Jennifer Garner, Senate candidate, urges smaller government, data-driven lawmaking and a moratorium on new PIDs

Jennifer Garner, a candidate for the state Senate seat, told Davis County Citizen Journalism she is running because years of legislation "that don't represent me" and a lack of data-driven decision making persuaded her to seek office. "My name is Jennifer Garner. I am a mom of three boys," she said, describing a background in social services and a master's in business she used "to work in more social services".

Asked what the Senate's proper role should be, Garner said lawmakers should "represent the people" and "give people the most freedom to make the best decisions with the most amount of their own money." She argued recent bills have expanded government reach and increased taxes in ways that have harmed housing affordability and local control. "I think the proper role is to step back to let people...let free markets work," she said.

On structural questions, Garner criticized centralization and pointed to problems tied to Prop 4 (the redistricting initiative passed in 2018). She said the independent commission's map was rejected by a judge and that the ensuing process has been slow and opaque. "This should have been fixed a few years ago," Garner said, adding that outside spending has influenced the race: "there's 3 million that has been spent in the past few weeks by...outside forces." She said both major parties need reforms and more transparency.

Drawing on her social-services experience, Garner described her philosophy toward public aid and welfare. She invoked what she called "the law of the harvest," saying programs should prioritize connecting people to opportunities and strengthening families and communities rather than expanding entitlement programs that she said can remove incentives to earn.

When asked about the volume of legislation at the Capitol, which a questioner described as roughly 750 bills, Garner called the pace "shock and awe" and urged structural fixes. She recommended not lifting procedural safeguards in the final week, investing more time in interim study to gather data, and rejecting the practice of "we'll pass it and fix it later." She highlighted an example involving data centers and water, saying legislators should demand measurable answers about how many gallons are used before expanding water allocations.

On taxes and local revenue, Garner criticized what she described as a 2019 property-tax freeze lasting five years that created unexpected revenue flows and has contributed to rising local taxes. She said some public–private financing tools, including public infrastructure districts (PIDs), shift developer risk to taxpayers and lack voter control and transparency. "There needs to be a moratorium on new PIDs," she said, arguing that boards set up for these districts cannot be voted out and can raise taxes without sufficient oversight.

Garner closed by stressing her party involvement and experience in precincts and the state central committee, saying she is running to restore clearer standards for voting on legislation and to discourage "horse trading" in which lawmakers trade support for bad bills. She said she intends to bring what she described as a "steel spine" for accountability while listening to constituents.

The interview was conducted by Davis County Citizen Journalism; Garner declined to specify the exact district she aims to represent during the recorded exchange. The campaign did not announce a formal filing date during the interview.