ST. GEORGE – Five candidates are vying to represent Utah citizens in the U.S. Senate. Among them independent and third party candidates: Independent Bill Barron, Constitutionalist Shaun McCausland and Daniel Greery of the Justice Party.
From the majority parties, Republican incumbent Orrin Hatch and Democrat Scott Howell, reported on separately (links to those articles included at the close of this report).
In this report, St. George News asked Barron, McCausland and Greery questions concerning the national debt, job creation, public lands and foreign policy in relation to military action abroad.
Included below are excerpts form the Q-and-A to each of them, followed by links to attached PDF files containing their complete responses to the questions asked. Candidates may also have provided discussion on issues they believe to be a prime focus of their campaign, which was not covered in the questions provided, but included in their attached statements.
Bill Barron
Bill Barron, 45, of Salt Lake City, is running for U.S. Senate as an Independent with a focus on protecting the environment. He is a carpenter and ski patrolman in Alta, and also is an activist and leader for Citizens Climate Lobby.
Barron’s initiative: The issue of most importance to me is the ongoing threat of natural disaster related to human-caused climate change.
I believe the science is conclusive and it is up to us to stop burning fossil fuels so that current and future generations can count on a stable climate. I realize that not everyone shares my belief, but I ask you to consider that there are lots of other good reasons to effect a transition to clean renewable energy, which I have listed in my response to the first question.
To address this challenge, I specifically propose to place a steadily increasing fee on carbon emissions at the source (mine, wellhead or port of entry) with 100% of the revenues returned to households as a dividend. Approximately two-thirds of all households would come out ahead. Those who use more carbon would have incentive to cut their burning of carbon-based fuels, but the amount they would pay in increased prices (fees passed on to end-use consumers) would be partially offset by their dividend. Carbon Fee and Dividend is a direct and transparent way to stimulate a transition to clean, renewable energy.
Carbon Fee and Dividend would:
- accelerate our transition away from fossil fuels
- improve our air and water quality
- reduce health care costs
- provide incentive for our economy to grow toward innovation, ingenuity, and efficiency
- diminish the need to fight wars over scarce resources
- all without increasing the size of government.
Every community deserves clean air, clean water, a stable climate, optimal health, economic opportunity and freedom from the threat of war. I support the Carbon Fee and Dividend proposal as a means to bring about this kind of society and this kind of world.
Attached: For Barron’s complete answers to the questions posed click here to access the PDF file.
For more information on Bill Barron and his positions, visit his website.
Shaun McCausland
Shaun McCausland, 58, of La Verkin, is running on the Constitution Party ticket. A IT specialist who describes himself as “the anti-candidate” on his website. “I am not a politician,” he said on the website. “For some people, that is one of the best qualifications for the job of U.S. Senator.”
Question: Public Lands – Do you support HB 148 and its language telling the federal government to transfer control of public lands to the state? Yes or No, and why?
Answer: Constitutionally speaking, the Federal Government has no right to ownership or control of state lands unless the state willingly sells that land to the Federal Government for the express purpose of forts, arsenals and other military installations. States should be the decision makers about the purposes of lands within their boundaries, whether that be for parks, wilderness, grazing, mineral and oil development, etc. In states like Utah and many others in the west, massive parts of the state are in effect “locked up” and cannot be used or developed to benefit schools, property owners and citizens, but instead incur larger and larger bills to administer and “protect” that we pay with our tax dollars. The system is upside down and benefits the Federal Government at the expense of every Utahn.
Question: On matters of foreign policy, facets of the public have both supported and decried military action in other nations, particularly the Middle East. Did you support military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and do you believe Iran to be a threat to the national security of the United States?
Answer: If China were to establish 50 military bases on our soil and started killing American citizens, we would consider them invaders and try to kill them, blow them up or make them go home. That is what we have done in the Middle East where we have over 50 military bases on their soil. They have reason to fear us and try to hurt us. We are creating our own enemies…We need to bring our troops home from most of the world, and be sure that our ability to retaliate to any hostile action is powerful enough to deter any enemy. The Iranian government is strident and annoying, but even they are not suicidal as a group. They may encourage their young people to be suicidal, but the leaders are not.
Attached: For McCausland’s complete answers to the questions posed click here for access to the PDF file.
For additional information on Shaun McCausland and his positions, visit his website.
Daniel Greery
Daniel Greery, 65, of Salt Lake City, is running on the Justice Party ticket for United States Senate. He has 20 years experience as an educator, having taught in elementary schools in various states, as well as the Utah Museum of Natural History. He is also a writer and inventor, having received two patents for his inventions thus far. A complete biography can be found here.
Question: What is the primary issue of your campaign?
Answer: Greery said his prime focus is “putting children first.” It is an umbrella under which many of his campaign objectives fall. Having worked in education for 20 years, he said, “Working with children touches the future,” and that that future needed to be protected.
“Higher education should be free for deserving students,” he said. Too many people were either strapped with excessive debt incurred by school loans, or couldn’t afford to attend college. He also said the environment needs to be cared for, and natural resources must be preserved.
Question: With the national debt at over $16 trillion, and still no budget passed for the last three years, how do you propose bringing spending under control?
Answer: Illegal wars cost us dearly in lives, money, and reputation, greatly endangering our own security. Check costofwar.com for a continual update on how our tax dollars are being squandered…We just dumped $2 billion into a super-spy center in Salt Lake, making us the first target in a nuclear strike. That spy center is largely being used to spy illegally on Americans. The National Defense Authorization Act, along with the misnamed Patriot Act, brings us into the dark shadows of fascism.
Stop giving money to banks “too big to fail.” The CEOs of banks are the main winners here, now on their fourth bailout. Support only banks that help create real jobs and services. Curtail government inefficiency. Reward whistleblowers rather than locking them up. Put a tax on Wall Street speculation. Get money and jobs back in the U.S., the opposite of what Romney and Howell have done or encouraged. The economy can be viewed as our circulation system: You need the right amount of blood in the right places, not stored in pockets where it will cause heart attacks, strokes, and so on.
Attached: For Greery’s complete answers to the questions posed click here for access to the PDF file.
For more information on Daniel Greery and his positions, visit his website.
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