Kelly Smith – Push for Local Sovereignty and Process Integrity
As the race for the state legislature heats up, Kelly Smith is positioning herself as the candidate of “process,” local control, and collaborative governance. With six years of experience on the Cedar Hills City Council and a background as a retired educator, Smith’s platform is built on the idea that state government has increasingly overstepped its bounds, leaving local municipalities and citizens in the dark.
The Philosophy: “Stay in Their Lane”
Smith’s primary critique of the current legislative environment is a lack of vertical collaboration. She argues that the state government often ignores the “bottom-up” approach necessary for effective policy.
- Implementation Matters: Smith believes that even well-intentioned state laws fail because they lack an intuitive understanding of how things work on the ground.
- Local Input: “If cities treated residents the way the state does, they would be out of a job,” Smith notes, emphasizing that state legislators often act “just because they can,” rather than because they should.
- Communication: Her record in Cedar Hills reflects a “slow-to-vote” philosophy, purposefully giving residents extra time to digest and respond to potential changes.
Conflicts with the Status Quo: Challenging Brady Brammer
A significant portion of Smith’s motivation stems from recent legislative maneuvers by Representative Brady Brammer. She points to several instances where state-level actions felt “punitive” or lacked transparency:
- The Utah Lake Authority: Smith, who served on the Utah Lake Commission, criticizes the formation of the Utah Lake Authority (drafted by Brammer). She claims it stripped local control and that American Fork was excluded from the process after speaking out against it.
- HB86 and School Bonds: Smith highlights HB86, which capped lease revenue bonds at $200 million. She argues this was a “mid-process” rule change that delayed the construction of Cedar Valley High School for years. This may have contributed to the school district split..
- The Special Election Bill: Smith points to a bill that prevented certain residents from voting on school district splits, which was presented as temporary but never reverted.
Priorities: Data, Water, and Infrastructure
If elected, Smith intends to apply a data-driven approach to the state’s most pressing issues:
- Election Security: She advocates for a targeted, cost-effective look at security. “How much are we willing to spend?” she asks, suggesting that voters deserve choice and transparency rather than reactionary policy.
- Infrastructure & Water: Leveraging her City Council experience, she prioritizes the nuts-and-bolts of local survival: sustainable water management and sturdy infrastructure.
- Education: As a retired educator, she views the cost of training teachers as a critical investment but believes the state’s approach should be more supportive of local needs rather than top-down mandates.
The “Process” Candidate
Smith is calling for an end to “last-minute bills,” such as the instance where a senate sponsor (Brammer) amended a bill to remove prepaid mail-in envelopes just 90 minutes before the session ended.
For Smith, the how is just as important as the what. She believes that by restoring the “lane” for each level of government and ensuring cities aren’t surprised by state-level shifts, Utah can achieve more stable, representative results.
Books Smith said she has recently read or is currently reading:
- Agatha Christie mysteries
- Who is Government by Michael Lewis
Brady Brammer
Brady declined multiple requests for an interview. He did answer a question about if his last-minute bill to block prepaid mail-in envelopes for signature removal was good process. Brady said it was, as it was a legal move and the legislature should settle legal disputes. He essentially said that they can change the law to win a lawsuit, as they were then suing to invalidate prepaid postage envelopes for people to remove their signatures from putting a Prop 4 repeal on the ballot. The repeal failed to make it to the ballot, despite the law change.