MARK ALLEN- LI301 Precinct Vice Chair, County and State delegate.
The true joy of my life has been to have 4 wonderful children and 7 grandchildren. I want to help protect freedoms which I grew up taking for granted, now most freedoms are under attack, here at home and certainly in other countries.
TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT RECORDS
Abraham Lincoln said “Let the people know the facts and the Country will be safe”
If you read no further than here, please check out this free tool www.citizenportal.ai to see how you can use new tools in new ways. Use free code “UTGOP” for extended access.
I sent out an email with 5 very quick questions. I would really appreciate it if you would please let me know how you feel on these short issues. Click here for survey if you have not filled it out. It is very short, but I value your input.
Utah County can be a leader of transparency and leader accountability- or not. Utah can be a leader of transparency and leader accountability- or not. I believe that the SCC and GOP leadership has a unique opportunity to help craft policy which can influence the nation.
If you are not aware of my efforts with Protect and Preserve American Fork Canyon from being commercialized, or when I initiated preservation of Bridal Veil Falls, there is more on this page than you can ingest but I would welcome questions should you have any.
Without GRAMA I believe we would have lost AF Canyon as we know it and Bridal Veil Falls would have been commercialized. We can see the signs of the times with freedoms being assaulted left and right. Good is called evil, and evil is called good. New tools of AI can be used for great good.
My younger brother Paul founded Ancestry.com and changed the genealogy world. I have teamed up with Paul and his programming team to help improve transparency and hold elected officials accountable to We The People, predicated upon adherence to principles in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
I would appreciate your vote.
Thank you,
Mark
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If you have read this far, I have some specifics to share below should you want to learn more.
STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE
Per the SCC- Areas of focus for me include working with other committee members to help protect the Traditional Party Platform while improving transparency and accountability of elected officials statewide. 100% compliance with Open Public Meetings and GRAMA.
I am a team player yet I am also willing to lead out and tackle hard issues alone or take the lead if need be.
I believe delegates are undervalued and underutilized by our elected officials and our party. As a delegate it seems that once in a while we each get pulled out, dusted off, valued by vote seekers for the short term vote, and then our input is not sought until the next election cycle. This is very myopic – to underuse such a broad cross section of engaged citizens, I hope to be part of a solution to improve this.
FREEDOMS
One does not need to look very far to realize that every day Freedoms are under attack around Our Nation. Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Assemble, Freedom of Religion, Second Amendment Protections. Federal Overreach is at an all time high.
High taxes burden everyday citizens. Those on fixed incomes can’t vote themselves a pay raise, yet government grows, the more the growth, the more the burden to citizens- this is not what the Founding Fathers had in mind.
In my view we have two kinds of people who run for office, public servants, and politicians. the former we should keep, the later we should vote out on a regular basis.
2023 Legislative Session
SB31 Utah Flag (Bad Bill)
I testified against SB31, asking that legislators put the issue on the ballot for 1.8M voters. I collected Referendum signatures and while doing so I learned much. I learned we have many citizens who are not paying attention to what is going on politically as they are blue collar workers struggling to make ends meet, their days are long. There were younger citizens who showed apathy to their right to vote. I was surprised that there were many not registered to vote. On this particular bill, my experience was that the majority of citizens had no idea what transpired with the flag while they were going about life. This is a process failure. This is a process issue. Elected officials should be educating their constituents, information needs to get to the end of the row.
HB208 Criminal Trespass– (Bad Bill)
I testified against HB208, that unfortunately passed, to learn what this means you should read the bill. https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/static/HB0208.html
If HB208 were applied to every youth group who tube the Provo River below Deer Creek- if they should their foot hit on a rock, they technically could be criminally charged. The bill was custom designed for a private landowner to prevent fly-fishermen from wading in certain stretches of the Provo River and walking on the streambed (more to come). This bill affects more than just the Provo River, but rivers and streams across Utah. Learn more. Link to Supreme Court case on upper Provo River navigability, this decision may affect the Middle and Provo River, stay tuned, Supreme Court case decision expected soon. https://citizenportal.ai/-eb493795-589fea71
500 LEGISLATIVE BILLS
I listened to legislative hearings most everyday and I am not proud that we had near 500 bills put before the legislature. I would guess that most legislators and senators didn’t have time to read all the bills. I think there is a better way and I would like to see legislation put before delegates and citizens a minimum of 30 days before the legislative session for review by the public, so elected leaders can understand their constituents positions, and concerns and represent them better during the legislative session.
