When Utah County voters hit the polls Tuesday, they'll select three members of the Utah Senate, but one race is pretty much decided, and two involve well-established incumbents that will be hard to unseat.
The race that most will be watching is in Senate District 17. Sen. Eldon Money, D-Spanish Fork, has the distinction of becoming the sole Democratic state legislator from Utah County. In Money's case, being a Democrat has hurt him little in perhaps the country's most-Republican county. His supporters say Money is successful because he keeps in touch with his constituents' needs.Money is seeking his fifth term. He also served for five years in the Utah House. If you believe less government is good government, Money only introduced eight bills at last year's Legislature. Republican Robert Muhlestein and Independent American J. Matthew Throckmorton, both more than 30 years younger than Money, will try to unseat him.
In District 14, Sen. Craig A. Peterson, R-Orem, might be Utah County's most powerful state leader. Peterson served in the past as majority whip and last session served as majority leader. During the past two Legislatures, he has ranked as one of the top lawmakers in getting bills passed. He is seeking his third term.
No Democrat filed for Peterson's seat. Peterson's only challenger is Independent American Bliss Tew, an engineer and technician for Novell.
Howard C. Nielson might be Utah's most-experienced politician, and he'll soon complete his political cycle by serving as the senator from District 16. He won the GOP primary in June and now basically is unopposed. No Democrat is seeking the seat being vacated by Sen. Charles Stewart, R-Provo. Libertarian Carol Williamson filed for the office, but she has run no campaign and the Deseret News could not locate her.
All of the candidates were sent questionnaires by the Deseret News. Transportation, education and crime are common issues of concern. The following synopses do not include all of the candidate responses. Rather, they include responses to questions on which the candidates differed the most, or which the candidates considered of greatest relevance to the campaign.
SENATE DISTRICT 14
Rep. Craig A. Peterson, R-Orem, and Independent American challenger Bliss Tew vie. No Democrat filed for the seat.
Senate District 14 includes north Orem and all of Lindon, Pleasant Grove and American Fork. The district's southern boundary in Orem is 800 North between I-15 and State Street, 400 North between State Street and 1000 East, and Center Street east of 1000 East.
Craig A. Peterson
Age: 49
Address: 1687 N. 200 West, Orem.
Occupation: Engineer, Versar Inc.
Personal: He and wife Annette are the parents of five children.
Experience: Representative Utah House 1986-1988. He is seeking his third term in the Utah Senate.
Major issues: Transportation, public and higher education and infrastructure.
Peterson believes work on I-15 can be funded through more-efficient spending, surplus revenues, short-term bonding and a gas-tax increase. He only favors state funding of light rail if there is a statewide need. He likes the concept of a western corridor to serve the Wasatch Front.
He opposes an education voucher system and favors requiring full disclosure of all gifts received by lawmakers and disclosure of all conflicts. He supports state law that disallows same-sex marriages and doesn't want more-restrictive abortion laws, but opposes relaxing the laws currently in place. He only favors a lawsuit against the tobacco industry if it appears likely to recover costs.
Why are you better qualified than your opponent? He's an advocate of developing partnerships between state and local government. He said he has a broad-based knowledge and experience to evaluate the state's needs.
Bliss Tew
Age: 44
Address: 909 W. 1500 North, Orem
Occupation: lumber salesman, Economy Builders.
Personal: wife Sharon; three children.
Experience: Unsuccessful run for seat on Orem City Council.
Major issues: Education, state's rights and federal land control. He favors court action to regain state's rights.
He believes government has a monopoly on education and he supports a school voucher system. He might support a gas tax increase for I-15 construction and the plan to build a western corridor if it doesn't infringe on private landowners. He opposes light rail since voters turned it down once.
Tew favors tougher rules on disclosure of gifts and conflicts by lawmakers and favors replacing property tax with sales tax. He opposes the lawsuit against the tobacco industry and favors stricter abortion laws. He favors laws banning same-sex marriages.
Why are you better qualified than your opponent? He says he would fight to see that government power is not abused.
SENATE DISTRICT 16
Howard C. Nielson hasn't been Utah's governor, but he's been about everything else in Utah politics. Barring some amazing Election-Day event, he'll complete his political cycle by serving in the Utah Senate.
Nielson's battle for a seat representing Senate District 16 was really fought in June when he defeated Provo accountant Curtis Bramble in the Republican primary. Even though Nielson might be more experienced than any other Utah politician, he went into the primary as the underdog.
Bramble came out ahead of Nielson at the Republican Convention and had the endorsement of about every Republican heavy in Utah County. He also spent a lot more money than Nielson campaigning. But when it came down to the primary, the voters still knew Nielson better than Bramble.
Nielson, 71, is now running basically unopposed. He has no Democratic opponent. Libertarian candidate Carol Williamson's name will appear on the ballot, but she's launched virtually no campaign. Her telephone number listed with the Utah County elections office has been disconnected, and the Deseret News has been unable to locate her at the address given.
