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News Highlights
Gov.-elect Jon Huntsman to give State of the
State speech at Territorial Statehouse in Fillmore (Salt
Lake Tribune and Deseret
Morning News).
Marty Stephens leaves state office next week;
does so with smile (Morning
News). And Al Mansell relinquishes top leadership
post in the Senate (Morning
News).
Quote of the Day
"There are people who try to influence the process and think they
have insider knowledge, but they don't. It's just pure conjecture
at this point."
-- Vickie McCall, president of Utah Defense Alliance, commenting
on rumors that Hill Air Force Base is safe from closure (Morning
News).
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Wednesday Buzz
Compiled and
Written by LaVarr Webb |
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Keep Track of the Transition
A state Web
site has been set up for the Huntsman transition. It lists staff
appointments and bios of new staff members, press releases, and
inaugural information. At the site you can also apply for a position
in state government, make a suggestion, or request Gov.-elect Jon
Huntsman to attend an event.
Anyone Want to Write a Legislative Blog?
The Jan. 3 edition of Time Magazine includes an interesting article
on the impact of blogging on society and public policy. It discusses
the bloggers at www.powerlineblog.com,
who were instrumental in uncovering the phony National Guard documents
touted by Dan Rather and CBS News, and includes a sidebar
headlined, “10 Things We Learned About Blogs” in 2004.
What we need in Utah is a good blog focused on the Legislature. It would be very well-read if it was feisty, insightful, newsy, and well-written. The writer could cover people, gossip, issues, and the news media. Several short, punchy, entries each day. The blog could be written by a state legislator, a legislative staffer, a lobbyist, or some other observer who’s up at the Legislature a lot, knows what’s going on, and has a keen sense for picking up interesting items. It could even be written by a news reporter as a feature on an established news Web site.
Done properly, the blog would be must-reading for legislators, staff, lobbyists
and lots of other people. However, a blog like that is a lot harder
to do than it might appear. It takes a lot of time and a lot of
communication with a lot of people. So, any aspiring bloggers out
there? I’ll be happy to show you how to get started.
School Choice Conference
Education Excellence Utah is holding a luncheon conference on
Monday, Jan. 10, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with presentations
on the impact of parental choice on public education and society.
Keynote address by Wisconsin Assemblyman Scott Jensen, who
is the former speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly and chief
of staff to former Gov. Tommy Thompson. Jensen played a crucial
role in the creation, expansion and defense of Milwaukee's pioneering
school choice program.
The event will be held at the Hilton Hotel, 255 South West Temple, Alpine
East Room. Price is $15 per person, including lunch. RSVP by Jan.
6 to Lisa at 801.532.1448 or lisal@xmission.com.
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Leadership Tip
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Use a Campaign Timeline or Calendar
(Adapted from “How to Win a Local Election”
By Judge Lawrence Grey)
You might think that it is easier to run for local office than
to run for senator or president. After all, running for those big-time
offices is so completely time-consuming the candidates have to work
at it day and night. Don’t kid yourself. Your campaign is going
to be just as time consuming. You are going to be working just as
hard, and the only real difference between you and a person running
in a statewide race is the distance between campaign stops. As a
matter of fact, a statewide candidate usually has a staff of aides
to help with the details so he can work at it full time. You, on
the other hand, probably have job and family responsibilities but
no minions to do your bidding, so you have a greater need to budget
your time. On the day you decide, definitely, to run for office,
make up a campaign calendar. It should be large enough to be seen
when posted on a wall. There should be a block for each day until
election day, and each block needs plenty of space to write in things
to be done. This calendar should be posted in your headquarters
and used to schedule all events. Many events take a lot of preparation
and planning. Use the calendar to schedule all the things that must
be done in advance of the event. Effective use of the timeline/calendar
will help ensure that you accomplish the myriad details of your
campaign on time. The little things all add up to a campaign win.
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Wednesday
December 29, 2004
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Please submit calendar items to Daily@UtahPolicy.com
- Jan 2: Inuaguration Interfaith Music Service,
6 pm to 7 pm, First Presbyterian Church, 12 C Street and South Temple,
Salt Lake City. Open to the public.
- Jan 3: Gubernatorial Inauguration, doors open
to ticketholders at 10 am and Inauguration begins at 12 noon, Abravanel
Hall, 123 W South Temple, Salt Lake City.
- Jan 4: Utah Statehood Day Celebration, 6 pm,
E Center, 3200 S Decker Lake Drive, West Valley City. No charge
for admittance, open house for all citizens of Utah.
- Jan 10: Leadership breakfast hosted by Senate Republicans.
7:30 am, Grand America's Imperial Ballroom B, 550 South Main Street,
Salt Lake City. Cost is $125 per person or $1000 per table. RSVP
to a member of Senate Republican Leadership or Ric Cantrell: 801-673-1603.
- Jan 10: Utah Taxpayers Association annual
pre-legislative conference, 9 a.m.-noon, in room W135 State Capitol.
Invited are legislators, legislative staff, governor’s staff,
business groups, public policy groups, and the media. RSVP: 972-8814.
- Jan 12: 8th Annual Washington County Economic
Summit with Governor-Elect Jon Huntsman as key-note speaker, 7 am
to 2 pm, Dixie Center, St. George City. For information see
www.whatsupdownsouth.com.
- Jan 12: House Republican Caucus Reception, 5:30-7
p.m., Rice-Eccles Stadium Tower Varsity Room, 6th floor, 451 South
1400 East, $1,500 event sponsorship; $1,000 group of four; $300
per person. RSVP: 580-4743.
- Jan 13: Republican Party Legislative Update Breakfast,
with Pres. John Valentine and Speaker Greg Curtis, 7:30 a.m., Little
America, Ballroom B&C, 500 South Main. $1,500 for table of eight
or $200 per person. Corporate sponsorship, $5,000. RSVP: Liv Olafsson,
533-9777.
- Jan 15: Utah Democratic Party Legislative Ball
2005, 6 pm to 11 pm, Marriott Hotel Downtown, 75 S West Temple,
Salt Lake City.
- Jan 17: 2005 legislative session begins.
- Jan 20: Presidential Inauguration.
- Jan 27: Last day to request bills (by noon).
- Jan 27: Last day to approve bills for numbering
(by noon).
- Jan 29:Central Committee Meeting.
- Feb 5: Annual Green Party of Utah Convention,
10 am to 2 pm, Anderson-Foothill Library, 1135 E 2100 S, Salt Lake
City.
- Feb 12: Morgan County Lincoln Day Dinner.
- Feb 12: Utah County Lincoln Day Dinner.
- Feb 18: Last day for legislators to prioritize
bills and other programs with fiscal impact.
- Feb 23: Final meeting for the Executive
Appropriations Committee on all budget matters.
- Feb 25: Salt Lake County Lincoln Day Dinner.
- Feb 25: Bonding bill available to legislators
by noon and final action taken on it by calendared closing time.
- Feb 25: Last day to pass bills with fiscal note
of $10,000 or more.
- Feb 26: Republican Women Federation Fundraiser.
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