LOOKING OUT FOR YOU

UNPARALLELLED PUBLIC POLICY AND LEGISLATIVE EXPERIENCE

Dr. Mortensen is thoroughly familiar with the Utah legislative system and with Utah’s Representatives and Senators. He is, therefore, prepared to begin work immediately upon election to the Senate. This will provide a much higher level of representation for the constituents of Senate District 23 than would be the case if someone of lesser experience were elected.

During the 2005 and 2006 legislative sessions, Dr. Mortensen help develop legislation and served as a lobbyist for the Sutherland Institute. During the 2007 session of the Utah legislature, he was the Executive Director of the House of Representatives' very influential Conservative Caucus.

In 2008, as a full-time, unpaid citizen lobbyist, Dr. Mortensen worked extensively on property tax reform and on illegal immigration. He played a key role in developing legislation, wrote floor speeches and talking points for legislative committee hearings, developed legislative strategy, testified before numerous legislative committees and organized extensive citizen lobbying efforts. At the request of Senator Hickman, he was the lead-off speaker in favor of the SB81, the comprehensive immigration bill that passed both houses and was signed by governor Huntsman.

In addition to his legislative experience, Dr. Mortensen has extensive domestic and international public policy experience and service. He is a military veteran, served as a United States Foreign Service Officer (diplomat) for over 19 years, and has been actively engaged in the Utah legislative process for the past four years. Dr. Mortensen holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Utah.

During his years of service as a diplomat, Dr. Mortensen was recognized for personal courage during a civil war in Chad, Africa and was a member of the advance team that organized and coordinated the Reagan/Gorbachev meetings in Reykjavik, Iceland. These meetings are considered to have marked the beginning of the end of the cold war.

After retiring from the Foreign Service, Dr. Mortensen served over five years as the Director of Human Resources and International Entry for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games (SLOC).

Following his tenure with SLOC, he joined the United States Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) where he continues to work as a contractor. OFDA is responsible for coordinating the United States government’s responses to international humanitarian crises and its mission is to save lives and alleviate human suffering. Since 2003, Dr. Mortensen has been deployed by the U.S. government to Iraq, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (civil war – 5 million dead), Darfur, Sudan (genocide), Ethiopia (famine), Pakistan (earthquake), and Lebanon (Israel/Hezbollah war). He has received numerous awards for service in these areas.

The experienced gained as a diplomat and by serving in some of the world’s most dangerous areas has given Dr. Mortensen the skills necessary to work with people of all political persuasions and to develop consensus while still maintaining core principles.

FIGHTING TO CONTROL TAXES AND SPENDING

Ronald Mortensen is a co-founder of CitizensForTaxFairness.org which has led the opposition to tax increases in Davis County for over four years. Dr. Mortensen has:

• fought against the unfair property tax which requires us to rent our homes back from the government,
• provided citizen oversight to the South Davis Recreation District that resulted in millions of dollars in savings for taxpayers,
• appeared at numerous tax hearings to oppose large property tax increases,
• written op eds against the tax and spend policies of Davis County’s elected officials,
• drafted the argument in the official Voter Information Pamphlet against the .25% sales tax increase for transportation that was soundly defeated by the public,
• opposed the .1% RAP tax that was proposed for Bountiful, Centerville, West Bountiful and Woods Cross.

At the state level, Dr. Mortensen co-founded the state-wide Utah Coalition for Tax Fairness in response to record property tax increases in 2007. During the 2008 legislative session he represented the Coalition, full-time at the legislature. In this capacity:

• He spent everyday at the legislature as an unpaid, citizen lobbyist working with Representatives and Senators on fundamental property tax reform.
• He worked with key legislators to develop legislation designed to prevent huge property tax increases such as occurred in 2007 from ever happening again. Key pieces of legislation that the Coalition supported included: submitting tax increases that exceed the Social Security COLA to the voters for approval, basing property values on the purchase cost of a home rather than on the highly arbitrary and unfair "market value", and making all governmental financial records available to the public on the internet in an easily searchable format so citizens can see how their taxes are being used.
• He testified for and against property tax bills before legislative committees.
• He helped present the Coalition’s proposal for property tax reform to the Tax Review Commission.
• He was quoted in the states major media and appeared on talk radio shows.

Dr. Mortensen has signed the Americans for Tax Reform Tax Pledge which reads: "I, Ronald Mortensen, pledge to the taxpayers of the 23rd district of the State of Utah and to all the people of this state, that I will oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes." (Note: As a presidential candidate, Mitt Romney also signed the ATR tax pledge.)

PROTECTING UTAH’S CHILDREN FROM ILLEGAL ALIEN DRIVE ID THEFT

Dr. Mortensen has volunteered literally thousand of hours to protect Utah’s children from the negative impacts of illegal immigration. This includes encouraging state and local governments and the Davis County School District to implement programs to protect children against illegal alien driven identity theft, educating the public and working with key legislators to develop, present and pass every significant piece of illegal immigration legislation during the 2008 session.