Nielson served eight years in the Utah House, being elected majority leader from 1969 to 1970, and speaker of the House from 1973 to 1974. He later served as associate commissioner of higher education before running for Congress in 1982. He was the newly created 3rd District's first representative and was re-elected three times.
Nielson plans to use his experience in helping the state deal with the shift in authority granted by the federal government. He has particular interests in helping with issues on welfare, Medicaid, transportation and education. He is a fiscal conservative who opposes abortion.
He'll replace Sen. Charles Stewart, who did not seek re-election.
Senate District 16 includes most of Provo east of 500 West; Provo Canyon; and Springville north of U-75.
SENATE DISTRICT 17
In what might be the most-Republican county in the country, one Democrat has had a strong hold on his seat for almost two decades.
Sen. Eldon Money, D-Spanish Fork, has represented Senate District 17 since 1979 and before that served in the Utah House for five years. With Rep. Tim Moran retiring, Money would be the only Democrat from Utah County to hold a state office.
Republicans Robert M. Muhlestein and Independent American J. Matthew Throckmorton are his latest challengers.
The biggest difference in the candidates is age and experience. Muhlestein and Throckmorton have little political experience. Also, Money is more than 30 years older than both of his opponents. However, both have launched impressive campaigns, and Tuesday's election results will show if the young guns' enthusiasm is enough to keep the Democratic cattle rancher from serving a fifth term.
Senate District 17 comprises Springville, except an area north of U-75, Spanish Fork, Payson, Cedar Valley and all other southern Utah County communities. It also includes southwest Provo, generally west of 200 West and south of Center Street.
Eldon Money
Age: 65
Address: 5348 S. 1450 West, Palmyra
Occupation: Farmer and cattle rancher
Personal: wife Sharlene; four children and 15 grandchildren.
Experience: Representative Utah House from 1974-1979. Utah Senate 1979-present. Former Senate minority whip and minority leader.
Major issues: Transportation, crime and education.
Money said police need receiving centers so they can spend more time on the streets and less time processing criminals. Education needs to keep pace with growth. "By the time we get the buildings complete, they're already full," he said.
He opposes funding light rail with state money. He favors the governor's proposed Western Transportation Corridor, but wants it farther west where it won't take away private agricultural land. He opposes expanding I-15 with a gas-tax increase, saying surplus revenue should be used and sales tax revenues from vehicle sales should go to roads and not the general fund.
He believes current laws on campaign finance and legislative disclosure of gifts and conflicts are adequate. He opposes same-sex marriages, a voucher system for education and term limits.
Why are you more qualified than your opponent? "I'm better at working with both sides and have more experience," he said.
Robert M. Muhlestein
Age: 30
Address: 590 E. Maple Street, Mapleton
Occupation: Operates retirement centers for state of Utah.
Personal: He and wife Amy are parents of two sons.
Experience: Intern at 1988 Utah Legislature. Master's degree in American studies.
Major issues: Crime, property taxes and term limits.
Muhlestein said laws not based on personal responsibility, self-reliance and family values won't stop crime. He believes term limits guarantee a change in leadership.
"We need citizen legislators, not career politicians," he said.
He supports some long-term bonding to expand I-15, but only supports a gas-tax increase in counties where roads will be improved. He opposes light rail and favors the governor's proposed Western Transportation Corridor if a funding plan - such as a toll road - can be approved.
He might support increases in sales and gas taxes, but would oppose any property or income tax increases. He favors a voucher system for public education and the state's lawsuit against the tobacco industry. He also supports campaign finance reform and laws requiring legislators to give full disclosure of gifts and conflicts.
Why are you more qualified than your opponents? "The state needs young principled leaders for the future, not a career politician," he said.
J. Matthew Throckmorton
Age: 27
Address: 357 S. 300 West, Springville
Occupation: Self-employed carpet installer.
Personal: wife Valerie; 16-month-old daughter.
Experience: Member Utah Army National Guard and intern for Sen. Orrin Hatch.
Major issues: Crime, education and taxes.
Throckmorton wants more space to house criminals. Communities should have more control over schools. He favors tax reductions and reducing growth of state government.
He favors expansion of I-15 but not funding it with bonding or a gas-tax increase. He supports the concept of a Western Transportation Corridor, but not funding it with bonding. He opposes state funding of light rail, saying Salt Lake County should bear the cost.
He opposes giving local government the power to ban guns. He favors full disclosure from lawmakers of gifts and conflicts. He favors campaign finance reform, but opposes term limits. He wants the state's death penalty statute made tougher. He supports a voucher system for education and laws banning same-sex marriages. He opposes a state lawsuit against tobacco companies.
Why are you more qualified than your opponents? He said his opponents want to keep things status quo and don't have a good plan for change.