Kara Toone has a unique campaign promise.

She doesn’t plan on running a bill during her first legislative session should she be elected to represent House District 14.

“Even though it seems counterintuitive, I think much of the change that I would hope to see as a legislator doesn’t necessarily have to do with lawmaking,” she said. “And the reason behind that is I think we have too many bills. I think that’s one of the things that people would like to see changed and that I would like to see changed…”

She notes the Legislature setting a record this last session with over a thousand bills filed.

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

“That is a lot of compliance for all of us to have to figure out on a whim, so much that … maybe you’re breaking a law right now, and how would you know it? Because there were so many, how is anyone supposed to keep up with that?” she said.

“I don’t think that that feels meaningful to people.”

And yet, Toone recognizes that the effectiveness of a legislator is often determined by upon how many bills they passed.

“I think maybe culturally moving away from that as a measuring stick of effectiveness is going to be really good for everyone,” she said.

Instead, Toone says she plans to use her time to become acquainted with the system, do really good committee work and build meaningful relationships with her colleagues.

For Toone, it’s quality over quantity.

“Because we end up not passing all the ones that get filed anyway because a lot of them aren’t quality bills,” she said. “They don’t have legs. They don’t make it through the process. We could save ourselves a lot of trouble and time and expense of resources that we don’t really have in abundance if we just exercised a little self-restraint on the front end and said, ‘I’ve got two that I’m really going to focus on and I’m only going to do those.’ Well, gosh, if all 104 members of our Legislature only ran two bills, we would be in a pretty decent place, and I think that the quality of our laws and the ability to read through the bills and actually refine them in a meaningful way, I think that would improve a lot.

“So that’s an atypical thing to say. I want to run to be a lawmaker so that I can not make laws, but just for a moment.”

Making an impact and policy knowledge

Toone said that state legislators have the ability to make an impact and move the needle in ways that affect people’s everyday lives in a really meaningful way. She said she has wanted to make positive, though maybe incremental, changes for people.

“I’ve lived in my community for 23 years, and I feel like I understand what my neighbors need, and I think that what they don’t need is a lot of noise and what they do need is some help,” she said. “And I think that legislators are empowered to be able to do that, and I think that people of capacity, people who like to read policy briefs for fun, should maybe put their skills to that best use. And, you know, that’s not for everyone. But for those who have an aptitude for it and have the ability and have the will and a strong work ethic, that’s a place where you can do a lot of good, and that’s what I want to do.”

Toone feels that her understanding of policy issues has been “really valuable” and is a separator in this race.

“Like, for example, I’m the chair for the Davis Chamber of Commerce Legislative Affairs Committee,” she said. “In that setting, we have subcommittees from, you know, various sectors, not unlike at the Legislature, though they’re not the exact same subcommittees, but the opportunity to interface with people in all of those sectors and to understand what’s going well for them and then where we can find improvement. And then taking all of that information and collectively together using it to improve the lives of real people.

“And that experience is invaluable, and it’s the sort of thing that you can’t really just snap your fingers and come up with. You actually have to put in the work and do it, and there’s not a substitute for the years that it takes to be able to achieve that.”

She knows campaigning is hard and has “immense respect” for anyone who decides to run, saying more of those people are needed, but policy knowledge is important.

“When it comes to doing the actual policy making, having spent the time and put in the hours and built the relationships, that makes a difference at the end of the day,” she said. “And I think that that’s something that sets me apart in this race. I have a master’s degree in public policy. So having training and education and practice in doing the work, I think makes a big difference. And I think that having just been boots on the ground in my community for as long as I have and doing service in a lot of different areas has given me a sense of the kind of representation that people want. And I think that they’re looking for an even-handed, steady kind of person who, you know, didn’t really even have an Instagram account until January. Like, I think they see that as a plus.”

Experience

Toone had been a stay-at-home mom for 12 years when she decided to rejoin the workforce. Her kids had all started school, so she started looking for things to do.

Her husband, who works for the Davis School District, suggested she reach out to the director of the nonprofit foundation at the school district, the Davis Education Foundation. She said because of the volunteerism, he thought it might interest her in and would allow her to gain experience and build connections.

