I am speaking at the West Jordan Senior Center today and at the Draper Senior Center next Friday as part of a series of Open Houses sponsored by the Salt Lake County Division of Aging Services. Candidates were invited to attend and take advantage of the opportunity to provide a 3-minute or less speech and talk with senior citizens.

I developed a personal statement on aging issues at my campaign website.

Here is what I will say today:

Good morning everyone:

I am Deanna L. Taylor and I am running for Salt Lake County Council in this district, District 5. I am a wife, mother, and about-to-be grandmother. I am a public school teacher by profession. I spent much of my growing up around senior citizens and have spent a significant amount of time volunteering my musical talents at various senior centers and homes. My husband and I wrote a curriculum for public school music students where we teach them traditional folks songs and take them “on the road” to perform at senior centers and homes, a program which helps bridge the gap between young people and senior citizens.

Issues that affect our aging population are, and have always been, of concern to me. As County Council member, I plan to work for:

• Improved mass transit (so that everyone has consistent access to transportation)
• Zoning for development of affordable housing for everyone, especially senior citizens and low income families
• Voting methods that are transparent and accountable and provide a paper trail (I am not in favor of paperless computer voting machines since I view them as a serious threat to our democratic elections because they can be used to tamper with vote counts. )

The projection of citizens who will be in the 60+ age group by the year 2020 is quite significant and will place demands on much needed services such as home health services, hospitals, nursing homes, adult day care, and financial assistance.

I believe that it is incumbent upon elected officials to enable our older adult population to remain vital, active, and participating members of society by providing services that insure these things. As your elected county council member, I would pursue the funding of services to make this happen.