Mayor Staggs Has Always Fought Big Government, And Will Do The Same As Your Senator.
Committed Conservative Trent Staggs knows America needs a smaller federal government. Trent has served the Riverton community for the last 10 years – four on the city council, and six as mayor. Trent ran for office to give back to his community and now he wants to give back to his nation as a Senator from Utah.
Issues
Smaller Government
“Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.” — Pres. Coolidge
Taxes
When the Federal income tax was first created in 1913, it exempted what would now be the first $91,000 of income and capped out at a top marginal rate of 7% for what would be incomes greater than $15 million today.
It’s a little different today. Our income is taxed, our purchases are taxed, our property is taxed, our investments are taxed, and when we die, our children’s inheritance is taxed.
The federal government has grown so much that it now requires more than 25% of the average American’s income. We have lost sight of the freedoms our founders envisioned. The tax levels that led to the revolution were a fraction of what we are now paying.
Your labor is your property. As a mayor, I’ve fought to lower every tax and fee I can get my hands on – and I’ll do the same as your Senator.
Spending & Overregulation
The less Washington can control its budget the more it wants to control your life.
In 1980, the national debt was just $1 trillion. With the out-of-control spending of recent years, it is now an incomprehensible $32 trillion – or some 140% of our GDP! We are now the largest debtor nation and one of the top 12 countries with the highest debt ratio.
Meanwhile, as Washington has been reckless with our money, they are boxing us in with more regulations than we should ever have to endure.
Federal agencies now number in the hundreds, with millions of rules and regulations being imposed on us by unelected bureaucracies. This overregulation cost employers between $10-20 thousand dollars per employee to come into compliance with, and drags down our economy almost $2 trillion.
Wouldn’t most budget-strapped employees rather see that added to their paycheck?
As Mayor, I’ve cut spending and regulations, and for DC, I won’t just bring a hatchet; I’ll bring a chainsaw.
Public Lands
We don’t need to kick DC out of Utah – just out of 2/3rds of Utah
One of the greatest assets Western states have are our natural resources. But how can we thrive when distant bureaucrats control more of our states than we do? The answer is a return to federalism, where the central government works for states, rather than the other way around.
While privileged Northeastern states all own 99% of their own land, Western states are much less fortunate. We can clearly see how oppressive the federal government has become with land ownership. The feds own about 40% of Wyoming and Arizona, more than 60% of Utah and Idaho, and a shocking 80% of Nevada!
This massive land grab has denied Utahns their right to self-governance and stewardship. As your Senator, I will fight to reclaim the land that was ours.
Safer Families
Education
Our schools are supposed to educate, not indoctrinate.
Our educational system has been corrupted, with more and more of children’s education coming from Washington bureaucrats and well-funded teachers’ unions.
The federal government has no business being involved in education. It only accounts for 7.8% of the state education budget in Utah, but tells us 100% of what to teach.
More money is not the solution. The Federal government has almost $175 billion in budgeted for education in this fiscal year. Despite this, outcomes have consistently gotten worse, while the cost of higher education is averaging more than twice the rate of inflation.
We need greater accountability for schools, options for parents, and results for students. For reform to be meaningful, parents must have real options to meet their child’s unique needs. Furthermore, we must end the cancer of wokeness that has infiltrated so many of our schools.
As Senator, my battleplan will always be that educators work for parents and children, not the other way around.
Crime
With crime running amok, the 2nd Amendment is more important than ever.
Thanks to the insanity of the defund the police movement, widespread acceptance of rioting, and corrupt Soros district attorneys, crime is running amok on American streets. The homicide rate alone increased by 30% in 2020!
Although the soft-on-crime philosophy is frequently couched in terms of “racial justice,” we know that the Democrats’ defund the police movement has hurt racial minorities the most.
As crime has increased, so has the desire for Americans to defend themselves. The only thing that’s gone up more than crime is gun ownership.
Given Americans’ clear desire to protect themselves, I reject the idea that the Second Amendment is outdated. Every dictator who has seized power from a free society has first seized their weapons. The people who want to take our guns are the same people responsible for our crime wave.
As Senator, I will fight for your ability to defend yourself and your family.
Woke & State
We need to build a wall of separation between woke and state.
In just 20 years, the importance of patriotism to Americans has dropped from 70% to 38%, and the value of religion dropped from 62% to 39%. Community involvement has sunk from 62% to 27% in just four years.
The cause of this cultural damage is a new religion called wokeness.
Wokeness has infiltrated almost every aspect of our daily life, fomenting hostility and anger under the false flag of “tolerance.” While many companies who subscribe to ESG guidelines “get woke and go broke,” wokeness now has the force of law under the corrupt Biden Administration.
