Early in August, the Daily Herald...

Posted the Candidate Guide. Here were my responses to the questions asked:

Race: Saratoga Springs City Council

Occupation: Wife and Mother

Age: 43

Education: Always learning

Website: Leahhanseninthecity.blogspot.com

Facebook: FB.me/leahhanseninthecity

Email: Leahhansen.saratogasprings@gmail.com

What are the biggest issues facing your city and Utah Valley, and how do you plan to address them?

I have lived in Saratoga Springs for over 14 years and have watched our small town grow into a bustling city with its accompanying challenges of growth: Traffic issues, high density housing, water concerns and all this while trying to accommodate everyone, to name a few. How do I plan to address these issues? One issue at a time.

What sets you apart from other candidates?

I plan to serve only one term, and am funding my own campaign.

What relevant experience do you have for this position?

I believe that the greatest place to learn leadership skills is at home. As a wife of nearly 24 years and a mother to four children ranging from ages 15 to 21, I have learned how to deal with crises at different stages of life and in varying degrees; I have learned to be a better listener; I have learned that there are many angles and many sides to stories, and when it comes to making decisions,, principles are the answer. I have learned that each person is different with different needs, so applying a one-size-fits-all remedy is fruitless and needs to be addressed not only separately, but also requires creativity, imagination and thinking outside of the box to come up with solutions that will be helpful. With the help of God and my husband, I have learned to use principles of freedom to raise our children and feel that those principles do not just apply at home, but apply at City Council and everywhere as well.

What previous elected positions have you held?

I have served as a county delegate, a state delegate and an interim vice chair in my local precinct. I am currently serving as Legislative District 6's Vice Chair, and just recently, was elected to serve on State Central Committee for the Utah State Republican Party.

Is there anything else you want your readers to know about you?

I have been a student of Freedom for about 14 years and I love it. I care about the principles of Freedom.

****But where do you stand on the issues, Leah?****

So, hey guys,

People have been asking me questions about where I stand on the issues, so here it is:

My name is Leah Hansen and I have lived here in Saratoga Springs for 14 years. I believe that the proper role of government is LIMITED to protect a person's life, liberty, pursuit of happiness and property and nothing more, and if elected, I will see to it that that is the ONLY thing that government does. Anything more than that is a usurpation of power and is not only unjust, but un-American.

If elected, I plan to use these questions to guide my decision-making and the way I vote:

1. If I were acting individually would it be right for me to require this of my neighbor?

2. Could I, in good conscience, punish my neighbor for disobeying this law even to the point of personally taking his life, his liberty, or his property?

3. Is this the smallest or lowest level of government that can possibly undertake this task?

You're not understanding?

Response: Where do you stand specifically on the issues?

What, that's not enough?

I do not see how we as a city can allow for growth without considering the potential for negative externalities that result from it. We need more roads, we need to ensure that we have enough water/water pressure to service all the residents in our city, and only addressing them when it becomes a problem is a problem. It is important that we do all we can to consider all the actions of the decisions we make. 

Density to me is one of biggest issues that we face here in Saratoga Springs right now. We are only 12 miles long and the idea that we are going to be growing so fast concerns me greatly.

Having been one who moved here to get away from it all,

it makes me sad that things are not going to be as quiet as I'd like.

I know that we will be getting 2 extra roads that will run parallel to Redwood Rd (Mountain View Corridor will be extended to SR 73, and Foothill Blvd), but we needed those roads yesterday. I understand that density will continue to be a thing here, so I will do everything that I can to encourage, promote and advocate for responsible growth. I have heard that density is doable, if done well, so I'm really interested in seeing what that will look like, and would love to be a part of that decision-making team.

I've attended City Council meetings and come home bothered as I've watched developers fight for their right to build on their property to the point that they have wanted to keep roads narrow so that they can have more of their property to build on, but then I've also spoken with residents who park their trucks or SUVs on the sides of their roads because they can't fit their vehicles into their garages, because their garages are too low, so they park their vehicles on the side of the road, but it makes things difficult for other drivers to be able to drive on that same road, because the truck/SUV is too wide, not to mention fire engines and ambulances not being able to get to a house in time due to the narrow roads. 

So there's density in the neighborhoods, there's density on the roads and it is not only hazardous, it is irresponsible to allow for such growth without considering the consequences. I would LOVE to be able to find ways to encourage responsible growth here in our city. I will work to encourage developers who want to build to consider not only their bottom line but the overall health not only of their potential buyers but the effect that their decisions have on the overall health of our city as well.