I’ve learned the power of one voice, can quickly become two, ten, a hundred and then thousands. I appreciate everyone who helped Protect American Fork Canyon, Bridal Veil Falls and who continue to pay attention and engage in public processes. This is not a time to be passive about protecting freedom.
One of our biggest challenges to protect freedom is to wake up the masses who are not paying attention to what legislation has been passed or which is underway to be passed.
IMHO everyone should learn to use GRAMA, trust but verify is one adage I have heard over and over. To help the public to become more educated, I am working with my brother Paul who founded Ancestry.com, his team forever changed the genealogy world. Next up is helping to protect freedoms by pushing information to engaged citizens. Although briefly mentioned above, those wanting more information on the portal, read on.
WWW.CITIZENPORTAL.AI
With the use of AI (artificial intelligence) to transcribe public meetings across Utah and the Nation. As of a few weeks ago, the State of Utah and Utah County are both in first place for the amount of public content, but we have so much more to do, in Utah and Our Nation.
WHY CITIZEN PORTAL? video https://youtu.be/FRgGKZPBfe4
To do a quick national search on a subject of your choosing (no name, zip code, email required) try out www.citizenportal.ai/free
If you would like to be able to have content from school board, your city leaders, county leaders then you will want to sign up for an account at this link. Get 3 months access to national data by using the code “UTGOP” www.citizenportal.ai/quick
If you have feedback or suggestions for feature on the tool please look at the bottom of www.citizenportal.ai webpage where you can make suggestions or comments.
The Citizen Portal helps people know who said what, and when, and who voted how. Keyword alerts will help you track what is going on at the school board, city, county, state and federal level.
The “keyword alert” feature is powerful, then add in clip sharing across social media and this becomes a powerful force for good, helping get important information to the end of the row.
GRAMA (Government Records Access) is vital to protect freedoms.
Government records belong to the citizens of the state, who have a legal right to open and fair access, yet from experience I can say that often big fees come with simple records requests, often records are roadblocked. Those who roadblock records should face repercussions. The cities could reduce the GRAMA research burden by simply publishing public records and making them readily available. FOIA has databases of prior requests which can be queried, Utah GRAMA has no such ongoing database. Again a process issue.
I have done hundreds of government records requests, our system requires detective skills at times to obtain evidence or documents which should be easily accessible by the public.
I have a strong believe in Government Transparency (GRAMA) and (FOIA) records requests processes, but we can do better than our present system.
GRAMA RESULTS- SOCIAL MEDIA AND CELL PHONE USE BEST PRACTICES
Here is a link to every social media policy across all the cities and counties in Utah who responded to a GRAMA request- if there is no data, it’s because the city or entity didn’t respond or did not then have a social media policy, ie: private cell phone or private email use policy for co-mingling personal business with official government business.
Using GRAMA I have learned much, often I have learned things I didn’t want to accept as happening in Utah, let alone Utah County.
SEVERAL TRANSPARENCY RELATED GOALS:
LEGISLATION
(1) The State Records Hearing Committee needs Subpoena Power and to be able to assess financial penalties for those who violate the Open Records, Open Meetings Laws.
(2) 100% Statewide participation in recording on video all public meetings and making these meetings readily accessible and searchable for the public for free
(3) Improve GRAMA records requests responsiveness and enforcement when records are routinely withheld or excessively delayed. This has become the defacto process for some entities in Utah, without repercussion for the entity that withholds or delays releasing public records.
A little about me.
I was born and raised in Utah County. Father of 4 children, 1 son, 3 daughters. Raised 3 daughters as a single parent for 15 years after unexpected divorced. It was during this process I started to get exposed to the machine called Family Court and I spent considerable time learning how things work or don’t work in our system. I have legislative ideas to help fix the dysfunction my children and I had to endure during this trying time.
I have many suggestions for the “legal” system to improve outcomes for families who go through the difficulties associated with divorce. When I listen to legislative sessions, and when divorce statutes are altered, its generally done by people who have not endured the divorce process. I believe I have much to offer in helping craft legislation to help protect family assets from the process called “divorce”. Helping guide policy can help produce better outcomes.
Other accomplishments
Protect American Fork Canyon from Commercialization
https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2021/06/22/when-publics-work-happens/
I initiated Preservation of American Fork Canyon, stopping Snowbird Ski Resort from commercializing American Fork Canyon while exposing many elected officials who had been flown on private jets to Switzerland. After the dust settled, all who were on those flights are no longer in office, they violated public trust and paid a high price.
