The Mayor of Provo says he is experienced, effective and most of all, engaged. John Curtis is among a score of candidates vying to fill the 3rd Congressional District seat being vacated by Representative Jason Chaffetz.
At the invitation of Kendra Seeley, Carbon County Republican Party Chairwoman, Curtis was in Price Thursday to meet with delegates over lunch. He also stopped by the Sun Advocate to talk about his campaign.
Curtis said his background in business and his experience as Provo Mayor makes him uniquely qualified to serve as a U.S. Representative. Before becoming mayor, he was the CEO and part owner of Action Target, a Provo manufacturer of shooting range equipment.
Supervisor of Carbon County’s North Spring Shooting Range Scott Olsen said, “Action Target is actually a world renown target manufacturer.” He said the county has done a substantial amount of business with the firm. All the steel targets at the range, as well as the targets for the entire law enforcement venue at North Springs were provided by Action Target.
Commenting on his tenure as Provo Mayor, Curtis affirmed, “Eighty four percent of our residents tell us they get a good to excellent value for their tax dollars,” he said. “I’m very proud of that.” He noted the city negotiated to bring Google Fiber into Provo and, “All the residents of Provo actually get free internet.”
Mayor Curtis got on the ballot by gathering signatures, as set forth by the much-debated Senate Bill 54. That method has been criticized by some in the Republican Party who claim it favors wealthy candidates who can organize and pay for the venture. 7,000 signatures are required to get on the ballot for the Congressional race.
But Curtis contends Senate Bill 54 is a good thing. “It gives candidates another path to get in front of the voters, he stated. Voters win when there’s more choices.” He acknowledged there are some “incredibly talented” candidates in the field and predicted the race will come down to someone who either used Senate Bill 54 or voted for it.
Curtis is a former chairman and currently on the board of the Utah Municipal Power Authority. He declared, “We are highly dependent on coal.” Provo City is a municipal power city and Curtis has made two or three trips per year to Washington, “To lobby for coal and particularly against the EPA and some of their regulations and unrealistic mandates.”
He recognizes that there are market forces affecting all the extractive industries that can’t be controlled. But he says, “What’s important for government is to make sure that they’re not playing a hand in the shift downward.”
The availability of water is becoming a more decisive factor in the growth of Utah. Curtis cautioned, “We’ve got to be more careful. We’re letting cities spring up where there weren’t cities. We need to make sure the water is available for the growth that’s inevitably coming.”
Curtis said he has brought a new level of engagement to the citizens of Provo. “Instead of saying,’I’m not going to do town hall meetings,’ we need to do more town hall meetings,” he said, “And we need to figure out ways to engage our residents and make them feel part of the process.”
He said if elected, he would endeavor to be appointed to the Appropriations Committee, which would eventually lead to the Budget Committee. “That would be my aspirations so that I could influence these budget decisions and put into play some of the things we’ve been able to do here in the City of Provo. I also have a passion for tax reform. I’d love to see us be successful in tax reform.”
The third thing that would be an area of emphasis, “is this whole states rights issue.” Curtis says there are things the states do much better than the Federal Government, and there’s no better example than use of the lands and the (National) Monuments.
The 3rd District Race: John Curtis
John Curtis