The Utah Legislature has a competition problem. To be specific, it doesn’t have enough of it.
As a business leader, I know firsthand that competition drives innovation. Nothing made me work harder to meet the needs of my customers than my competition. I knew that if I didn’t, my competitor would win my customers away. This created a laser-focus on my customers’ needs and how I could best help them.
I’m a strong believer in capitalism and free markets, and my experience has been that competition powers the engine that makes products and services better, prices lower and the American economy the strongest in the world.
Our political system is no different. Without competition, I believe that politicians grow complacent. They take their voters for granted and, instead of working to meet their constituents’ needs, they focus on tightening their grip on political power. They work on backroom deals and pet projects, not the real problems. They pander to the political extremes, instead of focusing on the moderate majority in the middle.
Unfortunately, the Utah Legislature’s Republican supermajority is making all of these mistakes — attempting to change our state constitution and divert funds to public schools; spending $2 billion on sports stadiums compared to a small fraction of that on programs to build more affordable homes, and attempting to hoard even more legislative power by gutting our constitutional right to ballot initiatives.
I don’t believe these choices reflect the needs or preferences of Utah voters — and I don’t think legislative leaders would be pursuing them if they felt more competitive pressure.
Right here, right now, the best thing Utah voters can do to make the Legislature listen to them and work for them is to elect competition — yes, I mean Democrats. I realize this might feel strange to those who have a long history of straight ticket Republican voting. But you don’t actually need to buy a Nancy Pelosi t-shirt or — heaven forbid! — become a member of the Democratic party. You just need to send enough Democrats to the Legislature to show your vote can’t be taken for granted and your legislative leaders need to work for you, or else you’ll vote for the competition.
(Travis Smith) Travis Smith is a candidate for the Utah House of Representatives District 42, which covers the east half of Sandy.
Travis Smith is a candidate for the Utah House of Representatives District 42, which covers the east half of Sandy. Raised in Cottonwood Heights and Sandy, Travis graduated from Brighton High School and BYU before attending law school in Boston. He is a lawyer, tech entrepreneur and father of eight.
