Utah Priorities Project

Statewide, Washington County Differences

Note: During the 2008 election cycle, Utah Policy Daily will offer highlights from the Utah Priorities Project, an effort by Utah Foundation to focus political dialogue on the issues that matter most to Utahns.

By Steve Kroes, Utah Foundation President

The 2008 Utah Priorities Project began with a Dan Jones survey of Utah voters to understand which issues are their highest priorities. As with the 2004 version of the project, we oversampled in Washington County to get a good look at how priorities in the St. George area compare to the rest of the state (which is heavily dominated by the Wasatch Front). The survey results highlight some of the social, economic, and political differences between Washington County and the rest of Utah.

Statewide Top 10 Issues

1. Energy Issues, Including Utilities & Gasoline Prices

2. K-12 Education

3. Taxes and Government Spending

4. Healthcare

5. Immigration

6. Crime and Security

7. Water Supply and Quality

8. Environmental Issues, Including Air Quality & Pollution

9. Transportation and Traffic

10. Dealing with Utah’s Growth

Washington County Top 10 Issues

1. Energy Issues, Including Utilities & Gasoline Prices

2. Taxes and Government Spending

3. Immigration

4. Water Supply and Quality

5. K-12 Education

6. Healthcare

7. Jobs and the Economy

8. Crime and Security

9. Dealing with Utah’s Growth

10. Housing

Two issues from the statewide list did not make the top ten in Washington County: environmental issues (mostly air quality), and transportation concerns. Those two were replaced by the economy and housing concerns. Other significant differences are seen in education (ranked lower in Washington), water (ranked higher), immigration (higher), and crime (lower). These findings seem to fit the understanding that Washington County voters are older and more conservative. They are less likely to have children in school, they live in a much more dry climate, and they have experienced much more economic growth and immigration (and in-migration from other states) than the rest of the state in recent years. They also saw home prices rise much sooner and faster than the Wasatch Front counties and may be facing a larger “housing bubble” because of it.

Today in Political History

April 29, 1861:  Maryland's House of Delegates vote against seceding from the Union.

April 29, 1945:  Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler marries his longtime mistress Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker. The couple kill themselves the next day.

April 29, 1983:  Harold Washington is sworn in as the first black mayor of Chicago.

(Source:  New York Times) 

April 29, 1974:  Pres. Richard Nixon announces the release of the edited transcripts of White House tape recordings related to the Watergate scandal.  (Source:  NBC5)  

Wise Words

“Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and when to reap, we should soon want bread.”

-- Thomas Jefferson (Patriot Post)

Communications Tip

What Does Your Attire Communicate?

As we observe the national presidential race it becomes very clear that the clothing that the respective candidates wear project the image for the specific audience that they are addressing.  As the local races heat up, pay attention to what the candidates are wearing and why; this might give you a very good idea as to how the candidates see themselves and more importantly how the candidates perceive you, the voter.  (Source:  Effective Communication) 

National Politics

Best Stories From . . .

-- Politico: "The Rev. Jeremiah Wright said Monday that he will try to change national policy by 'coming after' Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) if he is elected president. ... Wright ... made the explosive comment during a chaotic question-and-answer session at the National Press Club in Washington, following the pastor's remarks about the black church in America."

-- Washington Post: Columnist Dana Milbank says of Wright's NPC appearance: "[Wright] defended the view that Zionism is racism, accused the United States of terrorism, repeated his view that the government created the AIDS virus to cause the genocide of racial minorities, stood by other past remarks ('God damn America') and held himself out as a spokesman for the black church in America. ... In front of 30 television cameras, Wright's audience cheered him on as the minister mocked the media and, at one point, did a little victory dance on the podium. It seemed as if Wright, jokingly offering himself as Obama's vice president, was actually trying to doom Obama...."

-- New York Times: John McCain responded to Wright's comments Sunday, "saying it was 'beyond belief' that Mr. Wright had likened the Romans at the time of Jesus' crucifixion to the Marines and had suggested that the United States was acting like Al Qaeda under a different color flag."

-- International Herald Tribune: Howard Dean said Sunday that either Obama or Hillary Clinton "needed to drop out of the presidential race in June for the party to win the White House in November."

Blog Watch

-- The Tribune has launched a new blog, The Vault, which is dedicated to "opening government, unlocking doors and uncovering secrets."

Lighter Side

Favorite Headlines

(From James Taranto’s Best of the Web at OpinionJournal.com)

-- Stay Away From Wildfire Creeps: "New Round of Evacuations as Calif. Wildfire Creeps Closer"--headline, Associated Press, April 27

-- Then the Big Band Era Began: "Humans Lived in Tiny, Separate Bands for 100,000 Years"--headline, Agence France-Presse, April 25

-- We Blame Global Warming: "Natural-Gas Vehicles Hot in Utah, Where the Fuel Is Cheap"--headline, Associated Press, April 25

-- Help Wanted: "Church Thieves Sought"--headline, Hastings (Minn.) Star Gazette, April 24
-- Photo caption from the Harrison (Ark.) Daily Times: “Newton County Extension Agent Jack Boles visits with a monkey he and his companions rescued from a jungle river in Borneo before bringing it ashore for lunch.”