Reader comments
Ex-Alpine superintendent to run as Democrat

Anonymous | 7:09 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

Interesting that he would run as a Democrat. He must see that things are way out of balance, or there is a huge void to fill, or both in happy valley. He was a very able administrator as superintendent for a big school district navigating all of the inherent politcs adeptly. Any opponent would be wise to steer clear of engaging him on school vouchers. I would be interested to hear his views on the other perennial hot topic, illegal immigration.

wet 10 | 7:14 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

I would vote for him despite the fact that he is running as a democrat.

Great! | 7:39 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

This is great news! He will do an excellent job as a legislator and he has my vote! I can't believe the comment in the article, "Baugh's opponent, Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, said he was "a little surprised he would throw his hat into the ring against me." What?? The freshman Republican has that much confidence in his efforts? He betrayed the public education system by running on an anti-voucher campaign, yet voted FOR vouchers once he was in. We need people with integrity to be in OUR State Legislature! Mr. Baugh has that, Mr. Sandstrom, not so much!

Get out and VOTE!!!

Comments continue below

Teacher | 7:58 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

Teachers don't always have such solid administrators like Dr. Baugh. He will be a huge asset in the legislature.

Rick | 9:06 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

Too bad. To me he was the start of the problems within the ASD and he continues to be a problem based on his Public Education or nothing at all stance. I hope that the people of the are wake up and let him know that Education is for ALL regardless of their choices for Public Schools/Charter/Private or Home Schooling.

John | 9:33 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

The educaton monopoly already has too much influence in the legislature. We sure don't need another "nanny state" Democrat raising taxes and protecting special interest groups.

Oremite | 9:47 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

I'm glad to see someone shaking things up. Every once in a while a system has to self discipline itself and this is a great way for Mr. Bauh to start the process. I support this type of change. I've known Sandstrom for many years and he is a man of "man of change". We need ethical leaders with backbone to stand up and be counted. Sandstrom has business ties with Alpine School District and I don't think he necessarily represents anyone other than himself! It will be good for people to have another choice and perhaps our leadership will consider this when making decisions that are not in the interest of the majority!

Bobby, former Republican | 9:57 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

I'm voting for him because he is a Democrat. The Democrats clearly have better leaders both on the State and County levels. Sandstrom seems nice enough, but why did he vote for vouchers? I remember listening to his dog and pony dance and thinking, "What a rubber stamp."

Average Orem Joe | 10:14 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

I consider myself extremely conservative, but I've found in Utah County over the last ten years that to be a Utah County democrat is about the same thing as being a republican anywhere else. After all, the GOP in Utah county considered Mike Leavitt liberal. My hat is off to Dr. Baugh. He is a man of integrity, and absolutely has my vote.

JTM | 10:29 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

He added: "I'm confident the district will stick with a Republican to represent them."

In a healthy government, no one should be making this statement. You should be confident that they best person will represent you, not the republican

Alpine District resident | 10:37 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

I just remember that when we went to him several years ago with a complaint about a teacher that was screaming at students and throwing the occasional chair, he couldn't be bothered to do anything, because she was just a few years from retirement. Do we want another legislator committed to the power structure, at the expense of students?

swrl | 10:50 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

I applaud him for recognizing that a single party can take on the appearance of fasism, not democracy

ron | 10:52 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

I am with you John: Do demos in this state actually wish to follow the tax the rich for the so-called good of the people in the manner of the great,(sic) F.D.R. good luck utah county

Rick | 10:56 a.m. Jan. 9, 2008

There is a reason Dr. Baugh retired from the ASD, can't he retire again and just go "out to pasture"?

UC republican | 12:10 p.m. Jan. 9, 2008

I've never voted for a democrat. Ever.

But I will now.

Baugh is exactly what we need in Utah County.

The republicans here have gone so far to the extreme, they don't even represent the people any more.

Wow, I never thought I'd say it but I'm going to vote Democrat on this one.

Any legislator that voted FOR vouchers will not get my vote. Period.

J.T. | 12:42 p.m. Jan. 9, 2008

Rick, it sounds like you have some personal animosity toward Dr. Baugh which I can't understand.
I worked closely with Steve Baugh on a school/community council and found him to be a man of utmost integrity. He proved himself to be empathetic, open to parent input, and was truly committed to improving education in Alpine district. I'm not sure where your coming from but from where I sit, your judgements of Dr. Baugh are dead wrong.

Dave Hansen | 12:51 p.m. Jan. 9, 2008

It's odd that Mr. Baugh is running against vouchers when a majority of the voters in his district voted FOR vouchers...

By the way, is this the guy that helped implement "Investigations Math" in Alpine District?

For the sake of his campaign, I hope not because that alone should guarantee his loss in the election.

Not in Baugh's Disctrict | 1:07 p.m. Jan. 9, 2008

Way to go Mr. Baugh,

Best of luck, I hope to see you win.

