The caucuses were a smashing success. I’m not a person who throws around superlatives, but the participation was so high in some areas we were all amazed.
To the right are some figures I’ve collected and a comparison with the caucus attendance two years ago. Some of the districts had spectacular increases in attendance.
A big thank you to Hinckley, the legislative district chairs, and the caucus coordinators across the county who put the caucuses together this year. We are grateful for your hard work.
Our convention is coming up in May and all Democrats are invited to attend. Only the county delegates will be allowed to participate in the voting, but everyone is welcome to attend and join the celebration. It is a celebration because we’ve already made great strides in changing politics in Utah County. We should celebrate that. We all should be proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish so far.
There is still much to be done. We’ll talk about that and ask for your support as the campaign goes on. Candidates need support in many ways. Funds need to be raised to provide resources for these wonderful candidates.
But for a morning in May we’ll just meet, enjoy the association with each other, mingle with our candidates, and relish the moment. Come join us.
The convention is on Friday, May 3, at 9 a.m. at Dixon Middle School. I look forward to seeing you all there.
Political competition needed in Utah County
Written by George Handley
Monday, 03 March 2008
As a college student twenty years ago, I traveled behind what was once known as the Iron Curtain and saw firsthand how a single-party system creates a culture of public disengagement with politics. I learned that democracy without political plurality is not the rule of the people but the rule of hardened tradition and capricious power. Political competition keeps parties answerable to the people about what they are doing and why.
In Utah County, however, I believe we have seen a slow and steady erosion of democracy. We have seen many Republicans chosen for, not elected to, office and many who have never run against opposition. Without a single statement from LDS church leadership to back it up, we have heard for years the empty claim, if not the unspoken assumption, that "good" Mormons can only be Republicans. This, a myth that makes reason stare not only in a plural society like America but in an increasingly international church, not to mention in a party as apparently inhospitable to Mormons as Mitt Romney's party is. Perhaps Romney's fate stings, but his spurning by the evangelicals comes as no less an assault than that experienced by Mormon Democrats in Utah culture for some time. Recently, I read one Republican incumbent in Utah County express "surprise" that a Democrat, and fellow Mormon, would choose to run against him. Surely such surprise is a symptom of a broken system.
Freedom depends on diversity. It is not secured through staid tradition, chauvinism, censorship, or intimidation. Consensus that relies on habitual and categorical trust of some and distrust of others is a threat to the free flow of information and to freedom itself. Freedom is secured in a culture that acknowledges diversity of opinion and celebrates genuine exchange of ideas. In a culture of exceptional homogeneity of belief, the preservation of political openness is even more vital. I suppose this is the same reason why the LDS church depends on councils, counselors, and auxiliaries. It impoverishes a church, as it does a plural society, for anyone to feel shamed merely because of a difference of opinion, as if holding a minority viewpoint were necessarily a symptom of following the wrong spirit.
We have continued the announcements of top-notch candidates for the state legislature. I am so pleased that so many high quality individuals have agreed to step forward and make a difference. This is a great sacrifice for them. When you meet one of these candidates, please thank them for running and offer your support.
The party caucuses will take place on March 25 at 7 p.m. Our secretary, Hinckley, is organizing the locations. We will post them here on the website, and announce them in the next newsletter and in the press.
Please mark your calendars to attend on that date. But also please consider who you can bring with you. Our theme is "bring a newbie." Invite and bring someone who has not been to a Democratic caucus before. One of the party's goals is to double the attendance at the caucuses over the 2006 attendance. That won't be easy because attendance two years ago was quite high.
My kudos to all of those who have helped so far to make our party viable again. We've made a lot of progress. But there is a long campaign ahead. It will be hard work. It will not be easy to beat a seemingly Republican lock on government. Yet, we can do it. If we work together, we will do it.
Mitt Romney, Nokia Phones, and Justice for All
Written by Don Jarvis
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Mitt Romney’s campaign attracted a lot of attention here in Utah. He happens to be a cousin of mine, and I admire the way he went after an entrenched political machine in Massachusetts and gave voters there a good old American two-party choice. Anytime one party has a stranglehold on state politics, it’s a recipe for disaster. That’s what they had in Massachusetts before Mitt, that’s what we have in Utah now, and that’s why we have multiple disasters looming. We need to get back to the healthy checks and balances that two viable political parties provide.
