Why should you vote for Michael Valentine? He responds
Editor’s note: The Deseret News has asked each candidate for mayor of Salt Lake City to provide three reasons why voters should select them. The mayor’s race, which is officially nonpartisan, is for a four-year term. Ballots were mailed Oct. 31, and voting is currently underway. The final Election Day is Nov. 21. This is the first election in which Salt Lake City will be using the ranked choice method of voting.
Here is the response from candidate Michael Valentine:
I’m the voice that represents a new generation
At 35 years old, if elected, I would be the third youngest mayor in Salt Lake City history. Millennials are the first generation in America to go backward, with a worse quality of life than our parents. We have lived through multiple recessions and economic turmoil and are struggling under the weight of income inequality as we strive to grow families, have children and live the American dream of housing ownership, but we also remain more resilient, optimistic and unified to solve problems at the root levels and to forge a better future.
Related
An independent, part of no political parties, beholden to no special interests
I am not a Democrat. I am not a Republican. I am not part of any political party, and am running to unite the entire community across every background and political divide. The future of American politics exists outside the failed two-party system as more and more Americans are leaving both parties. Independents represent the biggest voting block and have for some time. By removing barriers, we can unite all of us and focus on the issues that impact our communities. I am not a political party leader, I am the leader of all our people here in Salt Lake City.
Candidate with the plans and real solutions
I was the first candidate to release a housing and homeless plan in February 2023. This plan remains the best housing/homeless solution for all of Salt Lake City, that creates win-win-win solutions for our homeless friends and family, our great small businesses here, and all of our residents. I have been both homeless and am a business owner, so I can find these win-win solutions when nobody else can, as I understand the issues from all sides. I’m also the only candidate that released an entire platform covering dozens and dozens of issues from housing to homelessness to the Great Salt Lake to the Rio Grande plan to universal basic income and building the Salt Lake City of our wildest dreams.
