Reed Richards' responses:
1. What do you think is the most important issue in this election?
Experience and a proven record of accomplishments. I helped establish the Children's Justice Centers in Utah, worked with the Legislature to adopt more than 150 changes to the criminal law, established victims' service programs all across the state. I have also developed and implemented crime prevention programs.
2. What specific attributes will you bring to the Attorney General's Office that your opponent will not?
I bring legal professionalism, maturity and 25 years of legal and managerial experience as a county attorney and chief deputy to Attorney General Jan Graham. I can provide balance to state government because I am able to make tough decisions, withstand political pressure and stand up for what is right.
3. Please list Utah's No. 1 crime problem and what you would do to combat it.
Family violence. This would include child abuse, domestic violence and senior abuse. These problems strike at the very core of our society by destroying the family unit which should be the support for every individual. I have helped to establish children's justice centers and domestic violence shelters, and have worked to toughen the laws regarding child abuse, domestic violence and senior abuse.
4. What is your position on defending Utah's new restrictive adoption and foster-care laws?
The job of the attorney general is to defend laws passed by the Utah Legislature. Unless a law is blatantly unconstitutional, I would, as attorney general, defend the law. While the new adoption and foster care provisions may be unpopular with some Utahns, I do not see obvious constitutional problems with the law and, therefore, would defend it if challenged in court.
5. What is your stance on banning legally permitted concealed weapons from schools and churches?
I think the voters of Utah should have a chance to answer this question on the ballot. I am a supporter of the Second Amendment. I am a gun owner and a hunter. However, I do not see a reason for guns to be present at church or school any more than at an airport or in a courtroom where guns are already prohibited.
6. As attorney general, would you draft laws to make Utah's abortion statute stricter than it already is? Why or why not?
This is a decision for legislators, not a decision for the attorney general. Although I am personally opposed to abortion, my responsibility as attorney general would be to advise those interested in drafting bills regarding the current law, including Supreme Court decisions.
7. In your opinion does Initiative A, the proposal to declare English as Utah's office language, raise any constitutional red flags? Please explain.
While I do not support the initiative because I feel that it would be divisive and states the obvious that English is our primary language, I do not see constitutional problems that would invalidate the initiative if it were passed.
8. What is your position on Initiative B, the proposed Utah Property Protection Act?
I do not support this initiative because the current law regarding civil asset forfeiture provides an effective law enforcement tool for fighting drug dealers. Current law provides due process to property owners and only takes their property if a judge is convinced that forfeiture is appropriate.
(Editor's note: As part of the Deseret News survey of candidates, each person seeking public office is allowed one question of their opponent. Here is Mark Shurtleff's question for Reed Richards:)
During the eight years you have served as chief deputy attorney general, the office's budget has doubled and you have added 150 full-time employees. How do you explain the ongoing problems with the Division of Child and Family Services and child custody?
The Legislature sets the budget for all state offices, including the Attorney General's Office. However, the numbers provided are not correct. They have been substantially overstated. The office's size has remained constant over the last eight years with the exception of cost-of-living increases given annually to all state employees, and resources and staff added by legislative mandate to protect children. This would include funding for children's justice centers in all parts of the state, and the Child Protection Division. The assignment of child protection, prior to 1994, was carried out by the 29 county attorneys. While the office did not ask for the assignment for removing children from abusive homes, once the Legislature gave the AG's office that assignment our attorneys have worked diligently to ensure that children are protected in every part of the state.