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Ron Draper
Ron Draper (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Utah House of Representatives to represent District 29. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Draper completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Ron Draper was born in Spanish Fork, Utah. He earned a high school diploma from Davis High School, a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in 1977, and two graduate degrees from Utah State University. His career experience includes working as a certified registered nurse anesthetist, a family nurse practitioner, and a director of nursing. Draper has been affiliated with the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Utah House of Representatives District 29
Incumbent Bridger Bolinder defeated Ron Draper in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 29 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Bridger Bolinder (R) | 75.4 | 15,955 |
 | Ron Draper (D)  | 24.6 | 5,201 | |
| Total votes: 21,156 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Ron Draper advanced from the Democratic primary for Utah House of Representatives District 29.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Brad Bartholomew (D)
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Bridger Bolinder advanced from the Republican primary for Utah House of Representatives District 29.
Democratic convention
Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 29
Ron Draper advanced from the Democratic convention for Utah House of Representatives District 29 on April 27, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Ron Draper (D) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Brad Bartholomew (D)
Republican convention
Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 29
Incumbent Bridger Bolinder advanced from the Republican convention for Utah House of Representatives District 29 on April 27, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Bridger Bolinder (R) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Draper in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ron Draper completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Draper's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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To maintain this type of government, we need well-informed citizens to select experienced individuals who LISTEN to the people, LEARN the critical information, and then LEAD as members of a government that responds to the will of the people and the ideals of American democracy. Having lived and worked in this district for 40 years, I know you as neighbors and friends. I represented you on the school board for 16 years, I administered your anesthesia care in the hospitals for 30 years, and even took care of you in the clinic as a family nurse practitioner. Additionally, I served you as president of the West Millard Cultural Council for 25 years. While on the school board, I was recognized as a leader who took the time to LISTEN to constituents, LEARN about and study the issues, and LEAD while working with fellow school board members and district leadership in achieving outcomes that benefited not only the school district, but the community at large.
I am prepared to serve you in the Utah Legislature, District 29: Millard County, most of Tooele County, and western Juab County. I will LISTEN to you, LEARN critical details of the challenges that we face together in our community and LEAD to achieve the outcomes that are important to our community now and in the future.- Balancing Today’s Prosperity with Tomorrow’s Legacy
We face many challenges in today’s complex world such as making ends meet while planning for the future. We see political unrest and concerns about climate change. Many wonder whether they will have the same retirement and health benefits that they see the older generation enjoying.
As we work together to find solutions, we want more than a quick fix but instead lasting outcomes. We desire to protect our environment, fund social security, and provide accessible health benefits without damaging the economy. To do this we must carefully plan and commit current resources. Effective solutions strike the right balance - preserving our current prosperity without shortchanging the future. - Excellent Education for Everyone Democracy and prosperity depend on both everyone having a solid understanding of how a free society functions as well as having the necessary skills to be productive now and in the future. Being well-educated is not an exclusive privilege for the elite but is a heritage for all. Public schools are our schools and are required to provide a meaningful education for everyone, regardless of background or inherit abilities. We need to attract, support, and retain highly qualified educators in every level of the public school system. To do this we must be willing to commit the resources necessary to ensure our public schools are providing an Excellent Education for Everyone.
- Listen, Learn, Lead With a super-majority of one party in the legislature and many offices uncontested in the general election, many of our law makers do not have to answer to the public for their actions, as they pursue their narrow agenda without concern for what is best for those they represent. Our leaders need to be better at Listening to the people while seeking common ground in an open, transparent manner; Learning the critical information including potential unintended consequences of proposed policies; and Leading in a transparent manner that respects the will of the majority while considering the rights of the minority. I will Listen to you, Learn what are the best approaches to solving today's problems, and Lead for you.
We need a comprehensive plan that takes into consideration how all these challenges impact each other. To do this requires examining and debating the appropriate role of the government in fostering solutions to society’s problems. This discussion needs to include a determination of equitable mechanisms to obtain and distribute the resources needed to achieve policy goals.
