Stephen Otterstrom

Criminal Justice / Public Safety

All law enforcement officers should be required to wear a body camera while on the job. In addition, vehicles should be outfitted with cameras to provide a more-complete picture of officer interactions with the public. Willfully not activating or deactivating a camera, except in circumstances where the camera is deactivated for the benefit of a crime victim, must have consequences. Learn more

Education

Rather than putting time and resources into collection efforts that only add pressure on families and could result in shaming children into not eating, the state should cover the cost of school meals for children through a more-fair tax structure. Ultimately, my goal is to do away with cash registers in school cafeterias. Learn more

I strongly oppose school vouchers to private schools because private schools choose their students. They are not required to educate children with special needs and/or disabilities, and they aren’t held to the same education standards. As someone who was in special education throughout my K-12 experience, I understand how important it is to fully-fund the education all children need. Voucher programs take funds out of our already underfunded system without providing the same services. Learn more

Book bans are actively harmful because they stigmatize representation of marginalized groups and sensitive subjects. Schools are places where students should be challenged with other views and perspectives. The legislature should not restrict free speech. Learn more

Utah enjoys a relatively-low state income tax rate of a flat 4.45%. If we adopted a graduated or progressive income tax structure, like most states, we could give a tax break to most of the working-class and also add approximately $1 billion to education funding through small-percentage increases in the highest tax brackets. This would improve our near-last place rating in per-pupil spending in the country. Learn more

Environment / Energy

Poor air quality is leading to poor health, and this is seen especially on the Westside of Salt Lake City. While we can’t change geographic conditions that lead to inversion, we can and must take action to limit pollution created on the Wasatch Front, including investing in a robust mass transit system and implementing scaling fines for major polluters. Learn more

Utah faces cataclysmic consequences if we don’t significantly reduce net depletions to the Great Salt Lake’s tributaries. As the lake dries up, the health of everyone living along the Wasatch Front will worsen and could eventually make the valley unlivable. We must mandate strict water use guidelines and infrastructure, that at a bare minimum, return 800,000 additional acre-feet per year. This will return the lake to healthy levels in 25–30 years. Learn more

Government Reform

I believe the state should not preempt cities from creating ordinances that protect their residents. Utah currently prohibits cities from enacting reasonable rent controls, setting a higher minimum wage, designing walkable streets, and adopting gun measures better suited for cities. Issues like these are best handled locally, where leaders are closest to the people affected. Learn more

The Utah Independent Redistricting Commission is under attack by politicians afraid of their constituents. The commission must be allowed to do their job of drawing fair congressional and state legislative maps. I will defend their work, regardless of whether or not it favors my personal electoral prospects. Learn more

Healthcare

Gender-affirming care brings a person’s physical body into alignment with their internal sense of self. Many people, regardless of gender expression, benefit from gender-affirming healthcare. Denying, or placing unnecessary barriers to healthcare for transgender people, including youth, simply because they are transgender, is a denial of equal protection under the law. This also limits cisgender people’s ability to access the healthcare they need to feel comfortable in their body. Even worse, many of these bills further stigmatize an already marginalized group. Learn more

Immigration

Our state is stronger through immigrant and diaspora communities. We are all threatened when ICE, enabled by the Supreme Court to racially profile residents, patrols our neighborhoods. I will oppose any preemption or partnership that promotes further ICE enforcement within the state. Learn more

Taxes / Budget

Increasing property taxes are pushing retired seniors out of their homes; last year in Utah, we saw a 42% increase in homeless seniors. The state has implemented a program to defer property taxes for seniors, and while it is a good start, the program has many restrictions that limit its ability to help more people. I would seek to amend this program to increase eligibility. Learn more

Wages / Job Benefits

I support repealing right-to-work laws, expanding collective bargaining rights for public employees, and using Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) to encourage union apprenticeship participation. I also support banning “captive audience” meetings during unionization drives. Employers must not be allowed to discipline employees who refuse to attend these meetings. Learn more

Utah’s minimum wage has not seen an increase since 2009, all while the state’s GDP has more than doubled. We should tie annual increases to the minimum wage to inflation. Learn more