As a candidate for governor, what are your key campaign messages?

First, I believe that our state government is growing at an unsustainable rate. Each year we seem to take more from our citizens and expand government influence. Our constitutional rights and freedoms are also coming into question, and we desperately need a true conservative leader, a real Reagan Republican, who can stand up and say “No More!”

We have to stop the out-of-control growth of state government. A recent Utah Foundation report found that the Utah State Government has grown faster than any other state in the U.S. at 6.3%. Another Utah Foundation report revealed that our bonded debt in the state has increased from approximately $400 million to $1.8 billion. I believe that we are overburdening our citizens and our grandchildren.We need to get our government under control.

Next, the state needs to revamp our economic development program. For too long we have had our sights on California, or outside of Utah, to bring industry into our state. Economic development has been defined as doling out cash incentives and tax abatements to out-of-state companies. Meanwhile, we have ignored the industry of our own citizens, and the opportunities that are right in front of us.

We need an innovative entrepreneur, someone who has created businesses and jobs in Utah to lead a new plan of economic development for our state. I have a unique plan, based on my thirty years of involvement in the private sector, which I believe can create thousands of new, good-paying jobs in Utah.

We have to deal with the need to grow our economy, or we will never be able to address the legitimate needs of our citizens, such as investment in education, infrastructure, the justice system, and others. It all begins with a job!

And lastly, we must come up with new and creative solutions to educate our booming student population. We cannot afford to simply throw more money at the problem. We have to look at new, efficient, and effective methods to help parents educate their children.

What do you consider to be the top three issues currently facing Utah?  Please list them in order of priority to you and your candidacy and explain why they are important to you and to Utah.

1. Lack of Economic growth: All other issues of funding and deciding what services government provides are dependent on the growth of our state economy. I don’t believe that we can sustain the cost of government, long term, unless we change the pace of economic development in Utah.
2. Investment in Education: We all know the statistics on education in Utah: huge growth over the next 10 years, lowest per-pupil spending, and largest class sizes. Yet we also have one of the highest tax burdens in the nation. We have to explore creative and more efficient ways of teaching our children the skills they need to get a good paying job in Utah.
3. Infrastructure: In order to fuel the economic development of our state, we have to fund a growth infrastructure. This includes our road systems, water and utility infrastructure, as well as the intangible tax and regulatory environment that businesses have to operate in. We also need to find creative, user-based funding mechanisms to fund new growth.

What are your most important business or political accomplishments?How would those accomplishments help you be a more effective governor?

First, I have founded a publicly held company (Merit Medical Systems, Inc.), and created thousands of jobs in Utah. Between Merit, and the work I did at a previous company, Utah Medical, I have approximately 25 years of experience as Chairman and CEO of publicly held companies. In those roles I have proven that I can lead an organization, be efficient and conservative in budgeting, motivate and reward employees, and put together talented staffs to accomplish seemingly impossible goals.

I have a proven track record as a tough, determined, and fair leader. I feel that my experience in the private sector uniquely qualifies me to lead our state. Although I don’t want to change government into a business, I believe that need to apply business principles to government, and help to assure that we have an appropriate environment in our state that helps to foster economic development.

And lastly, I have numerous United States Patents, and I was recently awarded with the Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology. This speaks to my creative abilities, and the skills I possess of innovative thinking. If we are going to affect real change in Utah, it is going to take a new way of thinking, and creative solutions for old problems.

What are your most important civic or community accomplishments or involvements? How would those accomplishments help you to be a more effective governor?

I have served for seven-and-a-half years as a member of the 19th Special Forces Group (Abn.) UTANG. I believe that in this time of war and crisis in our world, that the leader of our state needs to understand the military, and be an effective Commander in Chief of the Utah National Guard.

I have been involved in several community boards: the Utah Foundation Board of Trustees and I was appointed by the Governor to Utah Technology Finance Corporation, in which I have was heavily engaged in the needs of small businesses. I have also served on other boards such as the Westminister MBA Advisory Committee, the Deseret Foundation, and the Granite School District Foundation, amongst others. My involvement on these boards and in our community has given me an understanding of the special needs of our citizens, and how we can find creative solutions for those needs.

I have been the volunteer Chairman and CEO of the Tuacahn Center for the Performing Arts and the Tuacahn Charter High School in St. George, Utah. I have a great sympathy for the arts in our communities, and the beneficial role that they play.

I believe in the charter school movement, and in the creative education of our children. I have helped out with several charter schools, and I will continue to be a proponent of education resources for our kids. As Governor, I will be sensitive to the needs of parents, as the state sets forth to help families meet the needs of education for their children.

What skills, talents, and strengths do you have that enhance your ability to be an effective governor?

1. I have proven that I know how to build and lead teams of talented individuals.
2. I know how to motivate and encourage associates to perform at their best.
3. I am not afraid to make tough decisions, and to get things done.
4. I am passionate about our constitutional liberties, and I will do everything I can to preserve them.
5. I believe in the ability of the private sector to manage issues better than the government. I also have faith in the human spirit, and people’s desire to do good.

Why do you belong to your political party? Why is your party the right one to lead Utah at this time?

A political party is a mechanism to help people of like minds unite under a common banner to elect folks of similar values. Before becoming involved in any party, we need to examine the party’s platform. The Utah State Republican Party Platform talks about issues that I believe will make our communities stronger, if we hold true to their message. I believe in the principles of the Republican Party more than those of any other group.

In the 70’s, my allegiance to the Republican Party was strengthened by my political mentor, Ronald Reagan. Many criticized Reagan for cutting the federal register, for his strong defense positions, and for his tough negotiations with the Russians. But what Reagan gave to us was hope, based on the principles of Republicanism. He taught us that we have to stand up for the moral and religious affections of our people. He demanded less government bureaucracy, and less government influence in our lives. He reminded us that the government that can give you anything you want will also take everything you’ve got.

Now more than ever we need Republican leadership in our country and our state. It is time for new conservative Republican leadership in the governor’s seat to help our economic growth and reduce the size of government, and promote the conservative principles that create an environment were industry and citizenship can grow and flourish.