A woman, last landholder of property on Miller Hill in Upper American Fork Canyon found me, she was tired of being harassed by the resorts attorneys to sell her property, which she did not want to do. I asked if she would let me act as her big brother, and allow my group of 10,000 to watch out for her interests, and that if she would sell my non-profit group .5 acres (which she did). Our Protect and Preserve American Fork Canyon and sister non-profit American Fork Canyon Alliance have done just that, helped to protect public access.
I am founder of Protect and Preserve American Fork Canyon – https://www.facebook.com/ProtectAmericanForkCanyon – this group is about 10,000 members strong. With the help of Willie Holdman, Brad Frost and others, we were able to prevent ski gondolas from going almost over the top of this beautiful scene. The project had been worked through the system for decades, and was on about the one yard line. We were told it was impossible to stop, yet, collectively, ten thousand citizens came together quickly to help protect this beautiful area. Mapping the area is still an outstanding issue.
https://www.ksl.com/article/45857935/stakeholders-look-to-solve-american-fork-canyon-maps-problem
As an offshoot of Protect and Preserve American Fork Canyon- American Fork Canyon Alliance 501c(3) was established.
I am the Executive Director of American Fork Canyon Alliance- AFCA is a Property Owner of land in American Fork Canyon.
AFCA sells annual landleases for ingress and egress for the public, helping to protect public access to this beautiful area. The AFCA parcel of land is identified in the map below.
The land in orange were proposed Forest Service land swaps, which collectively many citizens helped to stop. Had the land swaps taken place, the resort would have had contiguous property from Hidden Peak to base of Miller Hill. Tibble Fork appears to have be a potential Gondola base station, ie a second entrance to the ski resort. I love to ski, but this area is the last commercialized canyon along the Wasatch Front, and enjoyed by tens of thousands each year. Many rose up, and helped to preserve this area- for future generations to enjoy.
https://americanforkcanyon.com/recent-media-coverage/
Surrounded by nearly 1500 acres owned by the ski resort, and several thousand acres of public lands, access is challenging, but loved by the motorized community, who also have an orientation of protecting public access.
A number of years ago we placed a very heavy rock monument, donated by Walker Monuments in Orem. It was hand moved to 10,000′. We had help from great people in the motorized community. . Certificates are sold to help pay off the property and for the hard work of surveying the canyon. www.americanforkcanyonalliance.org/store On the landing page you can see how a map of how this small parcel helps protect access for the public. www.americanforkcanyonalliance.org
Hidden Peak Snowbird Tram just to the right of frame for reference. This is atop Miller Hill in Upper American Fork Canyon
Surveying was done with the help of the Former Surveyor General of the U.S., Francis Eickbush, and Kevin Bishop of Oak Hills Surveying.
The project was arduous, I literally walked the soles off my boots, but what a great team we had, the stars aligned to assist us in this monumental task.
The blaze markings on trees were how the oldtimers marked their boundaries,not easy to figure out. 
Shown below is Francis Eickbush (Fmr. Surveyor General of the U.S.) who donated so much time to helping us with the survey and to close on the parcel of property.Forever grateful for his goodness and support. 
PRESERVING BRIDAL VEIL FALLS.
I had been seeking / wanting protections for Bridal Veil Falls after the American Fork Canyon issue. I learned that there were some going on’s within the county that the public was not aware of. I used GRAMA and obtained records which initiated a preservation effort. The interest grew rapidly and the Utah County IT Department held what was probably the largest online citizen meeting in the history of the state, upwards of 500 participated remotely and the meeting was about 2.5 hours long. https://citizenportal.ai/-eb526583-73d061dd
Citizens can thank former Commissioner Nathan Ivie for taking the lead, for former Commissioner Tanner Ainge for his rock solid support and for directing the largest zoom I have ever participated in. Three votes to preserve Bridal Veil Falls- the end result.
https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/utah-county-commissioners-vote-to-protect-bridal-veil-falls-from-private-development
Wendy Fisher from Utah Open Lands ponied up $10,000 to help remove any roadblocks and her non-profit organization is now the steward over the falls proper. Recent legislation HB32 by Rep. Stratton is an attempt to build a boiler plate of legislation of how the many different stakeholders in Utah can learn to play nicely in the recreational sandbox where public, private, federal, state lands have intersections.
OTHER ISSUES?
