Lyndsey Jarman for Senate

Dear friends,

I am sorry to have to inform you that because I am taking on a new job opportunity, I will not be able to run for State Senate this year. I have withdrawn my name from the campaign and will not be on the ballot in November. However, I will still be working as much as I can behind the scenes to help other Democratic candidates win their State and House elections. I strongly believe that the more diverse voices we have in Utah government the better that our State will be. If you would like to join me in supporting other candidates, I will be posting some names in the comments.

Voting by mail is going to become especially important in this upcoming election. I'm so glad that Utah already has a mail-in ballot system.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/08/politics/donald-trump-vote-by-mail-absentee/index.html

Donald Trump's blatant hypocrisy on voting by mail During his daily coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, President Donald Trump made very clear that voting by mail -- an alternative many are suggesting to deal with the ongoing stay-at-home directives -- is a very bad thing. And more than that, he suggested, it's deeply corrupt.

At the beginning of March, all of Utah's female senators (Democrats and Republicans) walked out while their male counterparts voted on House Bill 364, a bill that would force women to have an ultrasound against their will. Punitive legal measures, such as this one, do nothing to lower the rate of abortion but do send a message to women that their voices and their healthcare is unimportant to their male representatives.
https://www.abc4.com/news/local-news/male-lawmakers-pass-bill-to-mandate-ultrasound-for-women-seeking-abortion/

Female senators walk out as male colleagues pass bill to mandate ultrasound for women seeking abortion SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 News) Every woman in the Utah Senate walked out as their male colleagues passed a bill that would require an ultrasound for a woman seeking an abortion. House Bill 364, Abortio…

The Stay At Home orders that are in place in several Utah counties are there because local leaders saw a need to protect their constituents and took action. The Utah legislature should not attempt to supersede these orders. https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2020/04/08/state-legislators/

State legislators to consider limiting local stay-home orders during coronavirus Utah lawmakers are looking at limiting the power of local governments to issue stay-home orders, potentially weakening restrictions already instituted by urban counties desperate to contain the coronavirus.

Author Kaitlin B. Curtice has started a project called "Essential Love Letters" where you can either help write letters or sign up to receive letters. If you are able, you can sign up here to make sure that those who are working to perform essential services or who are lonely, or who are isolated, or who or mourning feel the love of community during this stressful time. http://kaitlincurtice.com/essentialloveletters/

#EssentialLoveLetters - KAITLIN B. CURTICE   We live in a chaotic time, full of grief, fear and a lot of unknowns. What will the future be like? How will we make it through this? What will bring us hope right now? In these times, we turn to words, art, music, nature, and the gift of belonging for hope. We write …

Adding work requirements to Medicaid enrollment was cruel and punitive. I'm grateful that the Utah Department of Health has suspended these rules. As this pandemic makes evident, we shouldn't make people who are in crisis take on the additional burden of laborious requirements. Dropping the work requirement for Medicaid should be permanent. https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2020/04/03/utah-suspends/

Utah suspends controversial work requirement for Medicaid enrollees because of the coronavirus Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing readers free access to critical local stories about the coronavirus during this time of heightened concern. See more coverage here. To support journalism like this, please consider

While my husband was finishing school, we were desperate to find high quality, affordable childcare for our son. Currently, our State is only meeting the need for a third of the families who need childcare. While the COVID19 crisis is putting even more of a strain on our childcare systems, now is the time to think about how to improve our infrastructure for the future.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/03/27/utah-meets-only-third/

Utah meets only a third of families’ child care needs, report says Utah’s current system is only meeting about a third of the need for child care in the state, a new report shows.

Lyndsey Jarman for Senate updated their website address.

Public education is meant to be a great equalizer, providing all children with access to an equitable education, but this transition to online school has shown that for all the efforts of educators and administrators, there are underlying inequalities that need to be addressed. Not every child has access to the Internet, or healthcare, or preschool, or a parent who has time for at home school support. As online school continues, the gaps caused by these inequalities will continue to widen. Now is the time to take a hard look at how we can support children and families who are struggling without public school.
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/04/01/will-learning-gaps-widen-as-schools-stay.html

Will Learning Gaps Deepen as Schools Stay Closed? Not every parent can step in as teachers when schools are closed. Not every school can teach remotely. Educational disparities are opening up as schools shut down.