For me the Obama years were a time when the United States engaged with the world and with the challenges we faced at home, made much progress, but we also realized the American Dream, while still a work in progress, could still be achieved, step by step. Now we are facing new challenges, and I believe the solution is not to pull back, putting up walls against the world, but for all of us to join together, with a clear eyed vision of what is ahead of us, while striving to achieve the vision of American as a beacon on hill, a promised land from where we invite the world to join us in the quest for democracy, justice, and opportunity for all.
Government is not the problem but a framework to provide the rule of law within a system of justice and fairness. Properly organized, the government creates a stable society with opportunities for all.
The American constitution divided the functions of government between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and further made a separation between the federal government, the states, and the people. This careful balancing of government authority created a check against the nature of all people, when they have some power or authority, to attempt to increase their power and oppress others.
The government will often have a role in developing solutions to emerging problems, but many times, this role will be to create the space for individuals or organizations to work out the solutions. The government should be a light upon the hill to show the way.
My campaign motto is Listen, Learn, and Lead.
This motto represents qualities I developed over the forty years of service I have given to this community. I have listened to those around me, studied continuously, and have provided leadership in many capacities.
My career was a hands-on health care provider - administering anesthesia in the local hospitals as a CRNA and taking care of clinic patients as a family nurse practitioner. Throughout my career, I sought opportunities to serve the wider community, including being elected to the school board for sixteen years and volunteering as president of the West Millard Cultural Council for over twenty-five years.
I am a lifelong learner, with advanced degrees not only in nursing and anesthesia, but also business administration, health administration, and sociology.
The many needs of society required most people to be working at some activity or job to support themselves and supply the goods society desired. Most people did not have the ability to be fully informed on all issues nor the time to meet and work out effective solutions.
This began the representative democracy that exists today where a few wise people are chosen among the many to become well informed on the issues at hand and the desires of the people who chose them. These elected individuals now meet and act on behalf of those who chose them and seek solutions that represented their best interests.
Even if life is futile, undaunted I will seek love, beauty, and knowledge and will share these with others.
In this book, Boorstin outlines how many critical areas of the knowledge that humankind possesses was acquired. I came to appreciate that what we know today was the result of countless efforts by many who came before us. We truly stand on the “shoulders of giants”, and we need to be appreciative of that.
Moreover, we need to recognize that those who came before us did not have access to the wealth of knowledge we now enjoy. They had a different world view than our present one, and we should acknowledge the validity of their perspectives.
All laws are passed by the legislature but are implemented and administered by the governor. There needs to be good communication and on-going feedback between these two branches of government to develop and administer fair and effective laws that meet the needs and desires of the citizens of the state.
The shrinking of the Great Salt Lake exemplifies this situation. To reach effective solutions to these pressing issues, we need to take a longer view and have the political will to do the right thing now.
This is a give and take process that takes skill and patience to accomplish. One is not required to compromise core standards, but all must be willing to negotiate the possible and the acceptable in order to achieve the desired outcomes.
My position is that granting of emergency powers should have very stringent safeguards for their use to minimize the potential for abuse.
The counties have similar, overlapping challenges, as well as ones unique to each area. Tooele County borders the Great Salt Lake, and the many issues related to the lake’s declining water levels directly affect Tooele County, but also have significant impact on the rest of the state. The Intermountain Power Plant, located in Millard County, is transitioning from burning coal to using natural gas. Surrounding IPP various energy related enterprises are located. Energy development impacts Millard County directly but affects in many ways the whole region.
When the financial powers behind government actions are hidden or disguised, an appearance of improper influence in the affairs of government is created.
In theory, all government officials are accountable to the people through the ballot box. In practice, if there is not open and clear transparency in the government, the public may not be able to distinguish good actions from bad. Reporting and ethical standards need to be in place and enforced.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 12, 2024