The best thing about Saratoga other than the lake, the wildlife and the agricultural lands in the beautiful area that we live in? I'm not saying this to sound like a politician, but the people, honestly.

I've had the opportunity to meet and speak with many of you, and I am floored each time. I come away having learned something new about how I can improve my approach, improve my stand on the issues, and with most, if not all, I have felt like I'm meeting with old friends and we are catching up on life. I feel a responsibility to this city and to the people here. I want to help protect it, and I feel that the best way that I can do that is by making sure that government does ONLY what it is supposed to do and then get out of the people's way and let freedom flourish.

xoxo,

Leah :)

P.S. People still want me to be specific on issues. To be honest, I don't think I could be more specific than wanting to apply the principles of Freedom to government. If we could look back on matters or issues that bother us and if we could go back to the root of the problem, it isn't just the decisions we make that are problematic, but not understanding and applying the basic principles of Freedom in government. I plan to apply the principles of Freedom to any action or decision that comes my way. I prefer to act on principle, not on expediency because principles go much deeper than our need to fix things quickly. Our actions are a reflection of our understanding of principles, and if we don't understand principles of Freedom, our actions will reflect it as well.

The ballot! The ballot!

Hey guys,

I got my mail-in ballot in the mail today! Woohoo!

C'mon now, no one celebrates alone! Celebrate with me ;)

Have you received your mail-in ballot yet? If yes, I hope you have voted already! God bless America. :)

xoxo,

Leah

Pardon the interruption

"And it is beautiful and tragic

Different verse but same old song

Sometimes the only thing you learn is

That life keeps moving on

"At this pace

We're gonna get somewhere

If it's good or bad, if it's slow or fast

Life keeps moving on

And yes, life keeps moving on" 

-Ben Rector

Ever have those times/moments where you're ultra-focused on something great - a project, your homework (for once), something really good and fulfilling and/or satisfying, and while you're in the "zone" and doing your thing, something that you LEAST EXPECT that could happen, happens? 

(Source: https://capitalcitybaseball.wikispaces.com/file/view/curve-ball.jpg/223564570/417x219/curve-ball.jpg)

Curveball indeed! I encountered a few experiences that I NEVER saw coming, and it threw me off my "game". Inconvenience! How cruel and rude that life doesn't respect the fact that I am running for city council! And these "events" that happened, why couldn't they have happened after this was all done? Why couldn't this happen at a more convenient time? 

All the while during these experiences in the back of my mind, I kept thinking to myself, how am I going to do this? How am I going to make this work? 

(Source: http://www.mynewsgirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/help.jpg)

I realized that I had two choices: embrace what is, gratefully and willingly let these experiences take their course, see them through and then move on, or ignore it altogether and keep working on my campaign. I opted for the former. This experience reminded me that I am a wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend and neighbor first, and a political candidate last. Serving in office would be a great experience and honor, but when all is said and done, when all this hoopla and fanfare of campaigning for office and possibly even getting to serve in office is over and done with, take off all the political "makeup", the friends and supporters, the opportunities to make it big in the city, and I will still be Leah Hansen, wife, mother, daughter, sister, neighbor and friend. Robert Frost, here's to taking that other road. #priorities

xoxo,

Leah

Very important information on voting in municipal elections this year!

Hey guys,

If you are interested in voting in municipal elections this year in Saratoga, there are some things I would like you to know:

Aaand if the video was too long to watch (I'm trying to keep them to 2-3 mins. max, FYI), Saratoga Springs, along with several other cities here in Utah County will be doing ballots by mail; you will not need to go to a polling location to vote; the ballots will come to YOU, if you are an active voter.

An active voter is one who has voted at least once in the past four years. If you haven't voted in the past 4 years, if you would like to vote, you can do it one of 3 ways:

• Register online to vote: Go to vote.utah.gov 

and if you'll notice on the top right-hand side of the page, there is a "Register to Vote" tab. Click on it, and register to vote;  you will need your driver's license (a current one, please, one that has your current address on it), and if you'll just fill out the information that they need from you, it should take a couple of minutes, then you're set! 

• Register by mail:

Under the same website, you can click on the "Utah Voter Registration Form" link, and it should take you to a page that you can print out, fill out your information by hand, and mail it to the Utah County Clerk's office. The address is:

Utah County Clerk Office

100 E. Center, Room 3100

Provo, UT 84606

and if you would like to contact them with further questions, their information is:

Clerk: Bryan Thompson

bryant@utahcounty.gov

Phone: 801-851-8128

Fax: 801-851-8122

• And lastly, you can register in person to vote. Just head on over to the County Clerk's office (address listed above) and register to vote! Simple, right? 

