Big Election Opportunities in 2012

Prospective political candidates at a whole lot of levels are looking ahead to 2012. That might seem like a long way off, but it’s not. 2012 will be the biggest opportunity in many years for newcomers to have a shot at elective office. That’s because, due to reapportionment, many election districts at various levels of government, will be wide open.   2012 will feature a presidential election, a possible open U.S. Senate  seat (if Sen. Orrin Hatch retires), an open governor’s race (because Gov. Jon Huntsman said he would only serve two terms), a brand new Fourth District congressional seat (because reapportionment is expected to give Utah a fourth seat), three other congressional races, and a likely open attorney general race.

What’s more, reapportionment will have occurred at the local level, so all Utah House, Senate and school board races will occur in new districts, meaning there will be open districts and districts with two incumbents. There will be more districts in fast-growing Washington County, and a major shift in the number of districts to the booming west side of Salt Lake and Utah counties, due to population growth. Wow. That will be one major election with lots of opportunities for newcomers. 

New TNC Newsletter

The Nature Conservancy of Utah has sent out a new e-newsletter covering a variety of interesting topics related to TNC’s work in Utah and elsewhere.

Business Optimism Down

Last week Zions Bank released the results of its 7th Quarterly Economic Survey, which gauges the health of Utah's economy from the perspective of high-level executives throughout the state and is conducted by independent research firm Dan Jones & Associates. Optimism is at all time low, according to the survey. Read the Taking Care of Business newsletter from the Zions Business Resource Center to learn more about the survey.

Read Latest Fowlke Newsletter

Rep. Lorie Fowlke has sent a new e-newsletter report to her constituents, covering a variety of topics. You can read it on-line here.

Today in Political History

June 4, 1946:  Pres. Harry Truman signs into law the National School Lunch Act. According to the Congressional Record, "By the end of its first year about 7.1 million children were participating in the National School Lunch Program . Today, over 25 million children receive a nutritious lunch under the program." (Source:  Perspicuity) 

June 4, 1989: Chinese army troops storm Tiananmen Square in Beijing to crush the pro-democracy movement; hundreds - possibly thousands - of people die.  (Source:  NY Times) 

Wise Words

“Those who stay away from the election think that one vote will do no good: 'Tis but one step more to think one vote will do no harm.” 

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson  (Source:  Better World) 

Campaign Tip

Build a Strong Grassroots Base

By Ron Faucheux

New candidates for public office often lack the organizational support base that incumbents often have already at their disposal. This means they have to build a grassroots activist base from scratch.

Smart campaigns focus on the integration of direct contact tools – phones, Internet, mail, door-to-door – to create a support network of activist volunteers. Such an organizational program has as its goal the building of a large, functioning grassroots organization for your campaign – be it for a candidate or an issue. 

The first step in building such a grassroots support base is to identify that sliver of the electorate that has the greatest propensity to be most supportive of your candidacy or cause. For John McCain’s presidential campaign, for example, that “sliver” may include many groups, one being married Republican men over 50 with a military background. For Barack Obama’s campaign, it may include, among other subgroups, nonmarried, college-educated white Democrats under 30 or African Americans professionals under 45. For Hillary Clinton, it may include white Democratic women over 50 or retired male labor union members, for example.  (Source:  Winning Campaigns) 

National Politics

Best Stories From . . .

-- New York Times: Barack Obama claimed the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday after a "rush of Democratic superdelegates, as well as split results from the final primaries in Montana and South Dakota, pushed [him] over the threshold of 2,118 delegates needed to be nominated at the party's convention in Denver in August."

-- Los Angeles Times: "Signaling that her campaign is at an end, Hillary Rodham Clinton told allies in Congress on Tuesday that she would be interested in serving as vice president, increasing public pressure on Barack Obama to consider her as a way to unify the Democratic Party and create a strong ticket for the fall election."

-- The Hill: "Presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) kicked off the general election campaign Tuesday night with a broadside against Sen. Barack Obama, saying that the Illinois Democrat stands for 'the wrong change.'"

-- Politico: McCain believes he can compete for the votes of Hillary Clinton's supporters.

Lighter Side

Final Rules of Airline Flight

(Johnny Jet)

16. In the ongoing battle between objects made of aluminum going hundreds of miles per hour and the ground going zero miles per hour, the ground has yet to lose.

17. A pilot’s good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, the experience usually comes from bad judgment.

18. It's always a good idea to keep the pointy end going forward as much as possible.

19. Remember, gravity is not just a good idea. It's the law. And it's not subject to repeal.