Issues

ROLE OF CITY GOVERNMENT

Government exists to serve the people—to make life easier, not more complicated. It should operate with transparency, clarity, accessibility, and accountability, ensuring that every resident understands local processes and feels heard. A strong city government plans for the future and clearly articulates a vision for responsible growth.

As mayor, I will champion:

Open & Transparent Decision-Making – Every resident should know how and why decisions are made. I will ensure the city government operates with integrity and public input. 

Efficient & Effective Services – From permitting to road maintenance to waste management, city services should work smoothly and be easy to navigate.

A Thriving Economy – Supporting local businesses, attracting innovation, and fostering a strong job market will keep Provo vibrant and sustainable.

Provo is growing, and the choices we make today will shape its future. Let’s build a city that works for everyone—where families, students, professionals, and businesses can all thrive.

Together, we can ensure Provo remains a place of opportunity, prosperity, and a great community to raise a family.

INCREASED EFFICIENCY

As Mayor, I will work to make our city government more efficient, ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and services are delivered effectively. We can streamline operations, eliminate wasteful redundancies, and leverage technology to innovate and improve how our city functions for both small businesses and residents. By fostering collaboration among departments, increasing transparency, and prioritizing community input, I will build a more responsive, accountable, and dedicated government focused on serving you.

For example, getting a building permit approved can take anywhere from weeks to years. This arbitrary and inefficient process wastes the time and money of makes it difficult for anyone trying to improve their home or business or build in Provo. I will make getting a building permit efficient, quick, and easy by streamlining the process to eliminate bottlenecks and holdups.

If elected, I will champion a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring our city government evolves to meet the needs of our growing community while preserving the values that make Provo great. 

INCREASED TRANSPARENCY

Transparency in government is essential—it fosters civic engagement, builds trust, and ensures accountability. Citizens have the right to know how and why decisions are made and to have a voice in the process. I have a strong track record as a legislator of open, honest communication and transparency.

As mayor, I will prioritize making the website more user friendly and creating a transparency portal. A transparency portal is a simple, easy-to-use online tool where residents can easily find city budgets, contracts, meeting minutes, and records of official decisions—all in one place. No more hunting through complicated websites or waiting for public records requests.

Many cities have implemented these portals with great success. They improve trust between city leaders and residents, save money by reducing legal challenges, and help everyone stay informed.

As Mayor, I will work tirelessly to make the political process more open and accessible. I will always be honest, available, and accountable to you. In government, there should be no surprises—only integrity and a commitment to serving the people.

RESPONSIBLE GROWTH

Provo City’s master plan needs a thoughtful update to address our community’s current and future needs, to reflect best practices for supporting and building strong communities, and to maintain quality of life. The Master Plan is the blueprint of where, what, and how we should move our city forward; we need to reevaluate it often to reflect a vision of how to best support our residents. Spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on projects—or approving zoning changes and high-density housing in areas without the necessary infrastructure—just because they were placed on the master plan decades ago is neither prudent nor forward-thinking. 

Our City Council and the residents of Provo deserve a meaningful voice in how we grow. Looking at higher-density housing south of BYU makes sense, as does zoning for neighborhood-friendly retail in areas where residents currently have to drive miles for basic necessities. Smart, Provo-focused decisions will improve quality of life, boost local businesses, and generate valuable sales tax revenue for our city while reducing congestion.

We need to be very careful about every zoning decision. I will be a watchdog for poor zoning proposals, no matter where these are in the city. Recently, acres of beautiful riverfront land on West Center Street right next to the new Delta Gateway Park was rezoned to allow five huge warehouses to be built. This is such a waste, and the opportunity cost is huge. Not only will the constant traffic of trucks increase traffic, be a danger to the kids coming to the park, and cause wear and tear to the road, but these warehouses will bring in very little tax revenue. This land is in a prime area for retail, services, or hospitality, as it is close to the airport, the Epic Sport Park, and Utah Lake, but now it will be warehouses.

ECONOMY AND LOCAL BUSINESS

It is the Mayor’s responsibility to make sure taxpayer dollars are being spent responsibly with a taxpayer return on investment in mind. By keeping taxes as minimal as possible, carefully prioritizing spending projects, and focusing on increased revenue through responsible growth, we can ensure our city remains a great place to live, work, and raise a family.

Provo has been losing sales tax revenue over the last four years. Sales tax is the economic driver of our city, makes up 30% of our budget, and is the biggest source of our revenue. When sales tax decreases, it puts more pressure on other sources of revenue. We receive sales tax based on population and point of sale: ½% of all sales tax in the state is divided out to cities according to population, and another ½% is returned to cities at point of sale.

