News Highlights

The immigration debate is already dominating the 3rd Congressional District race, as Rep. Chris Cannon and challengers Jason Chaffetz and David Leavitt attack each other over the explosive issue (Salt Lake Tribune).

Deseret Morning News editorial lauds retiring Sen. Mike Dmitrich, while Tribune editorial blasts Rep. Mike Noel for his “useless vendetta” against SUWA.

Quote of the Day

“Life is sweet in cyberspace.”

-- Lee Benson, Morning News columnist, writing about Utah Transit Authority’s new Wi-Fi service on express buses, which allowed him to compose and send a column while riding Route 472.

The Week Ahead

All is quiet at the Capitol. It’s rather eerie. Lawmakers are home getting re-acquainted with their families. But not to worry. There’s plenty of politics ahead, including the fun of watching the most amazing presidential campaign in decades, with the Mississippi primary on Tuesday. 

The political candidate filing period continues this week, through next Monday, March 17. Check out the Lieutenant Governor’s web site for a list of candidates who have filed. Many people have already filed, including three in Senate District 10, which is Sen. Chris Buttars’ district. Already, some interesting races are shaping up. For county races, see county web sites. Salt Lake County’s candidate listing is here.

For those still considering filing, here’s a list of offices up for election and qualifications and how to file.

For all the week’s political events, check out the Utah Policy.com calendar.

Monday Musing

Believe it or not, spring is going to come busting out one of these days. It has been a long, gray, cold winter and we all could use a little sunshine. We still need more rain and snow to fill the reservoirs, but I’m counting on some bluebird days as we hit mid-March and spring officially arrives next week, March 20.

I recently took Hayduke, the dog, on a long walk on the dikes at Farmington Bay. The bald eagles had mostly gone, but we saw a golden eagle (or an immature bald eagle, I’m not sure which) close-up feeding on a fish on a patch of remaining ice. We also saw owls and hawks, a swan, and lots of geese getting ready to nest. 

Liberal Groups Organizing for Caucuses

Last Friday I wrote about the difficulties of organizing for political caucuses (see Friday’s Buzz section) .  One way to make it easier and to have more impact is to collaborate with other like-minded groups to get supportive people to attend caucuses and run for delegate positions.

That’s exactly what a consortium of liberal groups is doing to try to increase their clout in Utah politics. Utahns for Public Schools, a group supported by the UEA and PTA that advocates against vouchers and for the status quo in public schools, is hosting a series of training sessions across the state to educate supporters about party caucuses and how to get elected as a delegate.

But what makes the effort more effective is that a who’s who of liberal groups are co-sponsoring the sessions, including HEAL Utah, Sierra Club, Salt lake Branch NAACP, Inclusion Center for Communities and Justice, Utah Health Policy Project, Voices for Utah Children, Council of Religious Communities, Utah Rivers Council, Legislative Coalition for People with Disabilities, and Utah Moms for Clean Air.

Because these groups have a common goal – defeating conservative candidates -- they will be far more effective as a coalition rather than operating independently. They will encourage participation in both Republican and Democratic caucuses, targeting conservative candidates.

Effective School Reform

The New York Times Magazine on Sunday published an interesting article on school reform from the perspective of philanthropists trying to have the biggest impact possible on public schools through their grants and contributions. 

Today in Political History

Mar. 10, 1862:  The first United States paper money is issued. The denominations were $5, $10, and $20. (Source:  Inventors) 

Mar. 10, 1969:   James Earl Ray pleads guilty in Memphis, Tenn., to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.   (Source:  NBC5) 

March 10, 1985: Konstantin U. Chernenko, Soviet leader for just 13 months, dies at age 73. His death is announced on March 11. Politburo member Mikhail S. Gorbachev is chosen to succeed him. (New York Times).

Wise Words

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.”   

-- Warren Buffett  (Source:  Brainy Quote) 

Leadership Tip

Performance Standards for Retention

By Pete Smith

Leaders in the public sector often fail to deal with problem employees. The rationale usually is that regulations make the process difficult. Well, firing someone should be difficult -- in any sector. But it's important that it be done. Poor performers reduce productivity and lower morale.

In the private sector, no one understands this better than GE. Among GE's many excellent HR policies is the expectation that their performance ratings will be distributed on a forced curve, with 10 percent of professionals each year rated at the bottom level.

This sounds harsh, but in practice, it is very well accepted within GE. As it works out, usually a third of those rated as poor performers admit they're in the wrong job, and voluntarily either leave the company or move to another position. Another third successfully challenge the rating, and are moved up to a higher level. Thus, only about a third of those with the lowest rating -- 3 percent overall -- are fired each year. (Source:  Gov Leaders.org) 

Hinckley Forum
The University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics will host a forum titled "Activism Embodied: Women in Politics" on Tuesday at 10:45 a.m. Eliana White, Luz Robles, Lohra Miller, and Rep. Jennifer Seeling will participate. Missy Larsen will moderate.

National Politics

Best Stories From . . .

-- Wall Street Journal: "Sen. Barack Obama won Saturday's crowded Wyoming caucuses, defeating rival Sen. Hillary Clinton in the latest contest of a close, bitter race for the party's presidential nomination. ... Twelve delegates were at stake in Wyoming, and the win provides a boost for the Obama campaign because both candidates ran aggressively in the sparsely populated state."

-- Washington Post: Clinton's trio of victories over Obama last week "appears to have convinced a sizable number of uncommitted Democratic superdelegates to wait until the end of the primaries and caucuses before picking a candidate," according to a new WaPo survey.

-- New York Times article contrasts Obama's "megawatt celebrity" with his minor role in the Senate, noting that he launched his presidential campaign "even as he was still getting lost in the Capitol's corridors."

-- Politico: "For National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.), every week seems to bring a new set of problems. On Saturday night, things got even worse. With Democrat Bill Foster's victory in the Illinois 14th District special election, Democrats now hold the seats occupied only 21 months ago by former Speaker Dennis Hastert (Ill.) and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Texas) -- the two GOP lawmakers who ran the House from 1998 to 2006."

Lighter Side

Favorite Headlines

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

-- We Blame Global Warming: “Dead Heats in Ohio and Texas” —MSNBC.com

-- UFO Pilots in Training: “9/11 Redux: ‘Thousands of Aliens’ in U.S. Flight Schools Illegally” —ABCNews.com
-- Breaking News From 1933: “Writers Officially Okay New Deal” —E! Online
-- It’s Always in the Last Place You Look: “Scientists Find Map in People’s Hair” —Salt Lake Tribune
-- The Guys Who Caught It, That’s WHO!: “WHO Says Drug-Resistant TB Spreads Fast” —Associated Press

Elected Officials Birthday List

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