Tough Campaign Ahead
Can a successful campaign asking voters to raise their own taxes be conducted in a little over six weeks with limited campaign funds?
That’s the task ahead for those supporting the transportation funding package approved by the Legislature on Tuesday. Assuming the Salt Lake County Council gets the sales tax proposal on the ballot, replacing the property tax proposal, an aggressive campaign will need to be conducted to ensure a victory on Nov. 7
Ballot proposals seeking a tax increase almost always end up with less support than opinion polls initially suggest. When a respondent is asked by a pollster if he or she would support a tax increase for education, transportation, open space or most any good cause, a majority usually say yes. But when they get in the voting booth, support usually drops.
Thus, support for the transportation sales tax needs to remain at 60% or higher through election day to ensure a victory.
The campaign will be made more difficult because the precise projects to be constructed with the sales tax boost may not be known for some time. Transportation ballot proposals are much more difficult when voters don’t know exactly what they’re voting for. At this point, it’s clear that some of the money will go toward corridor preservation. But it’s not known whether one, two, three or four TRAX lines will be built, or whether commuter rail will be built south across Salt Lake County, or what other highway projects may be in the mix.
A light turnout is expected in this election, which means educating people who will actually vote is crucially important.
Another question is whether the Salt Lake County campaign should be jointly conducted with the Utah County campaign. Utah County is asking voters to approve a quarter cent sales tax increase for commuter rail.
Given the short campaign period and the complexities, a victory on Nov. 7 is by no means certain. Success will require active involvement by numerous groups and associations who energize and activate their members and supporters.
Guest Column
Momentum Building for Western Primary
By Jennifer Robinson, Research Associate, Center for Public Policy and Administration
Historically, the West has had the least impact on the presidential nomination process, but that might be changing. Governors and other key western officials are gathering in Salt Lake City for The Western Presidential Primary Symposium at the Marriott City Center hotel on Friday, Sept. 29. The symposium is the first opportunity to gather key players to discuss development of the western primary for 2008.
Gov. Jon Huntsman and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, both champions of the Western Primary, will be keynote speakers. Panels will be held throughout the day, with discussions centering around the potential of hosting a regional primary, the challenges of implementing a primary, and the political impact of the primary. The first panel is a discussion of western issues with panelists Natalie Gochnour, Pam Inmann, and Michael Stratton. Next, national political consultants John Weaver, Senior Strategist for Sen. John McCain, Eddie Mahe, Dan Kemmis, and Mike Gehrke will discuss whether the West has been overlooked by presidential candidates, and how a western primary will change that. Marc Ambinder, reporter for The Hotline, and Martin Kasindorf, reporter for USA Today, will discuss press coverage of presidential primaries.
A Western Primary will ensure that the presidential nomination process isn’t decided entirely by Eastern and Southern states. A Western Primary will ensure that candidates visit the West, and become more familiar with issues of importance to Westerners, such as water, growth, transportation, and public lands management.
Momentum for a western primary has grown since the last presidential election. New Mexico Gov. Richardson championed the idea several years ago following the successful 2004 presidential caucus in New Mexico and the successful primary election in neighboring Arizona. Later that year, the Western Governors’ Association passed a resolution calling for the creation of a Western States Primary in 2008.
The resolution urges the parties and the state to examine the idea of a common date for primaries and caucuses to ensure that voters in the West have “an equal say in who the party nominees are for President” in 2008.
In 2006, Utah Gov. Huntsman signed legislation authorizing a presidential primary for the first Tuesday in February. Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer attended the signing ceremony in Salt Lake City, signifying his support. Lawmakers in Montana are expected to draft legislation for the 2007 session. Other states, in particular Arizona, Nevada, and Idaho, are interested in the idea.
For more information, or to attend the symposium, contact Jennifer Robinson (801) 585-3048 or visit.
