Republican primary election candidates for the Utah state senate seat representing Tooele, Box Elder and Cache counties met Tuesday in Wellsville. The candidates discussed school safety, education funding and Utah tax policy.
Clark Davis and Scott Sandall are Republican candidates running for Senate District 17. In a primary election later this month, voters will select which candidate will appear on the fall ballot.
Current senator, Peter Knudson, said tax policy will be a major issue in coming years. He wanted to know how his replacement would address possible tax needs.
Sandall is from Tremonton and is currently serving in the Utah House of Representatives.
“The growth that’s happening in our state requires more services,” Sandall said. “It requires more transportation. It requires more education. As we grow, we are going to have to find ways to fund those things. It’s my opinion that we should be able to do that with the natural growth. I don’t think that we are going to be able to raise taxes, or that we want to raise taxes.”
Sandall would like to find ways to balance transportation, education and general fund needs. He says transportation funding is lagging behind, which requires money from the general fund.
Davis is from Brigham City and served as mayor there. He also was a Box Elder County Commissioner for two terms.
Davis said as people are buying more services than goods, sales tax needs to be re-addressed.
“There was just a study this morning that was delivered by the Utah Foundation regarding the sales tax in the state of Utah,” Davis said. “Sales tax, 45 years ago, was the number one income producer in the state, now it’s the last.”
The primary election is June 26. Voters who have chosen to vote by mail should begin receiving their ballots this week.
