Deseret News, April 18, 2006
Bob Bernick Jr.

Utah voters: Welcome to the political world of Stan Lockhart, Curt Bramble and, for those living in Happy Valley, the Utah County Republican Party.

When GOP Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., after briefly trying to find someone on his own to be the new chairman of the Utah Republican Party last year, decided to "wash his hands" of picking the new party leader, I'm told he was warned that letting GOP legislators pick the man (or woman) could prove troublesome.

But Huntsman decided to stay out of it.

And so Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem; Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo; House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy; and other legislative luminaries decided on local lobbyist Stan Lockhart, whose wife is state Rep. Becky Lockhart, R-Provo. (State GOP delegates pick party leaders, but they usually follow the advice of their top elected officials.)

Known as part of the GOP Utah County clique, Stan Lockhart is well known to many legislators. For years as the Micron lobbyist, he had provided more Jazz tickets to lawmakers than any other lobbyist. A Deseret News calculation by investigative reporter Lee Davidson found that Stan Lockhart has given legislators nearly $60,000 in Jazz tickets over the years.

Stan Lockhart is best buddies with Bramble — their families go on trips together, including a jaunt to Italy last summer. (Bramble, in an as-yet-unpublished lobbyist-giving study by Davidson, leads all legislators in taking $1,447 in lobbyist gifts during the first quarter of this year, which includes the 2008 Legislature. Bramble says he paid his own way to Italy, taking no gifts from Lockhart or another well-known lobbyist who went on the trip.)

Daily Herald, March 27, 2008
Joe Pyrah 

If the general election looks anything like Tuesday night's caucuses, Democrats may have a fighting chance in November.

OK, at least they won't embarrass themselves.
A quick rundown of attendance shows District 63 in Provo jumping from 19 two years ago to 100 this year, said county Democratic chairman Richard Davis.

"It helped us that we tripled the number of caucus locations," Davis said. "I think it also helped that we had candidates."

Several other districts showed a doubling or tripling of the last caucus meetings in 2006, including 74 this year (versus 17 two years ago) in District 59 in Orem.

BYU NewsNet, March 26, 2008
Holly Van Woerkom 

Utah County Democrats and Republicans of House District 63, the area of East Provo primarily made up of student housing, gathered Tuesday, March 25, 2008, as did Democrats and Republicans around the state, for caucuses to select party delegates.

Several organizers of the Democrats' meeting at the Provo Library at Academy Square said they didn't expect much more than 20 or 30 people to show up, but more than 70 participants quickly filled the room.

Darren Jackson, president of the BYU Democrats, said participation in meetings like this is beneficial because it leads to the election of candidates who are more representative of citizens.

"I think the idea behind democracy is mass participation," he said. "If you want democracy, you've got to get involved."

Jackson also said he hoped students might respond to the letter this Sunday, announced in local wards, from the First Presidency of the LDS Church, which encouraged members to become active in the political process, including caucuses. The church does not support or endorse candidates from either party in any elections.

BYU NewsNet, 25 March 2008
Erica Teichert

While the rest of the United States continues to debate about Barack and Hillary, Utah County will take the first step toward choosing their local leaders in Tuesday's caucuses.

"There is nothing more important in the political process in the state of Utah than attending your caucus meeting and selecting good men and women to be delegates," said Stan Lockhard, State Republican Party chair. "We're one of just a handful of states left in this country that has a caucus system."

After years of complete Republican domination in the county, including many elections where Republicans have run unopposed, Utah County Democrats want diversity in their local politics.

"Anytime one party has a stranglehold on state politics it's a recipe for disaster," said Don Jarvis, the democratic candidate for State House District 63, which encompasses most of BYU housing. "That's what they had in Massachusetts before Mitt, and that's what we have in Utah now."

Jarvis, a former BYU professor who taught Russian from 1970 to 2004, wants to provide another choice of representation for his neighbors and BYU students who comprise almost half of his constituency.

"I have a lot of faith in BYU students," Jarvis said. "Students have been pretty much ignored here in the past. I'd like them to be involved."

Claralyn Hill, wife of Ned Hill, current dean of the Marriott School of Management, is District 62's Democrat candidate.

Boyd Petersen

Promising to return "sanity, compassion and reason" to the state Legislature, the son-in-law of Hugh Nibley announced his bid Thursday to run for public office.

Boyd Petersen said he plans to run for office as a socially conservative Democrat in District 64 against incumbent Rep. Rebecca Lockhart, R-Provo. He said he believes in a full spectrum of values, supporting life, health, education, compassion and public morality.

He also said current state politicians' agendas are incongruent with those who put them in office.

"I believe that the current Utah Valley legislators are largely out of touch with their constituency," he said.

Petersen said he will work to improve public education and provide affordable health care for all families if elected.

Petersen teaches for the honors program at Brigham Young University, as well as at Utah Valley State College. He earned a doctorate at the University of Utah in 2006.

He is also the author of an award-winning biography, titled "Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life." Nibley was the father of Petersen's wife, Zina.

Daily Herald, 28 February 2008 

Stressing that he is a native of Utah County and understands the area, Kenneth Peay announced this week that he is running for the Utah State Senate in District 13.

In his announcement, Peay, a Democrat, noted that most of the parents in his district send their children to public schools and that he supports public education.

Peay pointed to the need to manage growth effectively in the county and to cut down on crime. "Our jails are overcrowded but we can't solve our crime problems by simply locking people up." We need crime prevention measures and to use alternative treatment centers for non-violent drug abusers.

Peay also noted that the people in Utah need adequate health insurance. "We need to find a way to make health insurance affordable and available to our citizens."

The candidate also promised to reach out to all his constituents as a state senator, "As a highway patrol commander, I learned to listen to people, to use their ideas, to compromise and to come up with winning solutions for the betterment of all."

Peay is a native of south Utah County. He was born in Payson, grew up in Benjamin and graduated from Spanish Fork High School. He served three years in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War era and was an LDS missionary in Canada for two years.

He has a bachelors degree in psychology from BYU.

Deseret Morning News, February 27, 2008
Amy K. Stewart

PROVO — Brigham Young University's Ned C. Hill, dean of the Marriott School of Management, won't say whether he is voting for his wife, Claralyn M. Hill.

The Provo attorney announced her candidacy Tuesday as the eighth Democrat in Utah County running for the Legislature.

Ned Hill's silence is because BYU has a policy requiring its president, vice presidents and deans remain politically neutral.

Ned Hill attended his wife's press conference but remained in the background and didn't address the group of about 75 people gathered in a conference room at the Provo City Library at Academy Square.

He said he even met with BYU legal counsel prior to his wife announcing her candidacy to ensure he was abiding by the school's policy.

Summarized, BYU's political neutrality policy states:

"The essential functions of the university require strict institutional neutrality, integrity, and independence regarding partisan political activities, particularly because perceived partisanship is often interpreted as endorsement by the university's affiliated sponsor, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

One reason for the policy is to preserve the university's tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code, according to the policy.

In July, Ned Hill will finish his 10 years as dean and will simply be on the faculty. At that time he plans help with his wife's campaign, unless he is told otherwise by BYU officials, he said.