I believe that public comments should come before any elected officials vote on issues. Some cities are excellent at this, other entities, not so good. Utah County Commission had a meeting in which citizens had to sit for two hours – so they could have one minute to comment- comments should happen before votes. Meeting times should be set when it’s best for public participation. https://citizenportal.ai/-eb526583-73d061dd
WATERSHED PROTECTION EFFORTS
Nearly 70 elected officials, the BLM Cadastral Mapper, the Forest Service, Media, Mayors, Senators from across Utah came on an up canyon tour, the motorized community conveyed some 30 jeeps, landcruisers to show the source point of pollution in Upper AF Canyon. Here is a slide deck from Getty Images. https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/mark-allen-cofounder-of-protect-and-preserve-american-fork-news-photo/605681706
OTHER VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES
I am on the Board of Directors for Utah Stream Access Coalition- our objectives are to protect public access-fishing on public waters in Utah. Our group is about 7000 members strong. I encourage all to join this group https://www.facebook.com/utahstreamaccesscoalition/
There is a recent article about the fishing access issues in Utah.
I REQUESTED THE EPA TO COME TO AMERICAN FORK CANYON AND BENCHMARK THE HEAVY METAL LOCATIONS, SOURCE POINT AND NO SOURCE POINTS OF POLLUTION. Source point means we can identify a location that is the source of the pollution. Non-source point, is a generalized area of contamination spread over a large area- it could be a generally area where heavy metals were once extracted from ore and remnants of pollution is scattered across a large area. Upper AF Canyon has both source point and non-source point challenges which I believe should be cleaned up.
The EPA identified the source point pollution, and the non-source point pollution, so we have a baseline of where the watershed problems are. Some great research can be reviewed here.
https://americanforkcanyonalliance.org/special-projects/
https://americanforkcanyon.com/tibble-fork-worse-than-gold-king-mine-you-look-at-the-data-and-decide/
Mud sludge from Tibble Fork Disaster
https://www.facebook.com/ProtectAmericanForkCanyon/videos/1775464339405943
https://www.facebook.com/ProtectAmericanForkCanyon/videos/1875103006108742
LEGISLATION TO MAKE UTAH YURT FRIENDLY. HB0297
I initiated legislation that Rep. Brammer and Senator Hemmert got passed to make Utah Yurt Friendly, testifying in committee. This included a more restrictive watershed protection plan for pack-in, packout than Little Cottonwood Canyon. https://le.utah.gov/~2020/bills/static/HB0297.html
WATERSHED PROTECTION IN AMERICAN FORK CANYON,
I co-authored the watershed protection plan draft for the City of American Fork which was slightly adjusted and then used as a template for other cities. https://www.americanfork.gov/870/Environmentally-Friendly-AF
LOCAL LAND ASSESSMENT AND ACCURATE MAPPING ISSUES IN AF CANYON.
With help from AF City Mayor Brad Frost – Senator Valentine passed legislation to allow for local land assessment in American Fork Canyon, where it deals with patented mine claims which are being used recreationally for skiing. I am still working to get a Tax ID for the AFCA parcel of land so that we can pay our taxes on the small AFCA property and to have it placed on the official county map. This should have been easy, but old processes need to be updated, maps need to be updated, and that is one undertaking that is still on my list.
How the land ownership is in upper American Fork Canyon? This shows Little Cottonwood Canyon, the heavy lines are mountaintop ridge lines. You can readily understand why most leaders continue to kick this down the road. Heavy metals are ever present in these areas, and clean up is in the best interest of future generations, goes hand in hand with the GOP Platform and being good stewards. This is still on my project list to nudge forward. The FS needs to take a more proactive role in cleaning up their portions of the heavy metals at the Yankee Mine. ZInc loading kills of small insects and fish in the upper reaches of Mary Ellen Gulch. We can do better, a bucket full at a time perhaps, but it should be cleaned up. The heavy metals microload and end up in Tibble Fork Reservoir. Lead, Arsenic, anyone?
What is special about American Fork Canyon? Short video
https://www.facebook.com/ProtectAmericanForkCanyon/videos/1600906720195040
Goals for 2023 beyond those required of the SCC.
(1) Utah County to put official historically used roads in Upper American Fork Canyon on the official county map.
(2) Get Utah County Surveyor to utilize the data points our group provided from surveying AF Canyon, and to update the maps in AF Canyon to reflect true ownership.
(3) Improve Transparency across the State of Utah with www.citizenportal.ai
(4) Work on key legislation to help improve transparency and accountability in the judicial system while growing the CitizenPortal across the United States.
(5) Protect the existing GOP Platform, family, faith, freedom, environmental protection, watershed protection, wholesome fee free family recreation zones.
