Gov. Mitt Romney visits Emery County

By Patsy Stoddard

Mitt Romney attended the annual Lincoln Day Dinner for the Republican party. The event was held at the Emery County Recreation Building in Castle Dale. Kent Wilson from BKs catering was the chef for the evening treating the crowd to steak, shrimp and chicken. All speakers complimented the meal saying the Emery County dinner has the best steak in the state.
The highlight of the evening came when Mitt Romney spoke to the large audience.  Before the event, Romney took a few minutes to talk to the Emery County Progress.
Romney said, “I’ve been out touring the state and in the past three and a half weeks, I’ve visited 20 counties and 34 cities. I’ve visited with mayors, county commissioners and citizens. Some areas are seeing too much growth and some parts of the state too little. In the rural counties the biggest export is our kids.”
Romney said he would like to see more jobs for rural Utah. He’s concerned with federal overreach in regards to public lands. “There needs to be more local involvement in public lands decisions.
Romney would like to create centers of economic development to create vitality in our communities. They would be an extension of our college campuses and bring increased business and technology jobs to rural Utah.
If elected, Romney would like to reform the Antiquities Act and the Endangered Species Act. He would like to create a certainty when it comes to public land use.
When in San Juan County, Romney spoke with those involved in the Bears Ears National Monument. He’s visited with them a number of times. “I believe they took too much, Pres. Trump was right to push back.”
Romney went on to say Pres. Trump has endorsed his run for Senate. He said he and Pres. Trump, both call things like they see them which isn’t always popular. “I expect to work well with him on issues good for Utah,” said Romney.
Romney said Pres. Trump has accomplished a lot in his first year in office including cutting taxes and regulations. In regards to tariffs on imports, Romney said very narrow tariffs can work well. Broad tariffs would not work well for Utah. Utah exports more than it imports. “I’ll fight for what’s good for Utah, I would limit narrow tariffs to the bad actors.”
Romney said he opposed the Dream Act. He supports legal immigration and established paths to citizenship, he doesn’t support a special pathway to citizenship for DOCA kids. He would like to see a secure border. He thinks states should determine how many work visas they need for guest workers.
“Eleven counties in Utah are shrinking, we need more good jobs across the entire state,” said Romney.
Romney believes the federal debt must be reduced. He would like to see a return to the Constitution where the authority to solve problems lies closest to the people. States should have more input on health care, public lands, school safety, education, etc. The federal government should adopt a more hands off approach leaving more decisions to state and local leaders.
Romney said the best place for making schools safer is on a state by state basis. Rural and urban areas have different needs. He doesn’t view new gun laws created by the federal government as an answer. A better background check system is needed. Records need to be kept on the mentally ill and their ability to purchase a firearm should be restricted. Pres. Trump has described a system where those who present a threat are identified and intervention used to help them overcome their issues.
Anyone who has made statements or threats should be included on a do not purchase order.
Romney believes character should flow from those who serve as leaders, teachers and principals. “Our leaders should practice civility and acknowledge the integrity and worth of other individuals. Division creates anger, anger can manifest itself in those who are mentally disturbed,” said Romney.
 He would like to create a climate of unity and respect for others. Current times are more polarized than in the past, anger is everywhere, in talk radio etc. The degrading of the culture is an unfortunate and dangerous course. Citizens and leaders must stand up and respect others.
Romney has a home in Holladay where he has lived for the past 10 years. He attended college in Utah and spent three years here during his time as the director of the Utah Olympics. In his spare time, Romney enjoys skiing with his family and they share a cabin with another family at Deer Valley.
“I would love to get the Olympics again for Utah. It was a great unifying experience for Utah. I’ll work on bringing the games back,” said Romney.
Romney mingled with guests at the Republican dinner and spoke to the audience after which he left to return home to greet his son’s family. They were coming for a visit from back east.