The Utah Senate lost some stature when Patrice Arent decided not to run for re-election. But voters in Senate District 4 need not pay dearly for Arent's departure.

Like the able Arent before her, Democrat Pat Jones is attempting to cross over from the House, where she has spent six years as an ardent champion of education, tax and ethics reform, child health, and protection and care for the elderly. Her Republican opponent is political newcomer Dirk Anjewierden, executive director of the Utah Health Care Association, which represents skilled nursing home facilities.

The Tribune Editorial Board believes that Jones is clearly the better choice to represent the needs of her district and the state as a whole, beginning with public education.

Three years ago, and every year hence, Jones has teamed with Republican Sen. Steve Mascaro to push innovative income tax reform legislation that would go far toward solving the state's growing public education funding crisis. The plan's progressive structure would place more of the tax burden on upper-income brackets while limiting tax exemptions to two children per household. The GOP-controlled Legislature has thrice kept the bill locked up in committee and this year passed a bifurcated tax-reform plan that, in its flat-tax variation, essentially favors economic development over education, at least in the short term.

Unlike Anjewierden, Jones does not buy the argument of Gov. Jon Huntsman and the Legislature that the flat tax will entice wealthy CEOs to locate their companies in Utah. Jones says first-rate public education and transportation systems, and an educated work force, are the proven drivers of economic expansion.

Anjewierden says he sees a need for education reform that reduces class size and pays teachers more, yet he applauded the Legislature's recent income-tax cut, funds that otherwise would have gone to schools. He favors smaller school districts and charter schools, but acknowledges he "doesn't have all the answers" for education.

Jones, by virtually any measure, would be the best replacement for Arent in District 4. She will serve the voters and the Senate with her hefty policy portfolio and bipartisan approach to solving problems.