ST. GEORGE — Jay Mcarland sat down with St. George News in late September at the home of a supporter in Sun River.
Mcfarland is running against four other candidates for the Congressional District 2 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives held by incumbent Rep. Chris Stewart.
Mcfarland, a former radio talk show host and current podcaster, represents the United Utah Party. He said his 20 years behind the media microphone give him a unique perspective and toolkit as a political candidate.
“My job was literally to share my beliefs, and then say to everybody, ‘What do you think?'” Mcfarland said. “What that’s done is it has allowed me the ability to clearly articulate ideas, to handle opposition and to do so without the character assassination.”
While the government is currently dominated by the two mainstream parties, Mcfarland said, voters have supported new political parties throughout American history.
“Political change and party change is not new to this country,” Mcfarland said. “In fact if you know anything about history, parties and names of parties and those types of things have changed many, many times over the years. And I think that people are ripe for change.”
Mcfarland answered four questions from St. George News. His answers are edited for clarity and brevity.
Why do you think you’re the right candidate for the job and what issues are most pressing to you?
“I feel as though we are in a crisis of character. I feel that the parties have clouded the judgment of people who got into politics for the right reasons,” Mcfarland said, “but now they find themselves so polarized and so divisive, and the only way that they have to make money is to attack the other side.
“I truly feel that if we continue down this path we’re on right now I think we all know where it ends. And so I’m doing everything in my power to try and fight that eventuality.”
Mcfarland went on to say that the word “civility” has become a nasty word in politics.
“You can’t use that word in politics because people see it as weakness. We should value people who can compete in the arena of ideas instead of who can levy the best playground insult,” he added. “That’s my skill set, that’s what I’m excited to bring to this campaign.”
With people struggling financially as a result of inflation, what do you think about federal aid packages and how effective have recent packages been in addressing it?
“I do feel that especially during the pandemic that federal aid was critical,” Mcfarland said. “I think it kept our economy going. But I do think that pumping all of that money into the system did contribute to inflation. So it was kind of like short-term pain that we have to go through.”
He said both political parties are “preying on our lack of information” and want us to believe that “the other side is responsible for inflation, when the reality is that 95% of it was a direct result of COVID. It just so happens that every country on the planet is facing inflation.”
The economic situation is no one’s fault, Mcfarland said.
“It’s a direct result of supply and demand. The demand went way down over the pandemic, and then it went up something like 18% after the pandemic,” he said. “I am frustrated with the Democrats using inflation to pass Build Back Better with a different name on it, because there’s very little in that legislation that will help with inflation. There are other good things in that bill, but I feel like we were lied to.”
With water shortages and drought becoming a major concern in Utah, especially in the more arid southern regions, what is the federal government’s role in securing water rights for the state?
“Clearly, water rights are a multi-state issue. Our state and many other states rely on the same water supply. So I think it’s incumbent upon Congress to get involved, and to help resolve that issue,” Mcfarland said. “I see the Utah delegation as a critical part of that. They’ve got to get their voices heard, and they’ve got to fight for Utah. I also think that there’s an accountability that we all need to have to help preserve water.”
Water scarcity is an issue that’s not going to go away, he added.
“I’d love to see more incentives on the state level to encourage people to do more xeriscaping, you see so much of that here in St. George,” Mcfarland said. “I think that’s a model for the rest of the state. And new construction, especially.”
Amid the many social issues being discussed in the country, such as gun legislation or gender identity, which do you think are most important to address for the everyday Utahn?
“I spend a great deal of time on my radio show talking about solutions for gun crime,” Mcfarland said. “I think recent polling would show most Utahns would favor some type of red flag legislation. I think that it has to be done very carefully so Constitutional rights are not infringed and so that people get due process. That’s absolutely critical.”
As far as gender identity, Mcfarland said, “If you’re going to have a country who believes in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness, then we ought not to be seeking to control or define anybody. All pursuits of happiness should be protected, so long as they’re lawful.”
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