Utah County Democrats Cut Ribbon on New Provo Headquarters
Written by Larry Brown
Wednesday, 05 August 2009
Richard Davis opens new Provo headquarters. From left to right: county vice chair Larry Brown, state chair Wayne Holland, Janelle Jarvis, Davis, Mary Ruth Greer, county secretary Deon Turley, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon
Dozens of Utah County Democrats attended an open house Saturday, August 1, to celebrate the opening of the party’s new headquarters at 48 N. University Avenue, Provo.
Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, state party chair Wayne Holland and state party treasurer Kathy Snyder were among those who joined county chair Richard Davis in marking the opening of the party’s first headquarters in nine years.
"We’re excited to to have a headquarters to work from as we enter the 2010 campaign," said Davis. "This will give us the office space we need to run our operations."
Volunteers worked for weeks to paint, clean and donate furniture in advance of the open house. Jim Greer, Events Committee Chair, and his committee organized and decorated the headquarters for the event.
The long term lease, which runs through December 2010, is being paid for by donations from the county party officers.
Visit with Senator Reid
Written by Richard Davis
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Sen. Harry Reid with Richard Davis
I visited with Senator Harry Reid at his office in Washington last week and had the opportunity to give him a copy of a new book I've written about political blogs. I appreciated the opportunity to speak with him given his intensely busy schedule at that time. The Senate was, and still is, working furiously on health care reform and he was in the middle of that effort.
I thanked Senator Reid for arranging the visit of President Monson to the White House last week. Most recent presidents have invited the prophet to the Oval Office, but President Obama did it much earlier than others have in the past, thanks to Senator Reid. As you may know, President Monson gave President Obama a copy of his family history. Given the president's multi-cultural, multi-ethnic family background, it was probably one of the most interesting they had ever done. Also, my guess is that family history says that President Obama was born in Honolulu. I hope "birthers" among LDS members will take note of that.
The senator said that during the Oval Office meeting President Obama and Elder Oaks talked about their respective days at the University of Chicago Law School. Both had been on the faculty, although 30 years apart, and have a strong interest in constitutional law.
I also told Senator Reid we would like him to come to Utah County some time and visit with Utah County Democrats. He said a visit would depend on his schedule. Let's hope he'll come back some time soon.
Moving forward to win in 2010
Written by Richard Davis
Monday, 20 July 2009
Dear Fellow Utah County Democrats:
On May 2 we had an excellent convention. There were well over a hundred people in attendance. Admittedly, we didn't draw as many as the Republicans. (They had over 800 attendees.) But Larry Brown pointed out that we had a larger attendance in proportion to our voter registration in the county. The Republicans outnumber us by more than 10 to 1. My thanks again to all those participated to make our convention a success.
We're 16 months away from the next legislative elections. This may seem like the lull time. After all, it isn't really an election year, except for city races.
Rather than take it as a lull period, we are going to use it for party organization. The legislative district chairs will be filling the precinct chair vacancies and mobilizing activists in each precinct. Campaigns are won or lost to a great extent through the organization on the ground. Friends and neighbors talking to one another, speaking out for the Democratic candidate in their area, canvassing the neighborhood with the candidates' literature and signs, and even walking with the candidate. That's why we need everyone to help us build the organization this year.
The party leadership also will begin actively recruiting viable candidates for next year's election. If you have any suggestions for possible candidates who would do well in your local area, please forward them to me.
The county party is opening new headquarters in downtown Provo and will hold an open house on Saturday, August 1, from 2-4pm at 48 North University Avenue in Provo. The public is invited to attend.
"We're excited to have a headquarters to work from as we enter the 2010 campaign," said Richard Davis, county party chair. "This will give us the office space we need to run our operations."
The party hasn't had office space for nine years, Davis said. "We're hoping this can be a long-lasting space that will provide us with the physical facilities we need to manage our campaigns."
Davis said the party is gearing up for the next elections. In 2008, Utah County Democrats ran candidates in nearly all races in the county and increased their share of the vote where they ran candidates from 22 percent in 2006 to 33 percent in 2008.
Thank you!
Written by Richard Davis
Friday, 08 May 2009
Dear Utah County Democrats:
I wanted to thank all of those who attended our convention last Saturday. A special thanks goes to those who helped us organize the convention and made it a success. Jim Matheson's aide told me our convention had the largest attendance of any they had attended.
I'm also appreciative to the new House district chairs. Thank you for stepping up to take on these important assignments to build our organization throughout the county. With a full and active organization, we can reach the voters we need in order to win next year.
We're building the party step by step. We made major gains electorally last year by getting most of our candidates past the 30 percent mark and three of them beyond 40 percent! We did that while we were still trying to build the organization. Imagine what we can do with an organization already in place!
Now we have a year before the campaigns begin to devote to organizing ourselves. We want to put in place a district organization and a precinct organization throughout the county. Your district chair or precinct chair may be calling you to help out. I hope you will do so.
We can elect Democrats in 2010!
Richard Davis Chair
Utah County Democrats look to build on last year's gains
To be about the business of winning was the vow of Utah County Democrats at their county convention on Saturday.
Democrats made significant fundraising gains in Utah Valley in 2008 and garnered thousands of new votes compared to other years, but they failed to actually win a single seat. Building on those gains was the theme on Saturday.
"We have to celebrate our gains," said state party chair Wayne Holland. "We have made two consecutive gains in two election cycles."
Utah County Democrats raised $80,000 in 2008, compared to $7,000 in 2006, said Richard Davis, county party chair.
"The Republicans, however, raised $150,000," he said. "We were outspent two-to-one. We have a lot of ground to cover."
In 2006, there were fewer than 100 donors to the party. In 2008, that number jumped to more than 1,300, he said.
Now, local Dems must build on the momentum by recruiting and training candidates, raising money and volunteering to help candidates, Davis said.
"Please volunteer," he said. "We really need your help."
Dear Fellow Utah County Democrats:
The county party is opening new headquarters in downtown Provo and will hold an open house on Saturday, August 1, from 2-4pm at 48 North University Avenue in Provo. The public is invited to attend.
