Calendar

Message from the Chair

On September 26, the state Democratic Party Central Committee met at the Provo Library. Party Chair Wayne Holland asked me to welcome the participants and give a report on what we had been doing in Utah County. It was a pleasure to tell the other party chairs and vice chairs what we had accomplished over the past couple of years. It reminded me of how far we have gone in such a short time.

I told them we were building an organization across the county with the election of legislative district chairs and vice chairs, as well as precinct chair recruitment.

I mentioned that we were holding precinct chair training to help each precinct chair better understand how important they are to the party organization and the election of candidates.

They heard about how much we had gained electorally in 2008 - recruiting 13 candidates, getting over 40,000 votes collectively, winning 16 precincts and getting 40 percent or more in 57 precincts, and having three of our candidates get in the 40 percent range. This was a success record that hadn't been accomplished since Bill Orton served in Congress.

I wanted to thank all of the hundreds of people who have been active in making those accomplishments possible. We have achieved alot together.

We're already gearing up for the 2010 campaign. We need to build on the foundation we established in 2008.

How can you help right now?

1. Offer to help your precinct chair with your own precinct organization.
2. Attend the party events. Show your support.
3. If you're a precinct chair, attend the training.
4. Sign and circulate one of the petitions for ethics and fair boundaries.

Working together, we can bring change in Utah County.

Richard Davis
Chair

Visit with Senator Reid

Richard Davis

I visited with Senator Harry Reid at his office in Washington recently 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.

Spotlight on new district chairs: Debbie Swenson, Scott Ferrin

Robbyn Scribner

We are happy to announce that all 13 legislative district chairmanships were filled at our County Convention. It has been years since we have had a full slate of district chairs--an important step in building momentum as a party. These officers volunteer a great deal of time, and their work will be instrumental in getting democrats elected in 2010. Please show your gratitude by supporting their efforts to improve involvement in the political process across the county.

In the coming months, we will be profiling each of our new district chairs in the newsletter and on our website.

Debbie Swenson
District 66

Debbie Swenson, from Salem, and her husband Kenneth have 6 children and 11 grandchildren. When asked about her professional life, Debbie joked that she is a “professional volunteer.” She has been a member of the Nebo School Board for the past 7 years, and she also serves on the Utah School Boards Association Board of Directors. As a school board member, Debbie started attending sessions at the state legislature to gather support for educational issues. However, as a lifelong Republican, Debbie was surprised to learn that because of her association with public education, many of the Republican legislators saw her as the enemy. As Debbie spent more and more time at the legislature, she gradually became dissatisfied with one-party rule. Debbie then read the Utah County Democratic Platform and said, “I’m a Democrat! And I didn’t even know it.” She didn’t officially change her party affiliation until last year when she ran for the State Legislature as a Democrat in District 66 (and did very well in the election). Debbie is excited to continue working with the party as a district chair in her hopes to restore balance to our state government. Our thanks go out to Debbie for her hard work, dedication, and willingness to serve.

Scott Ferrin
Distrct 64

Scott Ferrin is originally from Arizona, but he has lived in Utah for much of his adult life. He works at BYU as a professor both in the School of Educational Leadership, and the law school, and he is also a scholar at the Wheatley Institute. He and his wife Davi, a former university professor who is now teaching kindergarten, have 2 kids, ages 11 and 18. Scott says he was a political independent at age 18, but then he grew up, and by 21 he was a Democrat. Scott is an “unabashed fan” of public education, which is one of his reasons for getting involved in local government, but he also has high hopes for seeing more balance in our political system. Scott thinks that strengthening the Democratic party will actually help Utah Republicans get their own party back, since the Republican Party's current leadership doesn’t really even represent members of its own party very well. We share his belief that a strong two-party system will greatly benefit all Utahns, and we thank Scott and all our new district chairs for their willingness to get involved and improve our state government.