Provo is missing out on a lot of point of sale sales tax, and it is vital that we start bringing some of this back to Provo. Here are four things we can do:

Vitalize and better support the businesses that are already here. They create jobs, generate revenue, and give our city its unique character. Provo’s Downtown has the potential to be one of the best in Utah, and there is much more Provo City can do to make it a destination. We need a plan for Downtown, and this has become increasingly urgent after the wakeup call from the geyser there a few weeks ago.

Support the redevelopment of Provo Towne Center Mall and East Bay. 

Make it easier to open and grow a business in Provo by removing the red tape that holds entrepreneurs and business owners back.

In areas that are currently underserved, like West and Southeast Provo, change the zoning to allow for neighborhood friendly retail, restaurants, and services. 

HOUSING AND PROPERTY RIGHTS

The cost of housing is a supply and demand issue. There are ways to free up supply without automatically resorting to high density developments in single family neighborhoods.

Obtaining a building permit, whether for a new build or a simple home improvement, should not take weeks or months. We need to improve and streamline this process because time is money and adds to the cost of a project. 

I support owner occupied Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). These allow more individuals/families to buy homes and they help seniors or others to stay in their homes, because of the added income, all while adding to the housing stock to accommodate growth. The more homes that are owner occupied, with or without an ADU, the more stable the neighborhood.

I support proactive code enforcement to make sure that ADUs are owner occupied and otherwise following code so that out of town investors are disincentivized from buying homes and burdening our neighborhoods. 

I would work to substantially increase student housing south of campus close to BYU, which will have the effect of freeing up the single family homes in neighborhoods where students now have to live because all the housing close to BYU is taken. 

I will dedicate a portion of existing resources in the city budget to creating a housing office that will address housing issues from educating renters and landlords to helping residents apply for property tax relief to researching best housing practices for different areas of Provo. A priority would be helping residents work through the ADU process and working with neighborhoods to alleviate concerns over ADUs. 

I strongly support personal property rights and have always voted against increasing the government’s ability to claim eminent domain. 

INFRASTRUCTURE/TRANSPORTATION

As Provo continues to grow, so do our transportation and infrastructure needs. Planning for the future is about developing innovative, fiscally responsible, and sustainable solutions to keep our city moving in the right direction. We cannot keep widening roads, especially if we are destroying neighborhoods to do it. Studies show that wider roads 1. do not solve congestion or transportation issues, 2. Increase costs to the city for maintenance in perpetuity, and 3. require space that cities often don’t have. We need to be smart, look at the data and transportation patterns, and figure out the best ways for people to get where they need to go. 

Provo’s transportation master plan is long overdue for a fresh vision. We need to update it to improve east-west connectivity and to create safer, more accessible options for active transportation. By aligning the City Master Plan with the Transportation Master Plan—and guiding both with strong leadership and community input—we can reduce congestion, promote responsible growth, strengthen neighborhoods, and enhance the quality of life for all residents.

For many in our community—especially seniors and those with disabilities—public transportation is more than convenience, it’s a necessity.

As a legislator, I worked with UTA to get UTA on Demand in west Provo. This can be compared to Uber or Lyft, but only costs the price of a bus fare. I would like to expand this service throughout Provo and neighboring cities. Something else I would like to explore is a collaborative partnership between Provo, the School District, and UTA to increase public transportation routes and bus students to school while saving money.

RESPONSIVE LEADERSHIP

One of the most important and rewarding parts of being an elected official is listening to, responding to, and advocating for the people you represent. I have a proven record of doing this as a member of the Provo School Board and as a state legislator.

I am committed to always being a phone call, text, or email away and to answering your questions honestly, even when it may not be what you want to hear. I will work with you and city staff to find solutions to issues or frustrations you bring to my attention. I am in our community every day: running or walking the trails, taking classes at the Rec Center, walking downtown, buying things at the farmers market, eating at our incredible restaurants, attending festivals, buying gas, and taking my grandkids to the parks. Please feel free to approach me anytime to ask questions or just say hi.

HOMELESSNESS

Homelessness is a gowing concern and one that I have worked on both at the state and local level.  As mayor, I would work to bring all parties to the table from across Utah County–state, city, and county officials, non-profits, school districts, and churches, those with lived experience, and others who are interested– to create a strategic plan with evidenced based solutions to address homelessness in compassionate, fiscally responsible, and data driven ways. 

Provo is unfairly bearing the brunt of this issue, especially our communities in south Provo and Downtown, and we will continue to do so unless we work with our neighboring cities and the County to create solutions that work.

Homelessness is complex and there is no “one size fits all” solution. Different populations require different strategies and resources. We have families and individuals who need a little help to get back on their feet, those suffering from severe mental illness and/or addictions, teens who have no family support, students who can’t afford both rent and tuition, seniors who can no longer afford their expenses, and those fleeing domestic violence (our DV shelter only has 25 beds and hundreds seek help every year). Utah County has amazing nonprofits and churches that do so much in this space; but they can’t do it alone.