“So I did,” she said.

She got set up on a kind of internship and then was hired after about a week.

Hours were limited at the beginning, but over time, they increased. In September, she applied for the job of executive director because the former director retired.

She said her master’s degree has had crossover in what she does.

“An MPP is more math heavy, so there’s a statistics component there, survey research and research methods that isn’t part of the MPA,” she said. “So that piece, I think, is really important.”

She also became the grant writer for the foundation.

“A lot of crossover there of saying, ‘OK, here are our inputs and here are our activities. What were our outputs, and eventually our outcomes? What were the impacts? Did we achieve the thing that we meant to do?'” she said.

“So, program evaluation – I think that’s a very valuable skill for a legislator because you want to know, are we getting what we thought we were going to get from implementing this policy or putting this funding here? That kind of critical thinking and thought process is really, really useful.

“I was able to take some nonprofit courses in doing my degree, and those were helpful as well from the really practical standpoints of budgeting and board relations with a nonprofit board and community engagement and coalition building, all of those things that are so important to someone who thinks that they’re going to try to be a leader in their community.

“Understanding all of those things and building connections with community stakeholders … that’s nonprofit work in a nutshell, really.”

Toone ran for the state central committee, which she called the governing body for the Republican Party in Utah, and won. She served two terms (four years). She also served as the convention chair for two years and also as the president for the Davis County Republican Women for three years.

Cost-saving mindset

Toone says her work has taught her how to find ways to do more with less, which she said is a valuable skill she can bring to the Legislature.

“I’m very much a, ‘If you can do it on a shoestring, do it on a shoestring,'” she said. “I mean, my entire outfit today is from the thrift store. I always start at DI. When it’s like, ‘Oh, I need a new pair of slacks, or I need a jacket’ … and it’s the same for my kids. Start with as low as you can go, and if you find what you need there, you need never spend 10 times as much. Just see how far you can get by with what you’ve got, and if you can, don’t go beyond that, and I live that way.

“You know, I’m still living in my starter home right now. I’ve raised a family in an 1,800-square-foot house in Clearfield, and I’m still there. I think that’s a good way to live is training yourself to be satisfied, and I think that the Legislature could use that. You know, when we put a budget down in front of ourselves and say, ‘OK, what do we really need? What do we really need?’ Start at the thrift store. Begin at the bottom and see how far we can get. Because it forces you to be creative and inventive and you can do a lot with a little, and I’ve learned how to do that.”

Setting the tone for good politics

In talking about what she’s learned from constituents from District 14 and how she can help, Toone noted that people seem exhausted from politics. She worries that people don’t differentiate between “politics as a hobby” and “civic engagement as a duty,” which she said are not the same thing.

She feels people tapping out.

“And when that happens, we’re in trouble,” she said. “We’re in trouble. We need people who aren’t stepping out, but who are stepping in. And I think that it’s the responsibility of the people who are in, you know, positions of authority, especially when it comes to our government, to set that tone that incentivizes and entices people to join in, and even where there might be philosophical disagreement, to come together for the good of the community, and that’s something that I would like to bring, and I think that would bring some relief.”

She invoked George Washington.

“I think … about this statement from George Washington’s farewell address where he talked about the benign influence of good laws under a free government,” she said. “The benign influence, the thing that you don’t even know is there until it’s not. And that’s what small government is to me. That’s what conservatism is to me. It’s that benign influence that doesn’t intrude, that gives you enough to go about your life, not so much that it enables you to do things that you shouldn’t, but not so scarce that it makes you feel wanting all the time. It’s that wonderful equilibrium. I think that’s missing right now, and I think people feel it. They feel the chaos of it. They feel the burden of it. They feel the exhaustion of it. So that’s one really important thing that I would like to bring.”

Housing affordability

One important issue Toone mentioned she hears a lot of concerns about is housing.

“I’ve been reading about housing policy for a lot of years now,” she said. “And the solutions that we are, you know, the policy levers that we’re trying to pull at the legislative level right now, I think, are the ones that are available to us. And I think that we’re doing good things.

