Utah House Candidate: Davina Smith

Hello friends and neighbors! My name is Davina Smith and I’m excited to be a candidate to serve as your voice in the Utah Legislature. I’ve had the privilege of calling San Juan County home for most of my life — I live in Blanding now but was raised in Monument Valley. I have four amazing children who love where they grew up, but they can’t find affordable housing or a stable job here. I’m running for State House of Representatives to ensure future generations can thrive in rural Utah.
Much of my career has been in education and healthcare. I’ve worked to develop teacher training programs and expand educational opportunities for our youth. I fought to expand medicaid and support community members in accessing affordable health care. I lead by listening first and bringing voices to the table who are often left out.
I’ve seen the rapid change in our communities, and too often it’s change that isn’t good for the well-being of long-term residents. I see strained community resources, neglected infrastructure, health care workers and school teachers being priced out of our neighborhoods and towns, and wages not keeping up with skyrocketing gas, housing, and food prices. I will fight for a future where working families’ simplest needs are met.
We need to see more investment in our public education system and infrastructure. That’s why I’ll oppose efforts to divert our tax dollars to private schools on the Wasatch front. Utah will be receiving billions of dollars for infrastructure improvements resulting from the recently passed, bi-partsian federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. I will fight hard to make sure our district sees its fair share of those resources and that local workers and businesses are the first to benefit from this investment.
Elderly, rural Utahns should have quality healthcare and assisted living options close to home. Growing up, I was taught that Elders are the backbone of any community. We should invest in affordable senior care and strengthen our healthcare system. Like most of you, I see fully expanding Medicaid to support seniors and our rural hospital networks as a no-brainer.
Inflation and heightened corporate greed have hit working families and those living on fixed-incomes particularly hard. In the legislature, I’ll work across the aisle to finally end the Utah food and grocery sales tax. Taxes like these put the burden of funding the government on the backs of the hardest working, lowest-income Utahns, while the wealthiest on the Wasatch front are always first in line for tax relief.
I’m looking forward to sharing these ideas and others with neighbors across this spectacular district of ours. I’ve put 100,000 miles on my car during this campaign because I’m committed to listening to our neighbors across the district. I’m here to bring your stories to the Capitol. Voting matters, especially in local elections like ours. I hope I can count on yours by November 8th.