Alan Wessman

Alan Wessman earned a high school diploma from W.F. West High School, a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in 1999, and a graduate degree from Brigham Young University in 2005. His career experience includes working as a software engineer.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I’m a husband and father, a new grandpa, and a 20-year resident of Spanish Fork. My kids have grown up in this community, and my wife and I have made many friends here.

I’m a software engineer. I look deeply at systems and data to understand how to solve problems. I know how to collaborate with people who see a problem differently. And I understand the tech that influences our lives so much: the internet, databases, apps, AI, and more.

I’m a hiker. I love our beautiful state and our natural resources. I want to be a good steward over this place, to conserve our water and our air and our scenery for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations.

I’m a reformer. When I see a broken system, I want to find the root causes and fix them. When unfairness and injustice take hold, I want to weed them out. When abuses happen, I want to hold the abusers accountable.

I’m a candidate. I want you to have a good choice on the ballot. I don’t believe in waiting for someone else to step up when there’s a need. When I realized that the seat would be unopposed, leaving voters with no meaningful choice this fall, I resolved to run—not just as a name on a ballot, but as someone folks could feel good about voting for.

I’m a friend. I assume your good faith and intentions. I care about your views. I don’t mind disagreement. I know that friends can find ways forward, while enemies just destroy each other. Let’s move forward together!

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Many voters in Utah, including in House District 64, feel that government is unresponsive and distant. Most don’t know who their representatives are, and have never seen them in a live town hall or at their door.

When a data center comes to town, or traffic gets backed up yet again, or someone makes claims about election problems, it’s hard to know whom to turn to for reliable information and thoughtful solutions.

When bills are floated and filed, Utahns don’t know whether they’re for their own good or for party advantage.

A representative democracy shouldn’t be that way. Voters should know who represents them, and should be able to have confidence that their representatives are sincere, ethical, and focused on their interests.I’m unaffiliated, so I won’t be voting on bills based on how some politician outside my district is telling me to vote. I don’t have to make my party look good or a rival party look bad. I’ll listen to your thoughts and share data and ideas without having to protect a party agenda.

I’ll hold regular in-person town halls. I’ll also read bills before voting on them. An unread bill is a “present” or a “no” vote. You deserve a representative who owns every vote he makes.

I’ll work to restore your ability to get ballots mailed to you without having to jump through hoops to get them. I’ll oppose efforts to make voting harder or to draw unfair voting districts.

See my website for more policy ideas and specifics.When I found out there would be only one candidate this fall if nobody else ran, I felt moved to offer voters a real choice. But I had to meet an extra requirement.

You see, in order to qualify for the ballot, most partisan candidates need to gain the support of just a few dozen delegates at their party convention. But as a nonpartisan candidate, I had to collect 300 signatures from registered voters around the district.

I turned in 334 voters’ signatures.

Half of those were from people who know me personally. The rest spoke with me at the door, or heard of me from my volunteers, and liked the choice that I offer the voters of District 64.

Whether old friends or new, I’m honored to have their trust and will do my best to merit it.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I’m passionate about improving election systems so that every eligible voter has full opportunity to cast their ballot. I want to upgrade our voting methods so we can vote our honest preferences without spoilers. I want to make sure we have fair voting districts, no gerrymandering nonsense.

I’m also passionate about protecting and improving our quality of life: our air, water, wilderness, open spaces, health, transportation, and financial wellbeing. I follow the Leave No Trace adage: leave things better than you found them.

Finally, I’m passionate about accountability. Government should be transparent and elected officials should be held to high standards. Those who violate public trust or abandon their duties should be subject to recall.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

In my personal life I look up to my father and my father-in-law. Both served our country as officers (Navy and Army respectively), had respectable civilian careers (engineer and executive, teacher and principal), and have been examples of integrity and kindness to their spouses and families.

In state politics, I admire Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson for her integrity and public truth-telling about our election systems, and for protecting voter privacy even under enormous pressure. I also admire Michelle Quist, the current chair of the Utah Forward Party, for running for state attorney general in 2024 while juggling a professional career and the needs of her family, so that voters could have a choice of a competent and independent candidate.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, and commitment to the Constitution and rule of law, are foremost. Conscientiousness. Mindful of consequences. Genuinely interested in helping people regardless of status, political persuasion, belief system, origin, etc. Able to see the consequences in the details, and willing to make sure to get them right.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To represent my district’s interests, and the interests of Utah and its residents at large, in the legislative branch of the state, by studying, crafting, and voting on legislation.

To perform legislative oversight of the other branches of state government and to be a check and balance on their powers while keeping within the constitutional limits of the legislature.

To hold myself firmly to the same laws that I expect others to follow.

To communicate with my constituents about issues, both to inform them and to listen to them.

To be accountable to the voters for my performance.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Imagine an animal trapped in a muddy pit, struggling vainly to escape, and think of this as our current political situation. Think of a few people passing by and noticing it, and running to help, calling to others to join in the rescue effort. Some find ropes, others find poles or boards for leverage, others form a human chain. Together they work to free the animal.

I want my legacy to be that of one of the people who helped—not a solo hero, not the person in the center of the camera, but one of those who didn’t just keep walking past.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job working for someone who wasn’t a family member or neighbor was a 3-day stint in a cotton candy booth at the Southwest Washington Fair when I was in my mid teens. My first job that lasted longer than a summer fair was a part-time job as a grocery bagger and cart wrangler for Safeway.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

More seriously, making decisions in urgent situations when there’s a lot of uncertainty. I much prefer to take time to study and sound things out, and to let others weigh in, before resolving on an action to take. Sometimes things are truly urgent and I have to make a quick decision, and in such cases having strong principles and a broad education helps me make a rational initial judgment and to make course corrections when new facts come to light.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

They should check and balance each other, as our system of government is intended to do, without overstepping their own limits or being unnecessarily hostile. The governor should veto more often, to provide pressure on the legislature to pass fewer bills but of higher quality. The legislature should conduct strict oversight over the executive branch but legislators should not be voting members of boards and commissions.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Growth, water availability, preserving the Great Salt Lake, navigating the economic rapids that loom ahead due to tariffs and war, and keeping our elected officials accountable to the people they are sworn to serve.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Compromise is absolutely necessary, because it's the logical outcome of balancing realistic but competing priorities and interests. That doesn't mean compromising our principles or our integrity. I don't compromise on protecting human rights or upholding the rule of law, for example. But I do work to find solutions that respect the views and interests of a diverse citizenry.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Forward Party of Utah

What was the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember?

I have a dim memory of a TV screen showing the 1980 presidential election where Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter. I was too young to understand what was going on, but I grew up with newspapers in the home and learned a lot about our political systems by reading and observing, then finally participating.

Alan Wessman did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2022 Candidate Connection survey.