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New House Media Director Has Broad Experience
Utah House Republicans have been churning out press releases and advisories, mostly the result of the hiring of Peter Watkins as the House majority communications director. Watkins will handle all media requests for the speaker and House majority leadership. He will also coordinate requests for comments, statements, or interviews with all House majority members.
Watkins is the founder and president of Watkins Global Strategies, offering strategic communications planning and public relations consulting based on his experience in the White House, on Capitol Hill, and in Utah.
Until returning recently to Utah, Watkins served as a spokesman for President Bush, responsible for the Northeast and West Coast states. Before that, he served as the deputy press secretary to First Lady Laura Bush. He was a spokesman and responsible for planning and executing Mrs. Bush’s media events, as well as helping to prepare her for media interviews. He also worked at the White House in the Advance and Press Offices.
Watkins has coordinated many media events, including prime time press conferences, addresses to the nation, and international summits, giving him experience with the international, national, and local media.
He has spent nearly 10 years in the media and public relations industry with positions in advertising, radio, and government public affairs. Watkins has a degree in Mass Communication from the University of Utah. He and his wife, Adrianne, live in Salt Lake City. He can be contacted at pwatkins@utah.gov
Read (and View) Every Word
If you’re a true political junkie you will, of course, want to read the complete texts of this week’s political speeches. The text of the opening comments of House Speaker Greg Curtis has been posted at the House Majority blog. The text of Mayor Rocky Anderson’s State of the City address can be found on the mayor’s web site. The text of Gov. Jon Huntsman’s State of the State speech has been posted on the governor’s web site. The well-crafted Democratic video response to the governor’s speech has been posted on the party’s blog site. Sorry, I couldn’t find any posting of Chief Justice Christine Durham’s State of the Judiciary speech.
USTAR Watch
Students Show Research
Standard-Examiner story features Utah State University students demonstrating the fruits of USTAR with research presentations at the Legislature.
Education Watch
Merit Pay is Effective
State legislators will be looking at a variety of education reform measures in the current legislative session, including merit pay for outstanding performance. A new study conducted by the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas indicates that a merit pay initiative in Arkansas “produces significant gains in student performance on standardized tests and a more positive work environment for teachers.” Click here for the press release, executive summary and full text of the study.
Too Many College Students?
In a second-in-a-series Wall Street Journal essay on education, controversial scholar Charles Murray says too many Americans are going to college and more should instead go to vocational school.
New Site for Leakers
Have an urge to leak a government document? Soon there will be a web site dedicated to postings of leaked information. Read all about facilitating whistle-blowing in this Washington Post story.
Washington Watch
Matheson Bill Approved
The House approves legislation sponsored by Rep. Jim Matheson that waives "a cap on the number of reverse mortgages that a federal housing agency may insure for older Americans who want to turn their home equity into cash" (Reuters).
National Politics
Bush to Fight Deficit Spending?
Washington Post story says President Bush will push Democrats to balance the federal budget.
Wise Words
“With freedom goes responsibility. Sir Winston Churchill once said you can have 10,000 regulations and still not have respect for the law. We might start with the Ten Commandments. If we lived by the Golden Rule, there would be no need for other laws.” —Ronald Reagan (Source: The Federalist Patriot)
Church and State
Check out this provocative column by Don Porter, editorial page editor at the Standard-Examiner in Ogden, on mixing church and state. Porter said he received a flood of phone calls and e-mails in response to the column, all of it positive (to his surprise).
Blog Watch
At the Senate Site, Sen. Jon Greiner previews a few of his bills this year (for more posts on the Legislature, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).... At the House Democratic Caucus blog, Lisa Johnson says: "Congratulations to the House Democrats for putting together a fantastic Democratic Response to Governor Huntsman's State of the State address! You clearly articulated what are not only Democratic values, but the values of the majority of Utah citizens as well" (see also here).... Reach Upward discusses the Standard-Examiner's editorial agenda.... Frank Staheli reveals the secret to reduced class sizes.... At The Right Angle, Robert B. Bluey says: "I may not agree with all of his communications tactics, but there's something to be said about Mitt Romney's rise to the top of GOP Bloggers monthly straw poll. After a third-place finish in December, Romney won the January poll with 27.6% of the vote" (see also here and here).
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