And that’s what I am going to do. Today I am announcing my candidacy as a socially conservative Democrat for the Utah State Legislature District 63. I am going to put my own money and my own time into this campaign. And I ask you to do the same. Because together, we can win.
Like my friend Paul Thompson, I have several reasons for running, 13 to be exact. Janelle and I have 22 grandchildren, 13 of whom live here in Provo.
Some of my friends have wondered about the wisdom of challenging our good neighbor Steven D. Clark, a moderate Republican who has served for the past eight years in the legislature, has run unopposed all four times, and has received $12-18,000 each election even with no opponent! He has high marks from small businesses and realtors. The Legislature and the Governor have done well for Utah business, and I salute them. I am also pro-business but would like to discuss our economy and our well-being more broadly.
While our economy has grown in the past few years we’ve missed a great opportunity. That is to fully fund our education system. The legislature has not done as well for public education as they have for business. And it is time to correct that. Some might say that investing in business helps education. But it works just as much, if not more, the other way around. I suggest that investment in education greatly benefits society and is the master key to many things in the long run, including keeping Utah’s economy strong. We will not always have a good society and a strong economy if we neglect our children’s education.
We must work together to get our candidates elected
Written by Richard Davis
Saturday, 26 January 2008
The announcements are beginning. On January 8, Steve Baugh announced he was running for the state legislature in District 58--as a Democrat. One week later, Gwyn Franson did the same in District 27. And there are more to come.
We are delighted to see these candidates (and the ones who will be announcing shortly) step forward to serve--not just as candidates but as state legislators dedicated to making better public policy.
But it isn’t enough for them to step forward. All of us need to do so as well. The party needs volunteers. We need you to contact us and give us your time and talents and money. Even if you can’t give much, even a little bit will help.
Please write to Hinckley Jones-Sanpei, our secretary, at
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and offer to help. We will get back with you right away and hook you up with a committee or legislative district or a candidate where you can be of the most service.
I was hopeful that the county party would have a new constitution by this time. The Rules Committee spent quite a bit of time rewriting the constitution of the county party over the past few months. But the new constitution needed a 2/3 vote of the Central Committee. It received slightly less than 2/3 and therefore was rejected. I was disappointed. The county party desperately needs a new constitution and the draft prepared by the Rules Committee was a vast improvement over the existing constitution. Hopefully we can have a new constitution before too long.
Through the efforts of many people in the party, we’re making progress in shaking up politics in Utah County. Now we need to work hard to elect our legislative candidates so they can shake up policy in behalf of all of Utah’s citizens.
Look forward to exciting, electable democratic candidates!
Written by Richard Davis
Friday, 07 December 2007
For those of us who attended the Fall Social, we enjoyed a wonderful treat. The food was good as was the company. It was a delight to hear Scott Howell tell us about how he got involved as a candidate and what a difference he was able to make during his ten years in the state legislature. Thanks again to all those who helped make that event a success.
The topic of Scott's address was not a coincidence. We are currently recruiting candidates for the state legislature from across the county. All of the legislative seats and half of the senate seats are up for election this next fall. So far we have recruited three individuals to run for the state legislature. They are viable candidates who have excellent chances of beating vulnerable incumbents. I will not announce who they are, but let them do that in their own announcement events in January. However, I want to applaud them for their willingness to do this.
They are the beginning of the slate of candidates we are creating for the 2008 campaign. There are several others we are meeting with and encouraging to make a race themselves. I'm hopeful they, too, will carry the banner for us in their districts and ultimately unseat the Republican incumbent in each case. I expect we will fill as full a slate as possible with competitive candidates who, with our support, can become state legislators.
Just a personal note: I will be away for job-related reasons for nearly all of the time between mid-January and May. I have been offered a research fellowship at Harvard University. Professionally, this is a wonderful opportunity. Although it will make it difficult for me to attend most events or meetings during that time, I will still be using the telephone and e-mail to assist candidates and conduct party business. Also, I expect to return some during that time and will be able to conduct party business personally as well on those occasions.
In addition, we have a capable vice-chair in Larry Brown who will cover for me for any events I cannot attend. My goal is to recruit most of the candidates who will be on our slate within the next month and prepare them for the early stages of their campaigns. Then, in June, we will gear up for the fall campaigns.
The party has moved forward in a marvelous way. We will shake up elections next year and make a difference for ourselves and our children and all of those in Utah County who want better government than they are now getting.
The caucuses were a smashing success. I’m not a person who throws around superlatives, but the participation was so high in some areas we were all amazed. 
