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Aggregated blogs of Democratic candidates running in Utah County

  • Deon Turley: Legislator v. the PTA (http://deonturley.blogspot.com/2009/02/legislator-v-pta.html)
    Senate Bill 199 is an example of vendetta legislation that has long range implications. It would make it illegal for schools to work with volunteer parent groups that require members to pay dues.

    Many parent organizations charge membership dues but recognize that most of the activities at their individual schools are paid for by other fundraising efforts. PTA would literally be pushed out of the state since its state and national bylaws require membership dues. The dues that come from PTA members are what makes it possible for PTA to be a lobbying organization, advocating for children, families, and schools.

    PTA was in the forefront of the push to get School Trustlands to produce an sizable and growing income in the state of Utah and legislators have been anxious to get their hands on funds being generated by the Trustlands ever since. PTA has been vigilant in protecting public schools' interests with Trustlands funds. This has been possible with their lobbying efforts.

    Senator Curt Bramble is the bill sponsor and his political opponent in the past election is active in the PTA. He and PTA have been at loggerheads on a number of...

  • Deon Turley: Need a job? Be a teacher! (http://deonturley.blogspot.com/2009/02/need-job-be-teacher.html)
    Senate Bill 48 is said to address a teacher shortage, and would allow people to get jobs as teachers in public schools without the education background currently required.
    The ?shortage of teachers? may be affected by predictions of high unemployment.
    But the real question to ask is whether ?real world? experience can take the place of training in pedagogy for teachers. For example: would a banker or bookkeeper who has been laid off be prepared to teach math at the local middle school. Should a retired secretary with no other training be hired to teach English, or second grade? Pedagogy includes what motivates a child to learn, how to discipline individually and in a classroom setting, how to create effective lesson plans, how to write tests and measure learning.
    The argument that ?substitutes have no other requirement than a high school diploma? is no reason to lower the standards for full time teachers with responsibilities for a class. I will concede that there are many ?natural teachers? that could by their personality and dedication effectively teach young people. But brillance in a subject area isn't the same as understanding how to impart the knowledge. A concert pianist may...

  • Deon Turley: The Long Road to Becoming Law (http://deonturley.blogspot.com/2009/02/while-budgetary-woes-and-sensational.html)
    While the budgetary woes and sensational debates about gay marriage garner all the attention, there are still issues that pop up occasionally that merit a look.

    In order for a bill to become law, it must pass through the Rules Committee of the legislative body of its sponsor. So a bill sponsored by a state representative would go through the House Rules committee. That committee decides if it is reasonable to consider this bill. If they decide it is a great bill that should definitely be debated by the House, they can send it "by consent" directly to be scheduled for debate and a vote by the House. If they definitely don't like it, they can table it and it doesn't come up at all. If they want it studied, as most bills are, they assign it to a committee by topic.

    For example, the Senate bill that asked for a rate increase in the tax on tobacco was sent to the Committee on Revenue and Taxation. They studied it and decided that it should not be considered and that ended it.

    A similar bill was sponsored by a member of the House of...

  • Deon Turley: What is that SMELL? (http://deonturley.blogspot.com/2009/01/what-is-that-smell.html)
    I didn't think I'd be blogging this early in the week but I can't sit by and watch the news about the registering of Greg Curtis and Mark Walker as lobbyists without having a say.

    The news of Mr. Walker becoming a lobbyist for the Legislature was covered pretty well in the Deseret News and the report concerning Greg Curtis is found in the Tribune.

    Legislation that sets up ethical guidelines has been started and stopped and started and stopped over the past decade. The bills don't fail because there is no merit. They fail because the legislators themselves look around at each other and decide that they are all so principled that they don't need the guidelines.

    Partly because of the scandals brought to light in the past year, there are several ethics bills being introduce again this year and most include a plank that restricts legislators from being employed as lobbyists for a year from the time they leave office. Federal law prohibits officials elected to the US Congress from lobbying for two years after they leave office. Even President Obama has decreed that members of his...