Additional information that may be important to know:

Primary Election Day for Municipal Elections: August 15, 2017, aaaaaand:

- deadline for registering online to vote is July 31, 2017

- clerk's office will begin mailing out ballots on July 25, 2017

- don't worry if you register online (or in person) to vote on July 31, 2017 when ballots are already being mailed out; you should still be able to get one before the Primary Election Day, which is August 15, 2017.

- last day to register to vote by mail is July 17, 2017

If you have any questions for me, please don't hesitate to let me know!

xoxo,

Leah

Utah

Make it rain!

Well, I'm just made of money, aren't I?

via GIPHY

*rolling my eyes*

Actually, I can see why it would be important for us to report our campaign finances, particularly when people are donating to them. It would be helpful for donors to know how their money is being spent, and also so that they can see that it is not being squandered. 

As I mentioned before, however, I have decided to fund my own campaign, because I haven't wanted to be beholden to anyone; call me strange, but to me, it feels like I'd be taking a loan from people, and I don't want to do that to others. As I mentioned in a previous video, "my choice, my responsibility". 

So, here's to making it rain...I now have $100 in my account. Woohoo! I'm rich, I'm rich! ;)

Pretty much. 

xoxo,

Leah

Happy 4th of July!

There is so much that is going through my mind at this time about this holiday. When I think of the Star-Spangled Banner's last line, "O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave", more often than not, I imagine we think of the soldiers, those brave people who are fighting wars for our country. Yet as I reflect on the events that happened during the Founders' time, the signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave; George Washington, Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, James Madison, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Frederick Douglass were brave. In modern times, Mother Teresa was brave. Gandhi was brave. Martin Luther King was brave. Aung San Suu Kyi is brave. Are we brave?

One of my favorite mentors and modern founders in America today is Oliver Demille. He wrote a great article about public virtue. The stories that are in that link (<---back there, the public virtue link, yeah, click on it) about the people who pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor were brave, and I cry every time I read these stories. I want to be like them. I hope you will take a moment to read it. It is so so so so good! I am so grateful for the Founders of this great country who paid the price to BE people of virtue in their own lives, who set the example for me that I gotta know what I know, and there is no faking around it. I can't claim to be a freedom-loving person if I am not respecting the freedom of my husband and children and neighbors. I can't be good in office if I'm not a good person in my own life. I can't commit to people if I can't keep commitments to myself. I gotta be good FIRST!

Let us be brave, wise, good and FREE in our own lives first. I so promise it will help us to be better everywhere else. To thine own self be true... #truerwords

Carry on.

xoxo,

Leah

WIN! At all costs! #yeahnah

It is seriously incredible to me how much mail I have gotten from companies that would LOVE to "help" me "win" my campaign with their political yard signs (I need those), postcards (do I need those?), flyers (hmmm), buttons, badges, banners, robocalls, campaign management websites, and I imagine there are a LOT of other products, methods and doodads that I could purchase that would help me WIN! Cause winning matters!

This is what it feels like to me:

Finish HIM! Finish them! WIN, WIN, WIN, for goodness' sake, and you'll be a WINNER! 

Great. #letfreedomring #smh

This is not a game about winning, this is an election, where we the people get to vote to maintain our FREEDOM. Popularity and Freedom are not the same thing. Freedom ought to be what we are voting for; we human beings are not perfect people; we make mistakes and we err as well, but the principles of Freedom, those things remain, regardless of who is in office. I want to help make the principles of Freedom popular again.

xoxo,

Leah

I attended City Council meeting last night...

It was good. I've always learned something new when I have attended City Council meetings. We have some great people in City Council.

Interestingly enough, when I attended this time with an eye for what it'd be like if I  were on the City Council, I saw how I would do things differently. I also saw that no matter what, there are consequences for all the choices we make. I saw how regardless of what a leader does, there is no pleasing everyone. Reminded me that government is there to protect rights, liberty and property and pursuit of happiness, not to make people happy. How, then, does happiness come about, with respect to government? Does government have an involvement in that? If so, what? Thoughts?

xoxo,

Leah

Reality checks and lessons I still need to learn...

Painful lessons are so hard to swallow, but I am learning to be grateful for the things they teach me.

I really believe that loving our neighbors as ourselves IS a principle of freedom. If we all learned to do this better, perhaps there'd be less need for gov't intervention.

xoxo,

Leah

Soooo, here's what happened last Wednesday...

Hey people,

Just wanted to give yous a heads up on what happened when I went to file to run for City Council.

I'll let you know what happened at the candidate orientation!

xoxo,

Leah