“I think it’s going to require that and also probably some introspection from folks who are looking to break into the housing market or those who are looking to move from one house to another that we may need to face facts on some things and ask ourselves some hard questions about do we really live in an era where you’re going to be disappointed if you don’t have a 4,000-square-foot house on half an acre? Is anything less than that going to feel like not enough to you? That’s not where we are in our state right now, and maybe more of us need to come to terms with that reality so that we can reframe what success looks like for housing affordability, and if that’s the only standard for success, we will have a lot of disappointed people. It will always feel hard if that’s the only measure of success.”

To better understand what solutions were possible, Toone said she contacted Steve Waldrip, Governor Spencer Cox’s special advisor for housing. She said she met with him at the Capitol during the last legislative session and had a conversation for about two hours.

She said he talked about surplus property that the state owns.

“He said to me, ‘Probably on your way driving down here … you probably passed a lot of parcels of state-owned land that you didn’t realize were state-owned,'” she said. “He said, ‘We may be able to take some of those parcels of land, and because the state already owns them, if we opt to develop them, then not only can we try to help equalize some of that imbalance between supply and demand, but again, pass on the cost savings from the land being less expensive to the end user who eventually purchases the unit.’

“So that was one of the things he mentioned. He talked about unincorporated areas of municipalities who would probably develop in those areas if they had the money for the infrastructure, but if they want the money for the infrastructure, they have to raise their local taxes, and they don’t want to do that. So having some assistance programs from the state to come in and help municipalities with the cost of the infrastructure so that the land can be developed, and then again, because the savings in cost from not having to pay for the infrastructure can be passed on to the end user as well and hopefully bring the price down to a more comfortable range. So those are a few of the things that we talked about.”

Water challenges

Toone said the Great Salt Lake comes up a lot as a concern.

“We are the gateway to Antelope Island in District 14,” she said. “… So when that lake bed dries up and the dust starts to blow, we’re the first ones to breathe it, and that’s a big deal to people.”

She noted recent water conservation requirements from Weber Basin Water and various municipalities.

“People are feeling the impact now in ways that I think maybe they haven’t in the past,” she said. “We have some really promising things going on in that vein, some private fundraising efforts that are really encouraging.”

She noted President Donald Trump’s budget proposal request for $1 billion for Great Salt Lake restoration.

“Now, we need Congress to pass it, and sometimes they have struggled to pass budgets in recent years,” she said. “So we need all the good vibes going toward Congress to hopefully see that that request is met.

“We have a lot of good heads around the table on this issue. I attended a panel during the legislative session from legislators and conservation groups and, you know, the policy folks who have been pulled around the table to help figure out how we’re going to fill the lake before 2034, which is Governor Cox’s goal that before the Winter Olympics, that we have the lake at an acceptable level. That’s a lofty goal.”

Also related to the Great Salt Lake, Toone noted, was the importance of the brine shrimp industry.

“You wouldn’t think that that’s really central to a lot, but it is really important, too,” she said. “A lot of other industries depend on brine shrimp.”

 Closing statement

Toone said she doesn’t think she’s a stranger to those in her community because she’s been in it.

“And so I would say to them, ‘I’ve shown you who I am. I’ve demonstrated to you who I am, the type of work that I do and the causes that I care about. And I’ve given you every reason to have confidence in the abilities that I bring and in my responsiveness to the community and in staying open and available and reporting back, and I’ve demonstrated my ability to do the thing that I keep hearing from people, which is lower that temperature, bring it to where it’s manageable and do things that actually affect my real life,’ and those are commitments that I feel that I can make to constituents,” she said.

“I feel that I can make the commitment to not overstay my welcome. I commit to three terms and that’s it. I don’t really believe in parking it in a legislative state indefinitely. I think it’s motivating to know that the clock’s ticking and I think that I’ve proven through a decade of service in my community that I can make good use of that time, and that my results and my records speak for themselves, and that I’m a person of integrity. You may not always agree with me, but I will always tell you the truth. And that is something I think that people can value and that they can vote for.”

For more on Kara Toone and her campaign, visit https://www.karatoone.com/

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