  • Deon Turley: Education in the Crosshairs (http://deonturley.blogspot.com/2009/01/education-in-crosshairs.html)
    There is so much nail biting about budget shortfalls and necessary cuts to funding that everyone seems to be digging in to protect the items of their greatest concern. For me, public education is of very great concern. I will be sending more information about education issues in the legislative session but today I want to specifically address funding and local control.

    The benefits of an educated public cross over into just about every area of public policy. Strong public education fosters a versatile and creative workforce, vigilant voters, a social conscience, better health, safety, and economic security. A decision to short change public education would bring about a decline in all these areas.

    There are a mountain of education-related bills facing the legislature this year, as in previous years. This year, however, the budget constraints cast a shadow on everything. Drastic cuts have been proposed to both public education and higher education. Superintendent Randy Merrill has reported that any time the legislature talks about one percent of the education budget, it translates to half a million dollars in the Provo School District. The proposal to cut 15% would, says Dr. Merrill, leave us with a school system...

  • Deon Turley: Preparing for a new session: Medicaid Funding (http://deonturley.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-session.html)
    Dear friends,

    I expected this site to be dormant and perhaps removed altogether by this time but I decided to use it to post some thoughts on the current state legislature and its work.

    The State Legislative session will begin next week but there are many preliminary meetings going on now to address the immediate financial problems that the state faces.

    One committee is studying health care and proposals to cut expenditures to Medicaid. Details about the State's commitment to Medicaid can be found at www.healthpolicyproject.org but in a nutshell, you need to know that for every dollar that the state puts in to Medicaid, the federal government sends three more. There isn?t another investment that I know of that brings that kind of return ? especially in today?s economy.

    In the opposite direction, every dollar that the legislature cuts from Medicaid means four dollars of services must be dropped. And cutting the programs paid for by Medicaid will result in more expensive problems that must be addressed with payments by taxes for some other program or by higher costs to healthcare consumers for doctor and hospital bills. It just doesn?t make sense.

  • : 2008 in Review - What a great year! (http://www.radene.com/blog/?p=67)
    Dear Family and Friends, Like many of you I started this holiday season with great intentions of mailing out Christmas Cards with a clever newsletter to update you on our family. And like many of you, I didn’t manage to get it done! Here it is several days after Christmas and I still haven’t finished the ’clever’ photo collage [...]

  • : And the Winner is?.. (http://www.radene.com/blog/?p=65)
    Dear Friends, We did it. We ran a good campaign. We provided a choice to the voters of Provo. We worked together to raise awareness of the issues and conditions in Utah government and reminded people of their responsibilities as citizens in this great country. And in the end ? we have nothing to be ashamed of. [...]

  • Deon Turley: The morning after (http://deonturley.blogspot.com/2008/11/morning-after.html)
    My father had a favorite poem that he wanted to commit to memory. He enlisted the help of us children to help him learn it and, as one might expect, the kids learned it faster than my dad. The poem was Kipling?s ?If?, and a small part of the poem that I have remembered, after some forty years, goes like this:

    If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
    If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
    If you can meet with triumph and disaster
    And treat those two imposters just the same;

    This being good advice has made waking up on this day a little easier. Meeting triumph and disaster, I have decided to treat those two imposters the same.

    On the wall of my campaign headquarters (aka the guest bedroom) there is a poster that my son gave to my daughter for Christmas. It is an inspirational poster and has a quote and a lovely photo of a ski jumper. The large title is "Ineptitude". The quote says: "If you can?t learn to do something well, you should at least learn to enjoy doing it poorly."...

  • Debbie Swenson: When there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income. -- Plato, The Republic (http://debforlegislature.blogspot.com/2008/10/when-there-is-income-tax-just-man-will.html)

    Taxes are a funny thing. Everyone hates them. Everyone thinks they are too high. And everyone wants them lowered or gone. Many view them as a form of socialism or slavery.

    At the same time, everyone drives on roads, uses parks, and visits libraries. We?re all glad for police protection and glad when the firemen and ambulance show up in times of emergency. We recognize the need for a military and the obligation to care for those who have served. We love clean running water and flushing toilets. And we value schools and education for our children.

