rather than complaints about problems,” he said.

Water issues

Scott conducted an informal discussion with the crowd about water issues in Washington County. He prefaced his remarks with two comments he read in Marc Reisner’s famous book, “Cadillac Desert: The American West and its Disappearing Water.” 

“In the West, water flows uphill, towards money,” Scott said. “Number two, reason is the first casualty in a drought.”

After reading that book in 1986, he added, it was so clear that water is in such a precarious situation that he wondered if anyone would even think about living in the Southwest.

“Here we are,” Scott said. “We moved here in 2002. Water has been a topic on our minds for a very long time. And we understand its importance, and how tender it is, and it needs to be nurtured.”

He fielded questions about the Washington County Water Conservancy District, about the requirement in Ivins for all new homes to have plumbing for a secondary water line, the difference in water requirements for low- and high-density subdivisions and the status of determining exactly how much water is available for growth in Washington County.

His overriding message was, start conserving now.

“If we conserve, if we use less water, that’s the same as finding more water,” Scott said.

Democratic candidates

Saturday’s meeting also provided an informal opportunity for Democratic candidates for office to meet voters and talk about their opinions about water issues.

Democrat Chuck Goode is running for Washington County Commissioner Seat B. One of his platform planks is “to put a moratorium on new building until we solve the water crisis.”

“The solution to the water issue in my opinion is to recycle all the gray water in your home,” Goode said. “The bathroom water, washer and dishwasher, the sink…and use that to flush the toilet. The numbers I’ve read say that you save two-thirds of your water by recycling the gray water.”

Rebecca Winsor is the Democrat running for Washington County Commissioner Seat C.

“I am 100 percent behind recycling our resources,” she said. “The resources that I am most concerned about in my campaign are the people of Washington County.”

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