This is completely unacceptable. If we needed proof that our healthcare system is currently broken this is it. For now, the government should be providing interest-free loans to hospitals that continue to fully support their staff during this crisis.

https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/03/30/intermountain-is-cutting/

Intermountain will cut pay for doctors and nurse practitioners amid coronavirus pandemic Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing readers free access to critical local stories about the coronavirus during this time of heightened concern. See more coverage here. To support journalism like this, please consider

"Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development is offering a bridge loan to Utah-based small businesses with 50 or fewer employees impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Loan amounts range from $5,000 to $20,000 with 0% interest for up to a 60-month period. Loan amounts shall not exceed three months of demonstrated operating expenses. Loan payments are deferred for 12 months. GOED will use up to 25% of the funding for rural Utah businesses." https://business.utah.gov/utah-leads-together-small-business-bridge-loan-program/

Utah Leads Together Small Business Bridge Loan Program | Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development Beginning March 31, 2020, the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development is offering a bridge loan to Utah-based small businesses with 50 or fewer employees impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Loan amounts range from $5,000 to $20,000 with 0% interest for up to a 60-month period. Loan amounts s...

Lieutenant Governor Cox has announced free child care for those who are health care workers and first responders. This is both wonderful and necessary! Visit https://jobs.utah.gov/covid19/ to apply. Now we need to cancel rents and mortgages!

COVID-19 Covid-19

The key factor in controlling the spread of COVID-19 is availability of testing. Congress needs to act now to ensure widespread testing so that healthy individuals can return to work. Until such testing and tracking become available, thank you for staying home and protecting each other!

https://medium.com//congress-must-move-to-rapidly-increase-our-coronavirus-testing-capacity-8c5abd71b6f1

Congress Must Move to Rapidly Increase Our Coronavirus Testing Capacity Congress is close to finishing its third legislative package to assist in the coronavirus response. It’s imperative that as soon as this…

This morning I took my kids to pick up breakfast and lunch at our neighborhood school. It made us happy to see our nutrition workers and say hello. It also gave us a way to shake up our social distancing routine. I'm so glad for social safety nets that make sure that all children have access to food during a crisis. Please spread the word that all children ages 0-18 are currently being fed free of charge at the following schools: Aspen, Bonneville, Central, Cherry Hill, Geneva, Greenwood, Mtn. View HS, Orem JRHS, Sharon, Suncrest, Timpanogos HS, Vineyard, Westmore, and Windsor. And that all Alpine students can get breakfast and lunch free at their local schools between 8:30 AM - 11:00 AM. Thank you Alpine School District for making sure that there are .

Utah is keeping schools closed through May 1. I am currently both teaching my own class online and helping my own children navigate online school. It's stressful. Teachers, I want you to know that the number one thing that your students are missing isn't their friends, or their recess, or their play, or the content. It's you. You are their most precious resource. Please take care of yourselves during this time and remember that just seeing that video lesson you made for your students brightened their whole day. And to parents, it's going to be okay. It's hard, but we'll get through it. And someday we will look back at this time as the time that we played board games every day, or watched 100 movies together, or learned to bake bread. We are going to get through this. Take a lot of deep breaths. Take care of yourself.
https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/3/23/21191729/coronavirus-covid19-utah-schools-superintendent-homeschooling-out-of-school-learning

Utah schools to remain closed through May 1 K-12 schools will closed through May 1, according to a statement from Gov. Gary Herbert.

Here I am, registering to run for Senate District 13. I look a bit terrified, don't I? It's because I want to listen to each word carefully that I am about to affirm, and because I know that representing Utah families is a huge responsibility. It feels like my very first day of teaching school when you suddenly feel the weight of this huge responsibility that you have chosen to take on and you aren't sure that you will be able to navigate this new path. But sometimes you choose to do things because they are the right thing to do, even if they are new, even if they are scary, and even if you have to use hand sanitizer 5 times in the process. Life is a process of stepping forward to do scary new things and I am excited to take on this new adventure.