Q and A 1: Four questions from Keri Witte

I received an email from Kerri Witte, current SCC member and Utah County Delegate, about my positions on certain issues. I thought you might want to see the questions and answers. My answers are in bold.

Thank you for filing as a candidate for State Central Committee.  I am a County Delegate, and I would appreciate hearing your honest and candid answers to the following 4 questions:

1)  How will you uphold our Party Platform and educate the public about Republican principles?

I will support party processes, bylaws, and constitutional provisions that are in line with party principles expressed in the platform. I would also consider careful changes to the platform, if it were shown that a narrow statement is in conflict with broader party principles.

2)  Which system do you prefer to see the Republican Party use for nominating Republican                     candidates for the General Election ballot?

    A)  The Caucus/Convention system (our current system)

    B)  A direct Primary (all prospective candidates on the Primary ballot, no Caucus/Convention)

    C)  A hybrid system utilizing both the Caucus/Convention system plus an alternative route to the             Primary ballot (such as petition signatures)

A. The current caucus/convention system. I favor looking at improvements to the system, such as making avoiding a primary a little tougher by increasing the cutoff point (my favorite level at this time is 66.6%), but I feel the the make my vote count crowd gives even more of an advantage to incumbents/rich candidates. Congressional incumbents get reelected 90% of the time; we hardly need an Incumbent Protection Act, which is what the primary initiative would be.


3)    How will you work to promote your preferred method of candidate nomination?

Blog entries. Letters to the editor (I have already responded to a couple of Bob Bernick columns). Discussion of my point of view with SCC members and fellow delegates (I am also a county delegate). Discussions in appropriate party settings or with friends.

4)    Are you interested in encouraging the County Party to provide space on the County Party website for State Central Committee agendas, information, and input from your delegate constituents?

Yes. I have found your emails and postings to be very useful, but a living page on the county site would have broader reach.

Thank you for taking the time to reply; I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Keri Witte
County Delegate

Why am I running for State Central Committee?

Three reasons:

1. This most recent term of the State Central Committee has reduced the bickering and improved its role in helping update and maintain key party documents, such as the party constitution and bylaws, and preparing for efficient conventions. I would like to continue and build on that progress.

2. There is a current effort to gut the caucus/convention process and elevate primaries. I believe our current methods promote grassroots involvement and candidacies. I am open to improvements to the process, but will fight against changes that seem to only promote incumbent and rich candidates.

3. Over the past two years, I have thoroughly enjoyed the communications from Kerri Witte, informing us what's on agendas, soliciting our opinions, and reporting on what decisions have been made. I also pledge to provide that sort of communication with Senate 14 delegates.

Please look over my background and general qualifications and viewpoints, and let me know if you have any questions. You can email me at steele.ma@gmail.com.

Thanks for taking the time to get informed!

Who am I?

-I'm Mark Steele. I've lived in American Fork (currently Precinct 9) for 17 years.

-I've been a county or state delegate in each two year cycle since 1996, and served one term as a precinct chair

-I work as a Training Program Manager for Henry Schein, in American Fork.

-I grew up in Southern California, and have also lived in Germany, Western Samoa, Saudi Arabia, and South Carolina.

-I have degrees in English and Linguistics from BYU, and Instructional Design from Utah State.

-My wife Peggy and I have five grown children and nine grandchildren. We are raising two of our granddaughters. An interesting crew that we love dearly, including a policeman son and his wife in Kansas, daughter and her husband in Salt Lake, a son with his wife and three boys in Lehi, a transgender son in American Fork, and our youngest son who just returned from an LDS church mission in Mexico City.

I suppose that's enough about me. You can see I have a range of experience with life, in all its glory! Let me know if you want to know more about what I've done with my life experiences.

What do I believe?

Principle. As Republicans we stand for something. That something is defined in our platforms, and we need to support them, promote them, and where needed improve them.

Inclusion. We need to work with differences in a respectful and dignified way, in order to accomplish more and maintain our humanity.

The proper role of government: Protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. For Utah in particular, this means policies that preserve our freedoms, promote community and economic openness, maintain fiscal responsibility, and provide a safe environment.

If you have questions on my stand on current Utah issues, please comment and I'll respond.