The Week Ahead
Welcome to August. Only 7.75 months until the March 21, 2006, neighborhood party caucuses. Hopefully, temperatures outside start to moderate this month as back-to-school shopping gets underway.
Lawmakers Visit Top of Utah
The Legislature has not scheduled interim committee meetings in August. However, many lawmakers will hit the road today and tomorrow on site visits to Box Elder, Cache and Rich counties. (See Morning News story.) Senate Majority Leader Pete Knudson, from Brigham City, said, "There is public policy and there is ground truth. Trips like this help bridge the gap." The trip will emphasize five major categories: transportation, agriculture, economic development, public education and higher education. Legislators will travel by bus across the three counties and meet with many local leaders and citizens to learn about issues related to agriculture, natural resources, road systems, dams, recreational and cultural areas, factories, Utah State University , and others. The final event will be a Legislative Town Meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday evening at the Ellen Eccles Theatre in Logan, 43 South Main. The public is encouraged to attend and ask questions. Site visits will be hosted by State Reps. Scott Wyatt, Ronda Menlove, Ben Ferry, and Craig Buttars, in addition to Sen. Knudson and local leaders.
Huntsman Seminar Starts Today
Utah’s most extensive annual political seminar gets underway today at the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah. The Huntsman Seminar on Constitutional Government for Teachers runs today through Friday featuring nearly 30 different workshops, speeches, panel discussions, and site visits. The teachers will learn about campaigning, the news media, survey research, the state of the political parties, lobbying, the courts, local government, the Legislature, and more. Big-name speakers like Gov. Jon Huntsman and Sen. Orrin Hatch will speak. Even little-name speakers like yours truly and Frank Pignanelli will do presentations.
Political Data Note
Utah’s 5 Best Counties for Democrats
The Kerry-Edwards ticket did not do at all well in Utah in 2004. Utah gave Pres. George Bush his highest winning percentage in the country, delivering a whopping 71.5% to 26% victory. Bush won every county and, in most counties, his margin of victory was staggering. In Utah County, for example, Bush won 84.8 to 11.5%.
So, of Utah’s 29 counties, where did the Democratic ticket do best? These are counties where Democrats have some hope: Grand County, Bush: 50.1% to Kerry 43.7%; Summit, 51% to 45%; Carbon, 57% to 39.3%; Salt Lake, 58.8% to 37%; and San Juan, 59.1% to 38%. So even in his best five counties, Kerry obviously did poorly. But the fact that those are the Democrats’ best counties is borne out by the fact that in the gubernatorial race, Scott Matheson defeated Jon Huntsman in Carbon, Grand, Salt Lake and Summit counties, and was extremely close in San Juan.
Of highest concern to Republicans is Salt Lake County, by far Utah’s largest. While a good Republican candidate can still handily defeat a bad Democratic candidate in the county, a good Democratic candidate can defeat a good Republican candidate. A Republican loss in Salt Lake County can still be readily offset by big wins in Utah, Davis, and rural counties, but Salt Lake County looms as the GOP’s biggest vulnerability.
GOP Leadership Contests
The stage is set for the GOP state organizing convention on Aug. 27, with Chair Joe Cannon, Vice Chair Enid Greene, and Secretary Candace Daly all facing challenges. (See Tribune story). Among all the races, the most serious challenge to the incumbents appears to be Todd Weiler, current Davis County chair, who is running against Greene for vice chair. Weiler, an attorney, is a serious candidate who said his main focus in party leadership would be defeating Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson. Among party activists there is some lingering resentment toward Greene because she did not resign as party vice chair last year after being picked by Nolan Karras as his lieutenant governor running mate.
Blog Watch
Jim Knowlton is publishing a blog, the Beehive Donkey featuring political news and analysis from the perspective of a centrist Democrat. . . . Steve Urquhart writes about podcasting and use of technology in his Senate campaign.
Washington Watch
Hatch Helps Utah Firm
A provision by Sen. Orrin Hatch in the multi-year transportation bill could help a small Utah business, Wavetronix, to receive federal funding to help collect real-time data on traffic conditions, says a Hatch press release.
Cannon Touts Highway Bill
A press release from Rep. Chris Cannon says his 3rd Congressional District will benefit greatly from the passage of the pending federal transportation bill. The district will receive about $17 million for highway projects and a Provo Reservoir Canal Trail. The bill also includes $1 million for a two-year study on the feasibility of a bus rapid transit system between Provo and Orem.
Email Privacy Bill
Reps. Chris Cannon and Jay Inslee (D-WA) have introduced the E-Mail Privacy Act, which addresses a recent federal court ruling allowing e-mails to be read if they are temporarily stored while in transit to the intended recipient. "This legislation brings the law up to date. As technology changes, we need to make sure that back doors into people's privacy, such as this court ruling, stay closed. With e-mail becoming one of the primary forms of communication in the United States, this is a serious concern that my bill addresses," says a Cannon press release.
Medical Device Bill
The Senate has passed legislation cosponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch that “will allow America’s innovative medical device companies – many of which reside in Utah – to continue the important work they are doing, while at the same time helping the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the industry,” says a Hatch press release.
Campaign Tip
Use a Campaign 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 candidate for the Senate 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 will be posted in your headquarters and will be used to schedule all events.
Fill in the calendar backwards from major events. If you have a fundraiser, for example, put the date down and then work backwards to fill in all the things that have to be done leading up to the fundraiser, such as printing and sending out invitations, finding a mailing list, reserving a location, finding entertainment, etc. Your campaign calendar or timeline is the practical application of your campaign plan. Put as much detail in it as you can, and it will guide you through your campaign. |
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