I enjoy fly-fishing, white water rafting as a former Grand Canyon, Cataract Canyon, Desolation and Westwater River Guide. As a guide when on the river, I would try and anticipate what hazards were around the corner, what rocks might be hiding under a boiling of water, what hydraulics might try and grab my boat. Those skills do translate into looking forward in life, proactive and preventative measures- ie, the fence at the top of the hill vs, the ambulance at the base of the cliff.
Utah County has much going for it. The more delegates I have come to know and interact with, the more hope I have that we can make appropriate course corrections and return where needed and to embrace that which has made Utah the envy of many other states. Controlled growth with a comprehensive state-wide plan, strengthening the economic backbone of Utah- all elements I have some suggestions to help.
In watching our legislative sessions, one thing I came away with was that 99% of the time, our elected officials acted with decorum, integrity and dignity for the offices they have been elected to represent. Other states could learn quite a bit about conducting meetings, disagreeably agreeably in contentious legislative issues.
If you’ve read this far, yes… I do all of my own stunts. 
I worked as a EMT while going to college, working alongside the NBICU transport team, and delivering them to far away hospitals to retrieve premature babies, I worked also with the geriatrics in transporting them to medical care, that was a very rewarding chapter of life.
I worked my way through college as a photojournalist, and on the KBYU TV Sports Crew. I would later edit at the LDS Motion Picture studio as a freelance video editor, I served a mission in Hokkaido Japan. I love snow, the deeper the better.
I believe we as people have more in common than not, and sometimes culture gets in the way of really hearing each other out. The elected officials I respect the most are those who are responsive, act with integrity, and do what they promise they will do. I can promise I will work hard to protect the core values of Utah, change can be good at times, but status quo can at times be the better path.
If anyone would like to discuss issues beyond these issues, I can be reached at 8014626700
I don’t have all the answers, but I do care about taking care of the less fortunate, the little guy, for I am the little guy. When I see some elected officials who give themselves pay raises without public input, that is a violation of their office, when citizens learn after the fact about issues passed, that is a lack of leadership, whether it is at the school board, city, county of state level. We need leaders who will actively involve citizens before the vote.
These are just some of the areas I have been working on in the past, will continue to work on and try and represent the conservation minded – protecting natural resources, while helping to guide policy for thoughtful growth, to minimize government overreach and to hold elected officials to ethical standards from social workers, law enforcement, attorneys, judges, state and federal leaders.
I love seeing the public get involved in protecting natural resources. The thousands of hours of volunteers in American Fork Canyon, really is unique.
HAM RADIO REPEATER
The Amateur Radio groups in Utah are well organized, with weekly “nets” where ham radio operators will call in, have a little training, and to keep radio skills honed. Our mountains are beautiful, yet unforgiving for those who go unprepared, my suggestion is for everyone to have 2-3 methods to communicate when in the backcountry. Cell phones don’t always help.
Our AFCA group teamed up with UVARC and placed a ham radio repeater at 10,000 feet to help provide backcountry communications. This summer 2023 we will add more batteries and improve the radio antenna as 20′ of snow likely has wiped it out.
Thanks to B.O.A.R, and Cruiser Outfitters, members of Search and Rescue and the Utah County Ham Radio members as well as Ted Kimball / Trinnamen family for providing a location to host this repeater. This repeater provides communication in Upper AF Canyon, on the back of Mt. Timpanogos and even into areas of Heber Valley and Draper Utah. We will work to harden the system this coming summer.
We are only as strong a free society as the lowest common denominator in positions of trust and representation.
I will share this vote taken by Senator Kennedy at a Utah County Delegate event which I videotaped pertaining to SB31 (Utah Flag Bill)
SB31 Flag video https://www.facebook.com/ProtectAmericanForkCanyon/videos/534496928868743
Lastly, it has been said, If you’re taking flak, you’re over the target is an old, WWII Army Air Force phrase. It means to take criticism (flak) from a position on a controversial topic (the target). Leaders are first to be criticized for their views and are susceptible to disparagement and abuse for what they say or do. I and others have taken flak, as we fought to protect public access- yet I am grateful for the accomplishments and the great men and women I have met along the way who have helped us accomplish what many said was absolutely impossible.
Freedom is worth fighting for. Passive citizens are plentiful, uninformed citizens are plentiful, it is very difficult to know what is going on at a local, county, state level, but the new tools at www.citizenportal.ai I will continue to work diligently on -so that “We the People” can help ensure freedom protections for generations to come.
