The Week Ahead
It’s a big week ahead for the Utah Legislature. Key legislation that will be considered in the January 2007 general session will get final reviews in task force, commission and interim committee meetings this week. After this week’s meetings, lawmakers will take most of the holiday season off before returning to the Capitol for pre-session meetings in January. See the legislative calendar for all of this week’s meetings. Click on a meeting for meeting notices and agendas. See the Utah Policy Daily calendar for other political events this week.
Prop. 3 Projects to be Determined This Week?
The biggest political question of the week is this: What Salt Lake County transportation projects will be funded by Proposition 3 (which was overwhelmingly approved by voters on Nov. 7)? We may be a lot closer to getting an answer at the Legislature’s Executive Appropriations Committee, which meets Tuesday at 1 p.m. in W135.
On the agenda is a discussion with the Salt Lake County Council of Governments on the project prioritization process. Local government leaders, in concert with the Wasatch Front Regional Council, have developed a prioritization process, which must be approved by the Appropriations Committee, after which a list of specific projects will be determined.
Clearly, local government leaders and especially voters expect and hope that TRAX light rail and FrontRunner commuter rail will be at the top of the priority list. A Salt Lake Tribune poll on Nov. 3, for example, asked which projects citizens would put at the top of the list for construction. Some 45 percent of Salt Lake County voters said they preferred all four proposed TRAX light-rail lines; 24 percent said commuter rail; and 26 percent offered other alternatives or said they were not sure. Five percent said highway corridor preservation.
Asked which new TRAX line they would like to see built first, 36 percent of voters surveyed preferred the one to Salt Lake City International Airport; 19 percent wanted the line that would connect West Jordan and South Jordan with the existing north-south line; 17 percent favored the West Valley City line; 9 percent favored extending the north-south line to Draper. In addition to providing money for transportation construction projects, one-quarter of the new money raised by Prop. 3 will be used to preserve transportation corridors, most likely the Mountain View Corridor on the county's west side.
Buhler Formalizes Mayoral Candidacy
Salt Lake City Council member Dave Buhler has sent out postcards inviting citizens of the city to his mayoral candidacy announcement. He will hold three announcement events on Thursday Nov. 16: 12:30 p.m. at the Foothill-Anderson Library; 2:30 p.m. at the Day-Riverside Library in Rose Park; and 4 p.m. in the West Lobby of the Salt Palace. He said he is holding three events “to emphasize the city-wide nature of the campaign, as well as to emphasize things I have done for the city as a council member the past (almost) 7 years.” Buhler’s announcement will emphasize the bi-partisan support he has attracted, including both prominent Democrats and Republicans.
Blog Watch
The Senate Site and House Democratic Caucus blogs announce the new Senate Majority and House Democratic leadership teams... Ed Meyer explains why the Democrats' midterm election victories don't "spell the end of the world" for rural Utah (see also here and here)... Utah Taxpayer asks and answers the question: "Are toll roads double taxation?"... SLCSpin says: "Many make the claim 'negative campaigning does not generally work in Utah', but I don't believe that is true. Not all negative campaigns are enough to win an election, but that's a fact of life across the democratic world, and not evidence of some sort of special attitude in Utah. After all, Jim Winder is the new SLCo Sherriff thanks to a negative campaign. Voters responded to his attacks against Sherrif Kennard. They were simple, compelling, and absolutely devastating. Well timed negative campaigns work, even in Utah"... Chris Cillizza says likely '08 presidential candidate Mitt Romney has "had a nice year ... unfortunately capped off by broad Republican losses in gubernatorial races, including in his home state. While [John] McCain has released the names of his '08 supporters in drips and drabs, Romney has gone for shock and awe with his announcements -- massive lists in Iowa, New Hampshire and Michigan filled with impressive and influential names. Romney is the best raw candidate in the Republican field and he is the equal of [Barack] Obama and [John] Edwards when it comes to charisma. He still must answer doubts among conservatives about his time in Massachusetts and seeming flip-flops on some social questions. And then there is the Mormon question to which we have no answer just yet" (see also here, here, and here).
Washington Watch
Dems Should Emulate Matheson
Former Kansas congressman Jim Slattery says newly-elected moderate Democrats should follow the lead of other Blue Dogs like Rep. Jim Matheson: "So many of these rural districts are culturally conservative, but they're economically populist. These new members have taken culturally conservative positions, on choice, flags, guns, gay marriage, coupled with a strong message on economic populism. That's where the future of the Dem Party is, in these conservative Midwestern and southern districts, and there's a great opportunity for moderate Democrats in these regions of the country" (National Journal); in article on the political agenda of the labor movement, Matheson says he supports a higher minimum wage and legislation that would make it easier to unionize workers, but differs with labor on free trade: "A lot of Blue Dogs have a strong labor record. But I'm a pro-trade Democrat, and that's where labor and I are on different sides of some issues. I'm a strong believer in the economic growth benefits of free trade" (New York Times); NPR interviews Matheson about the Blue Dogs' centrist agenda.
SUWA: White River Area Threatened
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance announces that "Utah BLM's Vernal field office is poised to approve a gas company's plans to drill 24 new gas wells from 14 drilling pads -- and to construct new roads and pipelines -- in the White River wilderness inventory area. If drilled, these would be among of the first oil and gas wells located on lands the BLM itself has recognized as wilderness quality. Please e-mail, fax, or write to BLM today and tell them 'not so fast!'" For more info, click here.
UF Healthcare Poll
The Utah Foundation has posted a new quick poll, asking: "How would you rate healthcare in Utah?"
National Politics
Charlie Cook analyzes Election 2006 in his NationalJournal.com column.
Regional Politics
Moderate Dems Winning in West
Columnist: "For years, the [Mountain States were] reliably Republican. Not now. Starting in 2004, and with new momentum last week, the West's independent streak has revealed itself in a swing toward Democrats. What was red, in the palette of political punditry, has become increasingly blue. The Democrats in these eight states -- Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming -- find their comfort zones in the middle of the road. Increasingly, so do voters. Many of the most prominent Western Democrats go their own way, some opposing abortion or supporting gun rights -- views that don't always mesh with party leaders in Washington" (Denver Post).
Idaho's Still Red
Columnist: "While red-, purple-, and blue-state Republicans were falling everywhere else Tuesday night, Idaho Republicans enjoyed a historic night. They held both congressional seats and the governorship with ease and won every statewide office for the first time since the Hoover landslide in 1928. [Karl] Rove has a bright future out there, and if he needs help getting his foot in the door, I'd be happy to make a few calls" (Slate).
Utah’s Top Issues
Here is our weekly list, generated by observing what’s hot in the news media, what’s on the agenda of various policymaking groups, and what’s being discussed among opinion leaders and policymakers. We welcome suggestions and input from UPD readers. E-mail daily@utahpolicy.com.
Hottest of the Hot
- Prop. 3 transit, roads project list
- Gas prices still high
- Utah’s big budget surplus: Cut taxes or spend it
- Cyber-safety issues (cyber predators, child pornography, identity theft, Internet scams, etc.)
Emerging
- Education achievement gap of disadvantaged students
- Western states primary
- 4th congressional seat for Utah
- Tolling on highways
- Snake Valley water pumping for Las Vegas
- SITLA land sale on Green River
- Minimum wage increase
Mature
- Downtown SLC massive construction
- Immigration
- Washington County land sales
- Open space funding
- Affordable heath insurance
Getting Old (but not totally resolved)
Oldies But Goodies
- Banks/Credit Unions
- Highway funding
- Vouchers/School Choice
- Tax cuts vs. education funding/class size
- No Child Left Behind
- Healthcare reform/Medicaid
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