“I think there are very few problems on this earth that don’t have solutions,” she said. “It just takes somebody with enough grit and effort and work to look for them, search for them and then to build coalition and consensus around those solutions.”

Bitner acknowledges she doesn’t have all the answers but says she’s willing to work.

“I’m willing to listen and I’m willing to research,” she said. “I think that’s what any good policymaker does is they recognize that they can’t have all the answers, but you have to do your due diligence and you have to research and you have to work hard and you have to look into options and find solutions.”

On the issue of water, she said she feels “very strongly” that conservation needs to be prioritized.

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

“We need to take advantage of newer technologies so that we can address a water issue that I think is solvable,” she said. “I think that there is technology that should allow us to implement strategies that will help us to drastically improve our water situation.”

On the issue of housing, she said that first-time homebuyer credits need to be extended to all first-time homebuyers rather than just those buying new constructions.

She doesn’t think “one-size-fits-all” mandates are helpful.

“There are areas in Davis County where there is not room to build anything more, and yet there are these one-size-fits-all mandates that have been handed down from the state that are forcing housing solutions that I think are actually destructive to the housing market,” she said. “I think there needs to be a return to housing policy that is reflective of the individual communities’ needs. And people want single-family homes. Period. They don’t want apartments.”

In discussing her candidacy to be the next representative for House District 17, a theme for Bitner is making a difference.

“I want to make a difference in housing policy, I want to make a difference in education policy and I want to make a difference in conservation policy,” Bitner said. “There are so many areas that I know can be changed for the better, and it just takes people that are willing to work together and to listen to their constituents.

“One of the things that’s most important to me as a representative is that I truly represent, and to represent, I have to listen and understand what the people I represent care about. And that means I need to be responsive and engaged with my community. That means when someone reaches out to me, I need to respond to them or answer their question. That means if I hear a complaint or a suggestion from many sources, then I need to take some action and represent the issues that the people that have elected me care about. And that is one of my goals is to respond and to listen and to act on the things that my constituents and my neighbors care about.”

Family focus

One thing Bitner mentioned that she’s heard as a concern from people is that family values are being eroded.

For Bitner, family has been a core theme of her campaign.

Since she has been on the campaign trail, her first granddaughter and her first grandson were born.

“It’s been delightful,” she said. “I’ve had some days to sit and cuddle them and hold them. I was able to be there for both of their births, and holding them and just looking at these precious little souls, it reminds me this is the reason that I’m running. I want to create a community and a state that these children grow up in where they’re protected, where they can get a good education, where they can feel a sense of safety, where they can afford to live, that my grandkids can hopefully live here because we’re not taxing them and creating policies that make it unaffordable to live near me.”

Bitner is the oldest of 15 children. She has seven children herself, two of which are still at home. She said her two children still at home have been out canvassing with her and her husband has helped build sign frames for her.

Bitner said being a mother has helped her learn how to get things done.

“There’s a quote I’ve heard that if you want something done, ask a busy mom,” she said. “It’s because you just figure out how to do it. You figure out how to get it done. There’s maybe a lot of late nights. There’s maybe a lot of tweaking or adjusting of plans. There’s a lot of issues that get taken care of because of just sheer grit and determination. And I have a lot of grit and a lot of determination. I think that a profound dedication to any cause will allow you to be successful at it.”

Service and being a voice

Bitner said that she has always felt that service is really important and that she finds fulfilment in serving.

“One of the things that matters to me is that I find ways to serve that bless my family, my community, my neighbors, my friends,” she said. “There’s a lot of meaningful ways in which I’ve been able to serve and participate in my community for decades now, but now that my kids are older, I feel like there’s an opportunity for me to be able to help create policy that reflects those same values that I feel like all my neighbors and my friends have but that we don’t see reflected in sometimes the way policy is made.”

In talking about her political history, Bitner said she’s done a lot of civil service over the years. She said she participated in the Davis County Interfaith, the Davis County Republican Party and the Davis County Medical Alliance.

She said she knows what the people she will be representing care and are concerned about because she’s been hearing them for 20 years.

“There’s a lot of people who really care what happens and they don’t have a voice,” she said. “I want to be a voice for a lot of people who care about what happens in our community but don’t have a voice or their lives are busy and occupied in other productive things, but they need to have their voice heard at the Capitol. And there’s a lot of people at the Capitol with professional interests, and those voices are heard, and I would like to have the voice of mother and parent and longtime resident who’s really invested in her community. I want those voices to be heard.”

A mayoral endorsement

Bitner announced on her campaign page on Facebook that Kaysville Mayor and Senate District 6 hopeful Tami Tran had endorsed her.

Bitner called Tran the “darling of Davis County.”

Concluding statement

In her concluding remarks, Bitner said she believes she will be “an excellent representation” of the things and values her community cares about.

“I have served and participated in civic responsibilities for over 20 years and I know and care about the people in my area and I know that passion for serving and that genuine concern to make the place that I live a better place for my family and for my neighborhood – that concern will make a difference,” she said. “I think that the fact that I care so much about my community will make a difference in the way that I serve and that my ability to work with other people, my ability to build coalitions, my ability to respond to the particular needs or concerns of the people that I am representing, that will help me to be an effective legislator. I care about making a difference and I find a lot of fulfillment in service and I think that people recognize my genuine desire to serve.”

For more on Bitner and her campaign, visit https://www.votebitner.com/

Contact Standard-Examiner editor Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net.