Blog Watch
Utah Democrats' Jeff Bell live-blogged yesterday's special legislative session (see also here, here, here, here, here, and here)... Obiter Dicta by Steve says of Senate candidate Pete Ashdown: "I find it refreshing to see a candidate who is so openly unbridled by ideology. There are terrific ideas all throughout the ideological spectrum, and Ashdown is a guy brave enough to find the best ideas no matter from where they originate"... The Zion Mojave Wilderness Blog says: "Critics of the Washington County Growth bill gained a powerful ally last Thursday: The Bush administration. Chad Calvert, the Interior Department's deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management, testified before a subcommittee of House Resources that the department 'opposes provisions that require lands to be sold, regardless of whether they have been identified for disposal.' Mr. Calvert noted that the department supports the goals of the legislation but is concerned about the estimated $1 billion dollars of potential land sale revenues being used for local development projects, instead of being returned to federal coffers. Perhaps even more significant was Calvert's response when Representative [Jim] Matheson tried to compare his legislation to public lands bills for Nevada championed by Sen. Harry Reid. When Matheson stated that his Washington County Growth bill used the same formula as Reid's bills to divide up money from land sales, Calvert retorted that the White House budget office 'would like to revisit that'"... At Hotline On Call, Jonathan Martin and Marc Ambinder report: "The until-now sub rosa campaign between Sen. John McCain (R) and MA Gov. Mitt Romney (R) has burst out into the open. For months, the two '08 frontrunners have issued dueling press releases and offered selective press leaks touting their early 'leadership teams' in such early primary states as IA, NH, SC and MI. There have also been more direct, if subtle, jabs. In July, McCain's team crowed about signing up UT Gov. Jon Huntsman (R), who hails from one of the most prominent Mormon families in America. In June, Romney spent a weekend in AZ, headlining a funder for the state party, but also keynoting an event for Maricopa Co. Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whom McCain has tangled with. Arpaio, known nationally for his unique and controversial prison methods, said he was undecided about who he'd back for '08 but had nice things to say about Romney. The clever back-and-forth came to halt Sunday, when Adam Nagourney, the NYT's chief political reporter, got Romney on the phone and on the record. 'I am foursquare behind the president on this,' Romney, said referring to McCain's dispute with Pres Bush over the torture issue. 'I believe that we should do everything possible to support those people at the front line who are responsible for enforcing the war on terrorism.' But Romney wasn't done. Asked if this was the 'sharpest' area of disagreement with McCain, Romney said: 'No. There are a number of things. We have different views on McCain-Feingold, differing views on immigration policy, differing views on the interrogation of terrorists.' Perhaps looking to soften the blow, he then offered, 'There are also many other areas where we see eye to eye.' The senator, wrote Nagourney, hit back 'tartly.' McCain: 'He doesn't have a vote.' You woulda thought it was September of '07, not '06" (see also here and here).
Big Red Whistle Stop Tour
Rep. Mike Noel, from Kanab, reports that Utah Republicans will conduct a “Big Red Bus Whistle Stop Tour” in Iron and Washington Counties on Tuesday, Sept. 26, to energize the Republican base in southern Utah and to get voters to the polls in November.
Involved in the tour will be Gov. Jon Huntsman, Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, 2nd District congressional candidate LaVar Christensen, and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, along with every southern Utah legislator and every other GOP official for Washington and Iron counties. The theme is: “Vote Red, Vote Republican and America Needs Utah.”
Washington Watch
Cannon Defends Whistleblower
Columnist praises Rep. Chris Cannon for intervening on behalf of the inspector general of the Legal Services Corporation, Kirt West, whose "relationship with LSC management has gone downhill" after West "uncovered numerous instances of potential waste and fraud" at the federal agency (National Review Online).
Sex Offender Restrictions
The Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee meets this morning at 9 a.m. in Room W020 in the Capitol and will hold a public hearing to discuss legislation sponsored by Rep. Greg Hughes dealing with residency restrictions for sex offenders.
Hughes will discuss his bill and seek public comment regarding residency requirements for sex offenders with regard to schools, parks, and public swimming pools. For more information, contact Jennifer Lambert, (801) 538-1930.
For agendas and information about all the interim committees today, see the legislative calendar.
SUWA Hails Factory Butte Decision
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance applauds the BLM's "decision to limit destructive off-road vehicle use on lands surrounding a well-known Utah icon, Factory Butte." Says SUWA's Heidi McIntosh: "BLM made the right decision here and took decisive action where a much-beloved landscape was becoming scarred by relentless ORV use. Once the BLM officials took a close look at the scars, soil erosion, and damage to rare cacti protected under the Endangered Species Act, they realized that Factory Butte called out for immediate rescue" (see press release).
Wise Words (But mostly forgotten)
“Each State, in ratifying the Constitution, is considered as a sovereign body, independent of all others, and only to be bound by its own voluntary act. In this relation, then, the new Constitution will, if established, be a FEDERAL, and not a national constitution.”
—James Madison (Source: The Federalist Patriot) |
