Today's key developments and analysis for Utah policymakers

A service of
Utah Policy.com

News Highlights

The Deseret Morning News reports on personal finances of federal politicians. The Morning News and the Salt Lake Tribune say an aide to Chris Cannon is being accused of soliciting campaign contributions from undocumented immigrants. Tribune also reports on a fight in the 2^nd District over who said what on high-level nuclear waste disposal in San Juan County.

Tuesday Buzz

Jim Matheson Looking Tough

The Republican primary in the 2nd Congressional District seems to be focusing on whether Tim Bridgewater or John Swallow has the best chance against incumbent Democrat Jim Matheson. Whoever the Republicans nominate will face a significant challenge, because Matheson is looking stronger than ever. He’s had two years to shore up support in his new district and has made concerted effort to communicate his responsiveness to the needs of his constituents and his moderate voting record.

The effort has paid off. Even the Republican faithful in the 2nd district have high regard for their current congressman. One of the surprising results of a recent Dan Jones & Associates poll of active Republican voters, commissioned by The Exoro Group, was that Matheson actually enjoys a higher approval rating -- even among Republican voters -- than either Rob Bishop or Chris Cannon.

Here are the approval ratings for Utah’s three congressmen among active Republican voters in their respective districts:

Bishop: Approve, 60%; disapprove, 18%; don’t know, 21%

Matheson: Approve, 68%; disapprove, 18%; don’t know, 15%

Cannon: Approve, 60%, disapprove, 28%; don’t know, 13% 

Matheson’s support holds up among nearly all Republican demographic groups. Even among the most conservative respondents (those who rate themselves a 10 on a 1-10 scale) Matheson scores 52 percent approval. He is strong among the well-educated and enjoys a 62 percent approval rating in the rural areas of his district and a whopping 73 percent in Salt Lake County.

His high approval rating, combined with a campaign fund that is probably approaching $1 million, shows the Republican who emerges from next week’s primary faces a very tough final election battle.

-- Hugh Matheson

New Democratic Web Sites: Scott Matheson now has a campaign Web site up. Check out the features at: www.mathesonforgovernor.com. The Utah Democratic Party has established a new Web site: www.utdemocrats.org. It even features a Weblog, although no one has posted anything to it. U.S. Senate candidate Paul Van Dam has an informative Web site: www.vandamussenate.com. Van Dam also has a Weblog featuring posts from his wife, Mary Dawn, reporting on their cross-Utah biking adventure: www.warrenkeuffel.com/vandam.

Changes at Democratic Party: According to a memo from party Chair Donald Dunn, Bryan Schott has resigned as party executive director due to family health reasons and will be moving to Colorado. Arlyn Bradshaw, who had been serving as political director, is the new executive director. Nagore Goitiandia has been hired as director of operations.

Communications Tip:
Sound Bite Training Exercise

Public officials who want to communicate with the public need to be able to talk in sound bites. You need to be able to condense an issue into a headline. To train yourself for broadcast interviews, try to say how you feel about a difficult subject -- and three reasons why -- in 12 seconds or less. Then pad it out to 20 or 30 seconds.Pick some tough, complicated subjects and practice it with a tape recorder or video camera. Ask yourself, what is the headline here? In one sentence, say how you feel – and why – about difficult issues you face in your job. Or try some national subjects like

• Abortion
• Gun control
• Immigration
• Prayer in school
• Gay marriage

There is no quick miracle drug, no magic diet, no futuristic exercise machine, that will make you an instant success. It takes regular, conscientious mental calisthenics if you want to be truly good at it. This exercise, practiced regularly, will develop your mental agility for condensing what you know and feel about complicated subjects.

-- Adapted from the book, How to Speak TV, Print & Radio, by Clarence Jones, Page 27

Agenda Utah is a service of Utah Policy.com

Publisher: LaVarr Webb
Editor: Bart Barker
News: Golden Webb
Subscriptions: Paul Hollingshead

Please send your comments and suggestions to AgendaUtah@UtahPolicy.com.

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Today's Headlines

San Francisco Chronicle
- Court blocks citizen suits to compel land agencies to enforce laws

Los Angeles Times
- Off-Road vehicle case is rejected

Associated Press
- Court blocks suit over western wilderness

Daily Herald
- Complaint filed against Cannon over radio remark

Standard-Examiner
- Ogden budget to face vote today
- Ogden Rotary nixes Huntsman, Karras meeting

Deseret Morning News
- Illegal plea for illegals' cash?
- Bennett, Cannon still dealing with reversals of fortune
- Bush Sr. backs Huntsman
- SUWA ruling struck down
- Rocky is wary of Palace funding
- Greene, Herbert debate politely
- Stephens works for ex-rival

Salt Lake Tribune
- Electrical plant haze a concern
- Supreme Court slaps down SUWA
- Political pot is boiling over Provo's parade law
- Bridgewater faults Swallow on N-waste
- Cannon accused of illegal donation soliciting
- On the Stump: Stop demonizing N-waste, says Tooele
- Utah coming up short as host of the national legislatures meeting

Political Calendar

Please submit calendar items to AgendaUtah@UtahPolicy.com

- June 15: Gubernatorial Debate: KCSG and Bonneville Radio in St. George, live at 7:00 pm, Contact: Dan Matheson, (435) 467-7452.
- June 16: Ogden Rotary Gubernatorial Debate, noon at the Ogden Eccles Conference Center.
- June 16: Greg Skordas for Attorney General Fundraiser, 5-7pm, Urban Bistro, 216 East 500 South, SLC. Suggested Donation $50/person.
- June 16: Ogden Brown Bag Lunch with Enid Greene, 12-1 pm, MarketStar Auditorium, 2475 Washington Blvd, Ogden.
- June 17: Gubernatorial Debate, KSL 1160 Radio with Doug Wright, 10 a.m., broadcast live on KSL 1160 radio.
- June 18: Meet Nolan Karras, 6-7pm, Lehi City Council Chambers, Lehi Administration Bldg., 153 N 100 E, Lehi.
- June 18: Kitchen Table Talk with Nolan Karras, 8-9:30 pm, home of Jeanette Hales Beckham, 1260 E. Oak Crest Circle, Provo.
- June 19: Central Committee Meeting, Salt Lake County Republican Party, Hillcrest High School Auditorium. Agenda Highlight: selection of nominee for County Auditor and of interim County Auditor. Registration 8 am, meeting 9 am.
- June 19: Utah County Meet the Candidates, 12-4 pm, Pioneer Park, 500 W Center St, Provo.
- June 21: Gubernatorial Debate: KUED Channel 7, Live at 9:00 pm.
- June 22: Utah Primary Election, 7:00 am to 8:00 pm.
- June 22: Green Party of Utah Roots Local Monthly Meeting, 12:00 pm, Sprague Library, 1100 East, just past 2100 South, Salt Lake City. Contact: 486-2558.
- June 24: Legislative Golf Tournament, Thanksgiving Point. 533-9777.
- June 26: Republican Central Committee Meeting.
- June 27: Green Party of Utah Roots Local Monthly Meeting, 12:00 pm, Sprague Library, 1100 East, just past 2100 South, Salt Lake City. Contact: 486-2558.
- July 7: Utah Stonewall Democrats, 5:30 pm, GLBT Community Center Multi-purpose Room, 359 North 300 West, SLC.
- July 19-23: National Conference of State Legislatures, Salt Lake City.

See the entire calendar.