Although it is a non-presidential election year, Utah's political leaders say Tuesday's vote will have an impact on both a national and state level.

"The bottom line is that you need someone who will represent you and stand up for you," said Rep. Jim Matheson, Democratic incumbent. "I am not bound by party lines and I will do what is best for Utah."

John Swallow, Matheson's challenger, said that it is important to elect a representative to Congress to support President George Bush's campaign.

Representatives from Democratic and Republican Parties said this election would ultimately decide the party majorities in both houses of Congress. Given the difference in party ideologies, a shift in control would significantly change the direction of legislation.

"I believe in less government, lower taxes, controlling government growth and more opportunities for business expansion," said Steve Poulton, republican majority leader of the Utah State Senate. "Because of that [the ideologies], the community will be a stronger, better place for us to raise our children."

Todd Taylor, executive director for Utah's Democratic Party, said he feels a Democratic victory would open doors and create a voice for the public.

Marty Stephens, republican speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, said Utah is in the middle of a budget crisis.

"There's a downturn in the economy, so we're having to cut back from the budget," Stephens said. "We need to prioritize so we don't cut public education."

Both parties said they understood the importance of budget reforms to help education and the state as a whole.

"The election has to do with creating an environment where the economy can thrive, where we can prioritize education and make sure that education has enough funding," Taylor said.

Poulton also said he felt education was an important issue for legislators. I think that education is always a number one priority. Make sure that we have quality adequate funding and a high quality pub edu system both k-12 and higher ed

"I think that education is always a number one priority," Poulton said. "We need quality, adequate funding and a high quality public education system, both K through 12 and higher education."

Taylor said Democrats want to help children to read and have a future.

"Education is critical to anyone who wants to better their own future, better their children's future, and to economic growth in the future," Taylor said.

"With a Republican majority, the budget is more likely to be balanced and restrained," Poulton said.

"The budget would be more realistic and prioritized to education," Taylor said. "There's no question that if Democrats were in the majority it would change."

Taylor said another issue that will affect Utah is corporate accountability, or the ability to trust the markets.

"Education is absolutely number one, but with dwindling pension accounts, because of the bad stock market, corporate accountability is a strong number two," Taylor said.



Copyright Brigham Young University 4 Nov 2002