Dr. Mortensen is a co-founder of the Utah Coalition on Illegal Immigration, has signed the Coalition’s pledge to support legislation designed to protect Utahn’s from the negative impacts of illegal immigration.

For additional information, scroll down this page or check out the Resources tab which can be found at the top right on this page. Also, look at the "News and Views on the left hand side of this page as well as at additional stories by clicking here. You can also contact Dr. Mortensen at protectfamilies@gmail.com.

Illegal Aliens Commit Multiple Felonies In Order to Obtain Jobs

·         In order to obtain Social Security Numbers and other documents required to obtain jobs with reputable employers, illegal aliens commit document fraud/forgery (felony).  They also falsify I-9 forms under penalty of perjury (felony) and if the Social Security Numbers belong to someone else, they commit identity theft (felony).

·         The federal government actively prosecutes illegal aliens caught using fraudulent documents and stolen identities.  This results in felony charges, criminal records, jail time and deportation.  These are real crimes with real victims.

·         News stories about illegal aliens who benefit from in-state tuition often report that students are working to earn money for their in-state tuition.  Since they are illegally in the United States, they cannot legally work for reputable employers either during or after graduation unless they commit multiple felonies (document fraud, identity theft, perjury).

Children Are Prime Targets of Illegal Alien Driven Identity Theft

·         “The ongoing investigation has uncovered an alarming new crime spree involving illegal aliens and identities stolen from victims under the age of 12.” (Utah Attorney General,  July, 2005),  http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/PrRel/prjuly152005.htm)

o        In 2005 a limited sampling revealed that 1800-2000 Utah children under the age of 13 had their Social Security Numbers (SSN) compromised.  By 2006 that number had tripled.

o        It is estimated that 20,000 to 50,000 Utah children are the victim of Social Security Number only ID theft.

o        37 adults were found to be using one child’s Social Security Number (Source:  Utah Workforce Services).

o        1,626 companies were found to be paying salaries to the Social Security numbers of Utah children under the age of 12 who were on public assistance.  (Source:  Utah Workforce Services)

·         Over 90 percent of identity theft cases that Assistant Attorney General Richard Hamp Prosecutes  involve illegal immigrants. www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20060210/ai_n16064166

·         Go to the following links to view KSL-TV stories that reveal just how devastating child identity theft is to Utah families.  www.ksl.com/?sid=286951&nid=148 and www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=160060 

What Can Be Done to Help Protect Our Children from identity theft?

·         According to Attorney General Shurtleff, “Employers can help [prevent identity theft] by being more vigilant during the hiring process and verifying an applicant's Social Security number.”  [In 2006] Assistant Attorney General Richard Hamp said HB179 [Representative Glenn Donnelson, Employment Verification] would go a long way toward curbing identity theft in Utah. www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20060210/ai_n16064166

·         HB98 requires state and local governments to verify employment using the federal government’s free E-Verify system.  Use of this system effectively eliminates all child identity theft and up to 90% of other illegal alien driven, Social Security Number only identity theft.  It also ensures that taxpayer funds are not used to employ individuals using our children’s stolen identities.

·         HB171 repeals driving privilege cards.  This makes it more difficult for illegal aliens using fraudulent documents and stolen identities (felonies) to find work by limiting their mobility.  It also enhances national security because the identity documents used to obtain driving privilege cards fail to definitely identify the persons receiving the cards.

·         HB237 directs the Highway Patrol to help enforce immigration laws thereby removing individuals using stolen identities and fraudulent documents.

·         HB241 repeals in-state tuition which ends the enticement for students illegally in the United States to commit document fraud, identity theft and other felonies in order to obtain jobs to pay their in-state tuition or to work after graduation.

·         HB257 requires government contractors to verify employment by using E-Verify in order to prevent individuals committing felonies (document fraud, perjury on an I-9 form, and identity theft) from obtaining work.

·         SB81 requires state and local governments and their contractors to verify employment by using E-Verify to prevent individuals committing document fraud and related felonies from obtaining work paid for with tax payer funds.  It also, protects legal workers, enhances enforcement of immigration laws, prohibits illegal aliens from obtaining liquor or private club licenses, denies benefits to individuals illegally in the United States, addresses human smuggling, etc.

CITIZENS COALTION FOR TAX FAIRNESS ESTABLISHED

Grassroots citizens groups in Davis County, Washington County and Weber County have joined together to control taxes and spending in Utah.  Click here to read about this new coalition and its legislative agenda.  To join the Coalition, either as an individual or as a group, send an e-mail to info@citizensfortaxfairness.org.