Ty Markham

House of Representatives
I could fill this space bragging about my seven grandchildren or telling how I raised eagle scouts and great missionaries or how our family descends from Stephen Markham (a bodyguard and confidant of Joseph Smith). And my degrees, experience and accomplishments are not as important in this election as sharing my values and political views.
Simply, my values center around PEOPLE. That’s why I chose to become a teacher, a principal, later a marriage and family counselor...and now, am choosing to listen and represent the needs of the people closest to me—you…who are part of my same House District 73. I settled in neighboring Wayne County nearly 20 years ago to prepare for retirement, and I operate a small business there.  
Politically, I’ve been an ‘Independent’ voter most of my adult life. But in 2001, I began to consider myself “anti-establishment” after recognizing that both major parties are dominated by multi-national corporations, the banking industry and the war industry. This year, I changed my voter registration from “Unaffiliated” to “Democrat” to represent our rural counties in the Utah House. (I ran four years ago on a Third Party ticket and got nearly 30 percent of the vote, but that party is no longer certified for the Utah ballot.)  Running as a Democrat this time does NOT mean I’m any fan of the Clintons or of Obama. Quite the opposite. In spite of their glowing rhetoric, I’ve remained disappointed (and often disgusted) by their inaction, or their overreach, on so many fronts!  This is why I call myself a “reform” candidate on the Democratic ticket. 
The most politically enlightening thing I’ve studied over the past 15 years is the structures of power in our nation, how those structures interact, and how they collude to bring about a shared agenda.  Potentially, a shared agenda could be a good thing, but unfortunately these power structures interact to promote an agenda that erodes our personal freedoms and constitutional guarantees.
For years it has been BIG money (often foreign money) running the show in Washington, DC. Today, we’re facing the same powerful forces trying to run the show in state legislatures. This includes ours! We must be vigilant, and not just believe everything we hear from our elected officials. As citizens, we must demand transparency in every branch and level of our government.  It is our taxes that support ALL government—government that WE elect to make our laws and enforce them. To represent OUR will, to protect OUR freedoms, and to promote OUR general welfare. Never forget that those we elect are not “our leaders”. We don’t serve them. Rather, they are “our representatives”. They serve us! And that’s exactly what I intend to do–to represent you, not corporate or special interest lobbies. My job is to learn what you value most, to understand your needs and to find solutions. As your representative, I’ll spend time in your community and not just meet with elected officials, but with you!
Please vote for me, Ty Markham for House District 73!