J.T. | 1:09 p.m. Jan. 9, 2008

My only beef is that he is making his run based on Vouchers which shows his biasness towards those who choose to take a different rout for their education needs. Is that what we want for a representative?

Republican Teacher | 1:12 p.m. Jan. 9, 2008

Dr. Baugh is a man of integrity. I will study his stand on all of the issues, but I will certainly consider voting for this Democrat.

Blind voters | 3:44 p.m. Jan. 9, 2008

I think that many people run as a democrat in utah because it's the only way to get elected thanks to people just voting Parties and not issues.

elisabeth luntz | 3:52 p.m. Jan. 9, 2008

Congratulations Utah County.

June | 4:11 p.m. Jan. 9, 2008

Dr. Baugh is experienced, intelligent, and if says he will "represent" the people of his district, that is exactly what he will do.
I have talked with Dr. Baugh. There is much more to his decision than vouchers. My support for Dr. Baugh is based on more than vouchers although Rep. Sandstrom's waffling on this issue and then casting a "yes" because he was pressured did not impress me.
Let's get a representative who listens to the people of his district rather than the Speaker of the House from Sandy.

Rick | 8:47 a.m. Jan. 10, 2008

Dr. Baugh's run can be directly traced to his being a principal member at BYU within the BYU Partnership (Alpine, Provo, Nebo, Jordan and Granite Districts) and their losing control. The Partnership has constantly shown failures (Investigations Math) and is now being forced to open their books on their own research using public monies. Is he really a man of integrity or is he a man with an extreme liberal agenda? I think more research needs to be done on this matter.

Lyall | 10:19 a.m. Jan. 10, 2008

It's no accident that Baugh is running. The UEA is now very active trying to unseat several candidates and also to get as many county and state delegates as it can to influence the next election. Don't be surprised if tops on Mr. Baughs contribution list is the UEA.

Glenn | 5:12 p.m. Jan. 10, 2008

Republicans in the area should consider finding a challenger to run against Sandstrom in convention. Sandstrom's flip-flop on vouchers combined with his tax lien problems make him vulnerable in the general election. Sandstrom got a free pass from the press last time on the his tax lien issues because he came out vouchers and his opponent, Jim Ferrin, was a voucher champion. Now that Sandstrom has voted for vouchers the press will let the Democrats pound away on Sandstrom's character. Sandstrom is the most vulnerable Republican legislator in Utah County.

Gary | 1:34 a.m. Jan. 13, 2008

I support Steve Baugh wholeheartedly. He will not be a rubber stamp legislator. He has a proven record of quality leadership and integrity. It takes a special kind of courage to run as a democrat in Utah County. I for one vote for the candidate, not the party.

Rick | 6:47 p.m. Jan. 13, 2008

Gary, Is Steve Baugh a man of "leadership and integrity" like you state or is he a man who has become a great conman? If he was a man of integrity then he would work on turning BYU from a deep Constructivist school to a school that teaches its teachers both Constructivism and Instructivism. If he were a man of integrity then he would acknowledge that BYU needs to come forth about its flawed research on Investigations and how it controlled BYU through the whole math debacle and all the while hiring profs based on race and not on ability just to satisfy diversity. Is he really a man of integrity or is he a conman?

Dan | 1:37 p.m. April 15, 2009

I realize that this comment is coming extremely late but I wanted to add a few comments about Dr. Baugh.

Dr. Baugh is absolutely a man of integrity. I have known him since he was the tennis coach at Orem High School. He cares deeply about our children's education and about our community.

To those who claim that he is against people's choice for education I can only laugh. I have been a conservative republican my whole life, but to tell me that unless you get the government to pay for your kids to go to a different school is the definition of "choice" then you clearly don't understand conservatism. In this country, you absolutely have a choice, you can pay to have your kids go to whatever school you wish. You shouldn't expect me to help pay for your children to go to non-public schools.

The fact is democrats and republicans voted against vouchers. Plain and simple. The fact that the republican legislatures tried to ram this through demonstrates clearly that they are not listening to their whole constituency.

Dan | 1:47 p.m. April 15, 2009

I was reading a couple comments about Dr. Baugh's support for investigations math.

I admit that at first I was skeptical of the program, until I took the time to learn it. The reason I was skeptical is because I only knew one way to solve math problems. The old way. My youngest son went through investigations and I can tell you, it was awesome to watch him solve the same problem using 2 or 3 different methods. He understands math better than I ever did.

My wife taught investigations and she was amazed to see the students understanding improve over the year. Unfortunately, many teachers didn't want to learn the program and they did their students a real disservice.

Investigations mathematics is not easy at first, but it is well worth taking the time to learn it's concepts. Many a good book has received poor reviews because of the first chapter and that is the case with investigations math. Don't tell me that a student who can solve the same problem multiple ways doesn't understand it as well as someone who can only solve it one way.

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