good4utah.com - Donna McAleer Shares What Prompted Her to Run for Congress

Interview

Glen Mills: Donna McAleer is the Democratic challenger taking on Rob Bishop in Utah's 1st Congressional District. Let's go ahead and start with what issue prompted you to run.

Donna McAleer: I decided to run for Congress, there are really two issues. The first was the epidemic of rape and sexual assault in the military. I was asked to be a technical consultant on a film called the Invisible War which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012. And it was my work consulting in that film and being a subject. I realized not only is there an epidemic of rape and sexual assault in the military, but also in civilian society. And my desire to make a change to help reform the military justice system and to provide victims opportunities for healing and justice. The second reason was because that congress has lost its focus on its mission. Its mission is to govern and keep the government open. As a West point graduate and an army officer, everything we do in the army is focused on the mission. Its there that I learned to be a problem solver and regardless of your race, your socioeconomic background, your religion or who you love, everybody in the military we focus on a mission. And congress has lost focus on a mission.

Mills: Representative Bishop has been in Congress for quite awhile. He has a lot of seniority built up. How can you be effective without that seniority as a new comer?

McAleer: Well I think that seniority is a misnomer. I already am in Washington and being quite effective. In 2013 Secretary Defense Panetta appointed me to serve on the defense advisory council for women in the service. So I have been doing policy work in Washington, D.C representing service women and veterans. So I think that's a false impression. The other thing is that I have the background the pragmatic practical experience having created jobs in the supply chain leading to global division of a technology company. I know how to create and manage balance sheets. Having turned around health care not for profit, I understand the importance and have had to actually purchase health insurance. In the corporate world, in the military, and in the not for profit world I've had to deliver results. And that's what congress is not doing right now. They are not delivering results; we are not holding our congress people accountable. And so seniority is not the issue here. Its effectiveness and results and representing your constituency properly of Utah in D.C.

Mills: Lets talk about that because district one is diverse economically and geographically. What can you bring to the table?

McAleer: You're absolutely right Glen. It goes from the North West in Box Elder County all the way to the East in Uintah County. It's geographically disperse and economically diverse. Our largest single sight employer is Hill Air force Base. As a military veteran, I understand the issues around the military and will be a strong advocate for that. Having a daughter in the public school system, I'm familiar with our challenges in education. Somebody who is passionate about stewarding our public lands, that's another huge asset in our state. Utah is blessed with so many natural resources that bring in significant amounts of visitors to our state and contribute huge dollars to our state. So what I bring is willingness to work and demonstrable record of results. I'm not about pulling political stunts and shutting down the government.

Mills: Public lands. It's a big issue here in Utah. Who is better suited to manage public lands? The state or the government?

McAleer: Well I think what's really important to understand what public lands in the west there are 1.2 billion dollars of public lands in the west. In Utah our public lands bring millions and millions of visitors and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for this state. And I think it's a misnomer when people say, were going to fight the federal government and take back these public lands. It's a historical fallacy. If we look at the enabling act when Utah became a state in our constitution we forever disclaimed rights to those lands. So I think it's important that we really take a balanced approach and look at really stewarding our lands for public access.

Mills: Okay let's move to the affordable care act. Do you support it? Is it working?

McAleer: The affordable care act is something that I think needs fixing. I do not think our personal healthcare is a market based system. When you get sick you need access to healthcare. There are some provisions of the affordable healthcare act that are incredible. It allows young people staring out their careers and under 26 to stay on their parents healthcare plan. Nobody should be denied care because of pre existing conditions.

Mills: What needs to be fixed then?

McAleer: What we need to look at is how it affects small businesses. And that's something that has been postponed in terms of the rate small businesses are charge. But shutting down the federal government over what is a law in the land, I believe is a political stunt. It hurt the state tremendously. It furlough 40 thousand people and cost more than 30 million dollars in lost income and revenue to the state.

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