The Utah County Elections Office suggests that about 12 percent of the eligible electorate will turn out to vote in tomorrow's primary.  It is unlikely the state-wide figure will be much higher than that.  In the past, that would have meant that all the people who held office in Utah County would have been determined by a small fraction of all the voters in the county.  That was because the Republican primary was equivalent to the general election.
 
That has now changed.  For example, whoever wins the Utah County Commission race for the Republican nomination tomorrow will face Lane Henderson.  No, Lane is not a token candidate.  He is the former mayor of Salem and prior to that served two terms on the Salem City Council.  For many years he was the publisher of the Spanish Fork Press.  Lane is well known in south county and offers the voters a much better choice than either of the two Republicans.  Gary Anderson has not been the most proactive county commissioner and it is likely that approach would continue if he were re-elected.  Joel Wright has minimal public service experience.  He served briefly  on the Cedar Hills City Council and served only one year on the State Board of Regents.  Wright resigned from the Board for personal reasons, but did so in the wake of an investigation of which Board member had violated Board policy on interfering with a UVU presidential selection search. The investigation was closed after Wright resigned. Hmmm.  Coincidental?  Don't think so.

Similarly, the Republican voters in HD 59 will choose between former state Representative Mike Thompson and UVU administrator Val Peterson.  But, unlike in 2004 when that was the end of the story in a primary in HD59, this year voters also will have the option of Jim Greer.  Jim also is no token candidate.  He's a sales director for a technology firm and a long-time Orem resident.  He is running an aggresive campaign and will be a moderate conservative representative who will listen to his constituents rather than vote lockstep with state party leadership and the extremist Eagle Forum.
 
Democrats are giving Utah County voters a real choice.  We're taking that choice to November, where it belongs, rather than in June, where it doesn't.
 
If you are a Utah County voter, think about what it means to be able to choose your own representatives in the general election rather than have that choice given to you by a small group of voters in a closed primary.  And when you think about that, ask yourself if you'd like that to continue.  Wouldn't you really like to have two viable candidates in the fall with a real campaign going on for your vote rather than a one party system where you have one choice at the polls and the Republican candidate couldn't care less whether you voted or not?  Sounds like some other system, not an American one!
 
If you prefer having a choice over a small group of Republican primary voters choosing for you, then support your local Democratic candidate.  He or she has stepped forward to represent the party on the ballot this fall.  They need your help to win in November and restore the two party system that used to thrive in Utah County.