    Most thinking adults realize that some taxation is necessary to maintain communities that are pleasant, enjoyable and mutually beneficial. It?s a pooling of our resources, if you will, for the mutual benefit of all. Is this socialism? I have heard some say that public education is socialism and should be abolished. Is it socialism to use taxation to create a safety net for those in our society who have experienced misfortune in their lives, or those who, because of circumstances beyond their control, are unable to compete in the...

  • Debbie Swenson: Letters of Support (http://debforlegislature.blogspot.com/2008/10/letters-of-support.html)
    I've lived in Payson for 30 some odd years and have always considered myself a Republican but I'm so disgusted with our Republican legislature that I'm prepared to give you an opportunity this time to see if you and other Democrats can make some of the changes that I think the people of Utah want to see. I've known and admired members of the Morley family for a number of years but I'm disgusted with what Mike Morley and other Republicans have been doing, or not doing, in the legislature. I specifically mean in relation to the failure of the legislature to pass meaningful ethics reform and campaign finance disclosure bills. I want to see a legislature in Utah that is interested in doing what's best for the people and not for themselves.
    Feel free to use this letter if you see it will help you with your campaign.

    Sincerely,

    Skip Standifird
    Payson, UT




    I have been a lifelong Republican, often serving as a county and state delegate and precinct officer. Unfortunately, more and more Utah Republicans, especially in Utah County, have taken a turn toward mean-spirited policies in education and...

  • Debbie Swenson: Why I am opposed to vouchers. (http://debforlegislature.blogspot.com/2008/10/why-i-am-opposed-to-vouchers.html)
    I have had several queries asking about my position on vouchers or asking why I oppose them. Here is my response.

    1. The main reason I oppose universal vouchers in Utah is financial. It will cost Utah money and we don't have any to spare.

    • Before I ran for school board, I was in support of vouchers because I believed that they would save Utah taxpayers money and that they would put more dollars into public ed. That argument is basically the "Oreo cookie" analogy that was given during the voucher debates. I have learned that education funding isn't quite as simple as Oreo cookies and that the truth about vouchers is that they will cost Utah a great deal of money.
    • Utah currently has 19,000 private school students that Utah is paying NOTHING for. In order for vouchers to save us any money, we would need to have OVER 19,000 additional students leave public schools.
    • The Oreo cookie analogy used an average per pupil cost. But the truth is, that some students cost much more to educate and some cost less. That's what "average" is. As a general rule, the students who leave to attend private...

    • : It?s possible to run a clean Political Campaign (http://www.radene.com/blog/?p=62)
      I know, you probably don’t believe that it is possible to run a clean political campaign, but I do. And if it can be done anywhere - it ought to be in Provo! It’s simple. All you have to do is follow some very basic ‘Sunday School Rules’: 1) Be kind and respectful to those you are running against (be [...]

    • : Do what is right. (http://www.radene.com/blog/?p=60)
      The following is the text of an email I sent out early on Friday Oct. 17th: Dear Friends, I have just returned home from my local gym. On the way I saw that many of my opponent?s signs in our neighborhood had been vandalized. An expensive banner hanging on his fence was slashed and removed. Signs were [...]

    • Boyd Petersen: Leaders and Managers (http://voteforboyd.blogspot.com/2008/10/leaders-and-managers.html)
      We had a candidate debate last Wednesday evening at the Provo city center, hosted by the Provo-Orem Chamber of Commerce. Gathered at the event were all the legislative candidates in Provo who fielded questions from a moderator and the audience.

      During the introductions, Senator Curt Bramble raised the oft-repeated refrain that Utah government is the most efficient government in the nation. The claim is based on a Pew study that ranked government efficiency, and the incumbents are currently touting the ranking as a sign that they are doing a great job and should be reelected.

      In responding to Bramble's comment, I couldn't resist referring to talk given by my father-in-law, Hugh Nibley, entitled Leadership and Management. Nibley noted that managers prize efficiency above all else, but it is leaders who break the mold and escape mediocrity. Managers are constantly aware of "promotion, perks, privilege, and power"--"awe and reverence for rank is everything." Leaders, on the other hand, "have a passion for equality . . . set the highest example; and break the mold." Nibley continued, "Leaders are movers and shakers, original, inventive, unpredictable, imaginative, full of surprises that discomfit the enemy in...


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