Mike Noel

House of Representatives
I began my elected legislative service in 2002. Before running for office, I worked as a private citizen fighting to keep our RS2477 Roads open in Kane County after the illegal creation of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (GSENM). I started three grass roots “People for the USA” chapters in Utah and Arizona and personally successfully sued the sitting county commissioners for agreeing with BLM to close 1,000 miles of county RS2477 roads in GSENM.
The designation of the GSENM has not been good for Kane or Garfield counties. Both counties have seen their resource based economies decline significantly and their school children exported out of the area because of the lack of family support jobs. The new monument brought a proliferation of increased federal regulations and more federal law enforcement personnel, thus restricting the traditional uses of our public lands, including tourism. I recently worked with local business owners to save the lottery system for the iconic “Wave” tour. The proposed closure of the local lottery was Washington, DC driven.
There is currently an effort all across our state, but mainly focused in the rural counties, to disregard local law enforcement and local and state government authority. Elite environmental NGO’s use the federal land management agencies and the corrupt liberal federal courts to do this. I promise that the proposed designation of a Bears Ears National Monument by the Obama administration will be challenged in the courts and legislatively. As your state representative, I will continue to fight to stop the monument and to reverse it, if the designation is made.
With the support of our county commissioners in my district and throughout the state, along with many dedicated citizens, we have been able to keep the vast majority of our roads open and our resource based economy alive. Your county commissioners have led a fight to keep your roads open, and I applaud them for that. Commissioner Phil Lyman is a hero in my book. I enjoyed working with him on his legal battles against our corrupt federal court system. We won a moral victory in that he only had to serve a 10-day sentence, rather than a two-year sentence. Hopefully the 10th circuit will reverse the conviction. I also enjoy an excellent working relationship with Commissioners Bruce Adams and Rebecca Benally.
I have a 14-year record of working with the legislature and the governor’s office to fund our road litigation, protect our grazing rights and to fight to keep public lands under a multiple use and sustained yield formula which includes tourism, hunting, grazing, timber harvesting and outdoor recreation. I work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I am endorsed by the NRA. I am a strong supporter of public education. I am the recipient of the “2016 Friend of State Institutional Trust Lands” by their Board of Directors. I am humbled to be the elected representative for the people of San Juan County and District 73 and ask for your vote in the upcoming election.