Walker, who is the chair of Republican gubernatorial candidate Jon Huntsman's education policy team, said she would like to take his ideas for increasing public-private partnerships as a way to increase funding. That way, the state would be able to make sure teachers have the time and money to perform their jobs adequately.

"We're asking teachers to do so much," she said. "We're asking them to be everything to everyone."

Other issues important to Walker include helping protect people from identity theft, allowing local communities to determine things like billboard regulation, and her work on driving under the influence prevention and prosecution. Additionally, she feels that she is a strong advocate for her district because of her experience.

"With each year, I think I get more effective," Walker, a "full-time senator" who works at least 30 hours a week on her elected post, said. "There is a lot of value to understanding the process."

For Garrett, allowing schools and universities to determine whether they want guns in their buildings or on their campuses is important, as is support for those decisions from legislators instead of retribution. He also wants to see Utah have a more vibrant two-party system, so that the best ideas on every issue are found.

"We lose the benefit of the two-party system, where good ideas on both sides can be debated," he said. "The Democrats don't have the power up there to make it happen."

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E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com

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