Walking for Walker
I joined a sizeable group of volunteers to knock on some doors in Sandy for Rep. Mark Walker. It was a tremendously successful event.
Two of the things I appreciate most about Rep. Walker are (1) his natural leadership abilities and (2) his independence. It’s impossible to lead by following, and Mark has shown that he is strong enough to stand on his own and capable enough to bring people to his position. And that is the combination that makes for a great legislator.
Sandy has produced more than its fair share of legislative leaders, and Mark will continue that tradition.
Two of the things I appreciate most about Rep. Walker are (1) his natural leadership abilities and (2) his independence. It’s impossible to lead by following, and Mark has shown that he is strong enough to stand on his own and capable enough to bring people to his position. And that is the combination that makes for a great legislator.
Sandy has produced more than its fair share of legislative leaders, and Mark will continue that tradition.
posted by steve u. at 9/12/2006
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3 Comments:
Rep. Walker did not introduce any bills his first year in office and passed only three clean-up bills his second year.
Many of his constituents are unaware of who he is and this is shown on his contributions report. Only one individual (Tom Dolan) from the Sandy community has contributed to his campaign efforts. A lot of his campaign money is coming from out of state contributors.
I am sure Rep. Walker is a nice person but he is not a great legislator. District 45 deserves better!
Voice for Change,
A former House speaker didn't even introduce any bills his entire first term; he wanted to spend his time learning about the process and helping other reps with their bills, so that he could be more effective down the road.
Rather than run lots of silly nothing bills, Rep. Walker dug in with me and others on big budget and policy items and helped get them across the line. Examples: reduction of the food tax and significantly increased funding for public education. And your candidate did what the past 2 years? And would step into the Legislature and do what right away?
There is a learning curve for every single legislator. District 45 would take a step backwards on that curve, if it again were to elect a freshman. In some cases, that is worthwhile. In others, it is not. In the case of Rep. Walker, I doubt you could pick ANY legislator who is better regarded by his/her peers. And Sandy voters have the political smarts to know that that spells future success for District 45.
voice for change -
What cave did you crawl out of...? Rep. Walker sponsored 3 bills his first session, one of which fixed a major glitch in the law concerning budget filings for new cities. He also sponsored a very difficult bill during the 2005 first special session that saved the citizens of the newly formed Cottonwood Heights City (part of which he represents)$3 million in their municipal services budget.
In the 2006 General Session he sponsored another 5 bills. One, potentially controversial bill that had particular interest to residents in his area regarding the preservation of open space surrounding closed schools. With extreme political courage, Rep. Walker took a stand on an issue that put him at odds with the traditional GOP supporters in the real estate and development world. He very skillfully walked a political gauntlet and, by standing firm, yet in his vey affable way, he won over the detractors, and in the end passed the bill with few negative votes. That took a lot of very hard work, hard selling and untiring leadership among his colleagues. In our highly urbanized neighborhoods, Rep. Walker has given us an opportunity to maintain what little recreation space we still have available.
A couple of the other bills he sponsored in 2006 helped save consumers and tax-payers some of their hard-earned dollars.
While the bills he sponsored and passed are impressive, there is more to being a good legislator than passing bills. Being able to help others solve problems, working behind the scenes to strengthen good legislation and defeat bad legislation, asking hard questions, bringing issues to light, promoting the state, working with both sides of the aisle to make good things happen. Rep. Walker has done, and continues to do all of those things. District 45 couldn't do better!!!
If you are going to be a "voice for change" get your facts right. It's hard to get to where you want to go if don't know where you are.
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