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The Week Ahead
Big Budget Decisions Straight Ahead
With only 13 working days left in the session, including today, this week will be pivotal for the Utah Legislature. New revenue projections are expected this week, which will allow lawmakers to start making key decisions about the size of tax cuts and what big projects they will fund.
Legislators will start spending more time on the floor, and Executive Appropriations will get serious about ordering subcommittees to whittle down their budget requests. Here is the House schedule for the week and the Senate schedule.
School Choice Activists Target Opponents
While most of the political attention is focused on the Capitol right now, looming ahead is the 2006 election, of obvious interest to all of the House members and half of the Senate. And the action gets underway quickly, with party caucuses scheduled for March 21. State and county delegates will be elected at the party caucuses and the, in turn, will attend county and state conventions to help select which candidates make it to the Primary and General elections.
Leading up to the party caucuses, it appears that Parents for Choice in Education PAC is especially active. Since the beginning of the legislative session, several candidates who support school choice have announced they will challenge incumbents who have opposed school choice. These candidates are in different parts of the state, and so are focusing on a number of different issues. However, support for parental choice appears to be a common thread tying them all together.
I’ve heard from people in a number of districts that PCE PAC has been recruiting people to attend the mass meetings. In addition, Parents for Choice in Education Foundation (formerly Education Excellence Utah) has been running effective radio ads coupled with a new website, www.believeinparents.org, for several months. This degree of sophistication signals that Utah’s school choice supporters are well organized and they will be a force to be reckoned with.
Blog Watch
The Senate Site blog invites readers to engage in a little participatory democracy by providing them with the same budget numbers and information as the Senate GOP caucus received. Sen. Lyle Hillyard guides readers through the budget numbers and the tough decisions ahead... On the Utah House Majority Blog, Majority Leader Jeff Alexander discusses his Lobbyist Gift Limits and Disclosure bill (HB101) and Rep. Margaret Dayton explains the committee process and how citizens can best provide input to the Legislature… Centerville Citizen discusses the evolution debate... Lively back-and-forth between Oblogatory Anecdotes and Part of the Plan about this OneUtah post on SLC's new domestic partner benefits plan... The Utah Amicus is soliciting reader participation and submissions: "Although my Democratic roots run deep this blog is for all Utahns"... Planet Legislature quotes a Utah lawmaker: "[I]f there's one thing that hurts Democrats in Utah, it's voting against abortion bills"... At Utah Politics, Phil Windley discusses HB158 and HB429 (see also here), while Wilf Sommerkorn has a post on SB196... SLCSpin agrees with Mayor Peter Corroon's RSL stadium assessment.
Washington Watch
Hatch: More Wiretapping Oversight
Sen. Orrin Hatch says Congress needs more oversight of NSA wiretapping (New York Times); asbestos bill Hatch is endorsing may be losing support (San Mateo Times).
Bennett 'Staggered' By Brown Statement
Sen. Bob Bennett suggests ex-FEMA chief Michael Brown may have delayed the federal response to Hurricane Katrina by cutting Homeland Security out of the loop about the New Orleans levee failures (Associated Press); is staggered by Brown's statement that he didn't seek to brief Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff because it would have "wasted my time" (Macon Daily and U.S. News & World Report); applauds 2005 GOP record in Congress (Pocono Record).
Campaign Tales and Tips
Make Your Own Decision About Running
Now is the time when many people are deciding whether to seek a political office in 2006. A number of positions are up for election, especially legislative seats and county commission seats. The formal filing period runs from march 7 to 17, so there’s not a lot of time left to ponder the decisions.
Deciding to jump into politics is one of the hardest decisions anyone will ever make. After all, you have to put your name and reputation out there on the line in a very public way. Victory can be glorious, but defeat can be humiliating.
In making the decision, you have to consider whether you have the skills and expertise to make a contribution, whether you have the necessary time and resources, whether you have the necessary support from family and associates, and whether you really have the “fire in the belly”—a deep commitment and resolve.
Those considerations are much more important than who else is running for the same position. Obviously, you should take into account who else might be in the race, but that should be a secondary consideration and it shouldn’t make or break your entry into politics.
Good candidates make their own decisions about running notwithstanding who else is in the race. Funny things can happen in politics. Opportunities abound. Staying out of a race because of tough competition means you’re never in a position to take advantage of changes and new developments. You never know when serendipity might strike. Even losing sometimes positions a candidate for future opportunities. So make your own decision. Don’t let the competition make your decision for you. Consider who else is running, but don’t be frightened off. |
