Dr. Kathryn Allen moved to Utah in the 1980s to complete a medical residency, and has been a practicing physician ever since.
But after a lifetime of practicing medicine, she said she felt called to run for Congress as a Democrat in the 3rd Congressional District after attending U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetzs February town hall.
A lot of the anger directed at Chaffetz, R-Alpine, during that town hall meeting including frequent booing by more than 1,000 people demanding Chaffetz to Do his job was largely because the gerrymandering of districts left many people feeling like Chaffetz did not represent them, Allen said.
At least in the Salt Lake County portion of his district, we felt so disenfranchised, said Allen, who lives in Cottonwood Heights. We never win any elections. We vote anyway, but it doesnt matter because its so gerrymandered that its very difficult for a Democrat to win.
Allen found Chaffetzs answers at his town hall to be unimpressive. He failed to directly answer peoples questions, in a way that came across as manipulative to many in the audience, she said.
I started to think he was a poor public servant, Allen said. And I started to feel sort of called. This thought entered my mind and it stayed there, and doors opened for me to do it, and now I feel like Im supposed to do it.
Anger at Chaffetz, fueled at least in part by comments he made in which he implied that people might have to make a decision between health care or an iPhone, have quickly brought Allens donations on her CrowdPac page to more than half a million dollars.
Her donations were so overwhelming, Allen ended up officially filing for candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday well before April, which was what she had originally intended to do so.
If you make a statement that an iPhone and health care should be a choice, and you dont understand that people use it as a camera, a computer and a lifeline to their families, then you dont understand the people of the middle class, or the people who are struggling, Allen said.
The 3rd Congressional District is overwhelmingly conservative. Chaffetz beat his Democratic opponent, Stephen Tryon, by 47 percentage points in the 2016 contest.
But, Allen said, she hopes to appeal to the conservative block of the voters by finding common ground with them.
I would hope that some of them would feel the same way we do, that our democracy may be under threat, Allen said. I would hope they would also agree that its not OK to have foreign influence in our election.
In addition, Allen described herself as fairly fiscally conservative.
I dont go as far left as some do, she said.
Allen owned a small medical practice for much of her career, which she said helped make her small-business friendly. She understands onerous government regulation, and she doesnt like it either.
I think the government could do better job of providing services and programs and trusting people to run them, and not micromanaging every little thing from Washington, Allen said.
Her strategy also includes simply being authentic and reaching out to people something she said she got lots of practice doing in the medical field.
Though she will attempt to appeal to a conservative base, Allen does not shy away from some platforms that take a more liberal turn.
As a physician, Allen was dismayed about the GOPs proposed replacement to the Affordable Care Act, which she said would take medical insurance away from many who need it. Though Allen said she thought Obamacare wasnt perfect either, she said it could have been amended to be much more relevant.
Throughout my career, I have observed that any greed motive in health care is a negative force, Allen said. I worked in a for-profit health care job for three years I very much disliked it. I didnt want to worry about whether I was making money for them or helping my patients. To me it was a moral conflict of my everyday life.
On her CrowdPac page, Allen says she is against the privatization of things like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
No one should face bankruptcy due to medical bills. Illness is not a moral failing, the CrowdPac page states. Prevention is hugely important, but we cannot rail against the sick that the illness was their personal responsibility.
Her platform also includes that of inclusivity to those of the LGBTQ community.
Also in contrast to Chaffetz and many other state lawmakers, Allen is not in favor of turning federal public lands, or the U.S. Department of Education for that matter, over to the hands of the states.
Though she said she likes the idea of states rights, Allen said she doesnt trust the states to take over certain issues.
Im not ready to have the state manage them, Allen said. Im afraid they would exploit them for the gain of out-of-state companies.
But, Allen said, after being thrust into the limelight as a candidate so quickly, she still has a lot to learn about many issues that fall outside of her realm of medical expertise.
She said she plans to start a listening tour next month so she can learn more about the people of the district who she doesnt know much about, including Native American tribes, and members from rural parts of the district.
I just want to understand the district first, she said. I think since I filed so early, I have time to do that.
Allen is currently the only Democrat to announce a run against Chaffetz, though Republican Damian Kidd announced a 3rd district run in January.
Katie England is the South County and political reporter for the Daily Herald. She can be reached at 801-344-2599 or kengland@heraldextra.com.
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Democrat launching campaign against Jason Chaffetz aims to find common ground with conservative district - Daily Herald
