District 12 legislative race about education, 2nd Amendment rights
Utah Rep. Mike Schultz, left, is being challenged by Rick Jones of West Haven for the House of Representatives District 12 seat.
Mike Schultz
Democrat Rick E. Jones is challenging Republican incumbent Mike Schultz in the Utah Legislature’s House of Representatives District 12 race.
Jones describes himself as a reluctant politician.
“I honestly did not intend to run this time,” he explained. “I did run back in ’06 — and I didn’t intend to run then, either. But our current representative would run unopposed another time if somebody didn’t step up.”
The 66-year-old Jones lives in West Haven. He works as a piano teacher, as well as an adjunct economics instructor at Weber State University.
“I’m running to give the voters of the area a choice, and to be a voice that would lessen partisanship and apply more common sense and less ideology — whether it’s the Second Amendmendment, or not applying the money to change the name of UTA (Utah Transit Authority).”
With his candidacy, Jones said he’s hoping to inject another opinion into the gun debate. One of the reasons he decided to run against Schultz was a flier his opponent sent out two years ago that included the sentiment: “Our Founding Fathers got it right the first time. There is no wiggle room in our right to bear arms. Utah will not join the federal government in facilitating the current gun grab.”
Jones said that position made him want to challenge Schultz.
“To me, it came across very silly to say there’s no wiggle room in the Second Amendment,” he said. “Because 90 percent of Americans would profess a belief in the First Amendment, but 90 percent also want to prohibit child pornography. I don’t see the Second Amendment as absolute.”
Another key issue in Utah, according to Jones, is the fight for clean air.
“I’ve known a couple of people who had to leave the area because the air quality was bad,” he said.
Jones said he’s a big supporter of education. He’d like to see the legislature make educating students a higher priority. He also was “disturbed” by the recent downsizing of Bears Ears National Monument, and wants the legislature to show “greater care for public lands.”
In addition, Jones believes the State of Utah shouldn’t be spending public money to fund closed Republican primaries. He said it’s “unfortunate” the state subsidizes things that “enhance partisanship,” saying that if the GOP is using public money its primaries should be open to everyone.
“The main thing I would like to see is less partisanship and more civility — and, the two parties working together,” Jones said. “… I think we’d be better off if partisanship were lessened. It’s been a toxic force that has tended to reduce civility.”
The 42-year-old Schultz is running for his third term this fall. The Hooper resident says he wants to continue the work he started almost four years ago.
“I told the voters early on I would not be one of those representatives who goes down there and sits on his hands,” he said. “I go down there to make a difference, and I feel like I have made a difference — in all of our lives.”
Schultz sees economic development as one of the key issues in his district. A businessman, Schultz says he wants to make a difference, economically, in Northern Utah. He says he looks at all the economic development in Salt Lake and Utah counties and doesn’t want Weber and Davis counties to be left out.
“I want to make sure we’re receiving our fair share, so that our kids don’t have to go and get a job in Salt Lake or Utah county and move out of here — like so many of them have had to do,” he said.
As a result, Schultz believes things like education and transportation in Weber and Davis counties are key components in that goal — making sure employers have an educated workforce, and employees have the ability to get to and from work.
“I wanna make sure I’m fighting for the people,” he said. “And if you look at my record, I feel like I have.”
Schultz said he’s “very pro-Second Amendment,” but that he’s also willing to sit down with groups of students and hold town-hall meetings to come up with ideas on how to make schools safer.
“I don’t have all the answers, but I want to try to help find them,” he said.
Above all else, Schultz said it’s important to remember that the government doesn’t always have all the solutions.
“Especially having been elected to the legislature the last three and a half years, I’ve learned that government generally creates more problems and has an insatiable appetite for spending,” he said. “So the smaller we can keep the government, the better.”
Contact Mark Saal at 801-625-4272, or msaal@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @Saalman. Friend him on Facebook at facebook.com/MarkSaal.