Wokeness is a false religion with no business in our government. It must be ripped out wherever it shows its ugly head.
As Senator, I will be woke’s worst enemy.
Stronger Economy
Immigration
National security is a primary obligation of our federal government.
Every country enforces border security and travel of non-citizens. However, this has become the defining controversy of our time. Americans have been so kind-hearted for so long that the idea of enforcing our own laws has become controversial.
A sensible immigration policy is not what the enemies of freedom want. The globalists who hate America have made it clear that illegal immigration is the way they’ll do it. When the bad guys tell you what their evil plan is, you should probably pay attention.
As Senator, I will fight to restore the sensible immigration policy so America stays the envy of the world for another 200 years.
Energy
Our country is sitting on top of unlimited energy reserves. The only thing in the way is the federal government.
If the government got out of the way, we wouldn’t need to import oil from the Middle East.
No American anywhere should accept the crippling of domestic energy that we’ve seen since 2021 – certainly not in the name of hysterical environmentalism.
Environmental stewardship is important, but destroying our way of life is not. I’m a firm believer that technological advances have benefited mankind and the environment in the past, and will continue to do so in the future.
As your Senator, I will fight for America’s and Utah’s energy independence every day.
Defense
We must protect America from the threats of the 21st Century, but we have to do it smarter.
After years of relative calm, the world has become very dangerous under the Biden Administration. The Taliban controls Afghanistan. Russia has invaded its neighbor. China wants to become the world’s superpower. Now is not the time for America to become weak – or reckless.
The priority of American defense must be defending America. Military force must only be used in the defense of our nation, her interests, and her allies. We cannot afford to maintain 750 military bases across 80 countries for free. Other nations must provide for their own defense.
My five priorities are:
- build the strongest cyber-security shield ever seen
- maintain the air superiority that made us the world’s “Top Gun”
- ensure the Navy keeps our international trade lanes secure
- keep woke ideology from destroying our military’s resolve
- spend smarter than we have been
America can stay the world’s superpower, but not without real change real fast.
About Trent Staggs
Authentic Utahn
Trent is a classic Utah success story.
Trent was raised in a family with nine siblings. His parents taught him the value of hard work, community involvement, continuous improvement, and personal responsibility early in life.
He spent his elementary school years in Orem, graduated from Bingham High School in South Jordan, and served a mission for his church in Tahiti, learning to speak French and Tahitian. Working his way through college, he graduated from the University of Utah in political science and economics. He went on to earn his MBA from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University.
Trent understands that our way of life here is unique and effective, and under his leadership Riverton has become the best-run city in Utah. Trent was raised here, and lived almost his entire life here. He understands that Washington needs more of Utah, not the other way around.
Family Man
Trent promises a safer world for our families.
Trent and his wife, Alisha, have been married since 2007. Guiding their successful marriage has been a shared faith in God, with Jesus Christ at the center of their family of two children. Trent knows that the family is the bedrock institution of all human society. Families must be safe and strong if a country wants to be.
Recognizing the relentless attacks on family and children, Trent is committed to protecting Utah families from danger in our streets and propaganda in our schools. Parents need to have faith in the schools where they send their kids, or the freedom to send them elsewhere. Parental control of education isn’t Priority A, it’s Priorities A to Z.
Committed Conservative
Trent knows America needs a smaller federal government.
Trent has served the Riverton community for the last 10 years – four on the city council, six as mayor. Trent ran for office to give back to his community – a place he hopes to always call home for his family.
As mayor, Trent has taken a business-oriented approach to government, lowering taxes while increasing services for residents. Under his leadership, Riverton boasts the lowest utility fees in the valley. Not only has he refused to raise property taxes, Trent has cut those taxes and saved over $10 million.
He’s led in planning with neighboring communities for smart, sustainable growth while ensuring adequate infrastructure and open space. He’s a proven leader and fiscal conservative. He has been consistently pro-liberty during the COVID lockdowns, has protected the right to life of the unborn, and pushed back on damaging “woke” policies like ESG.
Business Leader
Trent Staggs knows how to make the American economy stronger.
Trent is paid as a part-time elected official, but his work ethic and commitment to his office requires more. He also manages to be a full-time entrepreneur and business owner with more than 20 years of experience running and managing successful Fortune 500 companies to small- and medium-sized enterprises. Trent has been involved in consulting executive teams, creating a reputation for himself as someone who can get ailing organizations back on their feet. Most recently, Trent served on the board of directors of a company that he helped take public, getting the company listed on NASDAQ in 2022.
As mayor, Trent has made sure the “business of Riverton is business.” Under his leadership, Riverton became the first city in Utah to eliminate the business license fee. Trent led an economic recovery initiative to pull the city out of COVID economic malaise, and the city came out of the lockdowns even stronger.
