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The Week Ahead
It’s a rather slow week, politically. Legislative activity includes the Native American Legislative Liaison Committee today, the Highway Jurisdictional Transfer Task Force on Tuesday, and the Utah Constitutional Revision Commission on Thursday (See legislative calendar for agendas and other details). ….Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert tosses out the first pitch at the Stingers game today…. Rep. Steve Urquhart (R-St. George) spends Wednesday in Davis County holding public cottage meetings…. With the long Labor Day weekend near, this may be the perfect opportunity to pack up early and get out of town or, better yet, stay home and cheer on your favorite college football team. The Utes and Wildcats are in action Friday, while the Aggies and Cougs open their seasons on Saturday.
Convention Observations
The Utah Republican Party appeared fairly fractious at the state organizing convention Saturday at Salt Lake Community College. But that was to be expected with fewer than half of the 3,500 delegates in attendance and the half that did show up likely to be more conservative and activist than the no-shows. The party’s two top officers, Joe Cannon and Enid Greene, avoided a second ballot runoff by the narrowest of margins. Some observers thought that opening the voting almost at the start of the convention, long before the candidates had a chance to speak, probably allowed Cannon and Greene to squeak by. But in politics, all you need is 50% of the vote, plus one, and that’s what Cannon and Greene got. All in all, the convention rejected arch-conservative activists for party offices and resolutions passed were toned down to fairly centrist positions. See Tribune coverage and Morning News coverage.
More interesting than the in-fighting was the posturing of announced and prospective candidates at the convention. Sen. Orrin Hatch was clearly popular with the delegates, but challenger Steve Urquhart felt his campaign got a boost at the convention with many volunteer commitments.
Randy Minson and Ben Demke were working the crowd in behalf of John Jacob, who is likely to run against Rep. Chris Cannon. And KSL Radio talk show host Doug Wright was not being coy about his interest in running against Rep. Jim Matheson in the 2nd Congressional District.
Wright would be a very interesting candidate because he has such good name ID among people who are politically active. He would be viewed as reasonably moderate, which might help him in Salt Lake County, but he also holds solidly conservative views on many issues. Salt Lake County is the key to that race. A Wright candidacy would make for a very interesting election in the 2nd District. The big question for Wright is whether he would be willing to hustle to raise money. Matheson already has a big war chest.
People You Ought to Know
Tim Sheehan is one of those behind-the-scenes political professionals whose names you don’t see very often, but who have a great deal of influence. He is Sen. Bob Bennett’s eyes and ears in Utah, directing the senator’s Utah operation. He is in constant contact with local and state leaders, making certain that Utah’s top priorities get plenty of attention by the senator.
Name: Tim Sheehan
Position: State Director for Sen. Bob Bennett
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Political Science (BYU), MPA (BYU)
Growing up: I was born in a small town in Pennsylvania. My family also lived in Michigan and Virginia before moving to North Ogden when I was eight. I grew up playing sports and enjoying the outdoors.
Family: My wife Karla and I have four children, Alyssa, Kyle, Devin and Brock. We live in Kaysville.
Why political involvement: I have been fortunate to work for two politicians whom I greatly respect, Governor Mike Leavitt and Senator Bob Bennett. I have enjoyed working in positions that have provided me with a unique perspective and understanding of the political process, as well as the opportunity to participate in fascinating public policy debates.
Motivations: Harry Truman is quoted as saying, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” I believe that is the essence of good public service.
Hobbies: I enjoy golfing, biking, and watching football.
Hottest issue you're watching: Social Security Reform.
Most embarrassing moment: When I was 10 years old my parents signed me up for a guitar class taught at a local school. At the beginning of the first class the instructor had everyone tune their guitars. My guitar wouldn’t tune properly. After examining my guitar the instructor told me my guitar was a plastic toy, not a real guitar. I quickly exited the classroom with my toy and threw it in the first trash can I saw.
Favorite book: Citizens Soldiers by Stephen Ambrose.
Favorite mentor(s): Bob Bennett, Mike Leavitt, Vicki Varela, LaVarr Webb
A small insight into my psyche: I have five fantasy football teams, and I fill out at least eight March Madness brackets every year. Go Cougars!
Pioneers Used ‘Smart Growth’ Principles
Craig Galli, a prominent SLC attorney, has authored a fascinating paper on the historical, cultural and ecclesiastical underpinnings of urban planning in Utah. Titled “Building Zion: The Latter-day Saint Legacy of Urban Planning,” the paper documents the detailed and careful urban and transportation planning conducted by early LDS Church leaders, including Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.
Says Galli, “The physical design and community values underlying early attempts to build Zion provide useful perspective and inspiration as today’s community leaders now grapple with managing urban growth along Utah’s Wasatch Front . . .”
Galli practices environmental, land use and natural resources law and serves on the SLC Planning Commission. He is also on the steering committee of Envision Utah. While Galli never comes right out and says it, the implication of the paper is that the attitudes of some of today's leaders who dislike mass transit and "smart growth" are contrary to the spirit of Utah's pioneer founders. The paper is not available on-line, but was published in BYU Studies 44, No. 1, which can be purchased here.
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Beware the ‘Blogswarm’
Interesting story in USA Today about how a missing person case involving a black woman received little attention from the media until a blogger organized a “blogswarm” to push cable news networks to cover the story. Several bloggers urged readers to e-mail CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. The missing pregnant woman was later found dead and a man was arrested.
Campaign Doctor
By Craig Varoga, political consultant (www.vrstrategies.com) and columnist for Campaigns and Elections magazine
I heard about a study that says people with better-looking faces win more elections than their opponents. What is your opinion?
The study, published earlier this year in Science Magazine by Princeton researchers, showed undergraduates black-and-white head shots of candidates in 95 Senate and 600 House races. The participants were asked to judge the candidates – in just one second – on various traits, including competence, attractiveness, honesty, trustworthiness, charisma, likeability, extroversion, and agreeableness.
The study found that the students’ flash-second judgments on competence accurately predicted 71.6% of the Senate races and 66.8% of the House races. No other trait accurately predicted the outcome of the elections.
Sounds interesting – just like two other recent studies, one linking brain activity to perceptions of political ads and another correlating perceived levels of optimism to successful presidential candidates.
However, despite significant cocktail party appeal, these studies offer few practical lessons or applications – i.e., political pros should already know to appear well groomed, dress professionally, make ads appealing to voters’ emotions and add a dose of optimism to make the final sell go down smoothly.
Now You Know
Persons per Square Mile
Utah 29 82,144 sq miles
Wyoming 5 97,100 sq miles
Colorado 44 103,711 sq miles
Idaho 17 82,738 sq miles
Nevada 21 109,833 sq miles
Source: 2004 population estimates, US Census Bureau
Washington Watch
Vernal Gets a Grant
The City of Vernal will receive $40,000 from the U.S. DOT, says a press release, as part of the Small Community Air Service Development Program, which helps communities improve local air service. DOT grants totaling almost $19 million will help 68 small communities in 29 states improve air services.
History of Manure
(OK, this one has been floating around the Internet. You may have heard it, but I thought it was funny.)
In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before commercial fertilizer's invention, so large shipments of manure were common.
It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by-product is methane gas.
As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen. Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, KABLOOOOM!
Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening. After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term "Ship High In Transport" on them which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.
Thus evolved the term "S.H.I.T." (Ship High In Transport) which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.
You probably did not know the true history of this word.
Neither did I.
I always thought it was a golf term. |
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