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Show www.dailyutahchronicle.corn UTAH POLITICS 5 Friday January 13, 2012 Elections notebook: what you need to know Bring your popcorn, upcoming Utah politics expected to be a show 44 T his is going to be a phenomenal year. It is an exciting time to be involved in politics in Utah," said Carl Wimmer, candidate for Utah's new Congressional Fourth District who represented District 52. In this case, exciting should also be read as terrifying, foundation-shaking, loud, passionate, ugly, riveting and intense. Pull your eyes away if you can. To get you warmed up, here is a quick guide to the major races and events that are going to reshape Utah's political landscape this year. Utah Governor Republican Gov. Gary Herbert faces his second re-election campaign, having defeated Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon in 2010. If Herbert isn't conservative enough for your taste, several would-be rightwing saviors are on their way to pick up that flag. Morgan Philpot, a former state representative of District 45 who lost a 2010 challenge to Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson, who represented District 2, will run. He's young and recognized as a solid campaigner. Also jumping into the race from the right side of the aisle is Rep. Ken Sumsion from District 56. A certified public accountant, he sees development of Utah's lands as the path to the future. "In the governor's race, public lands will be the number-one issue in this campaign," Sumsion said. He would call for Utah's public lands to be disposed of by the federal government and brought back into control of the state or private sector. Five percent of the proceeds of that change would go to state schools and would open the lands for oil, gas or coal development. "We have to push this issue," he said. "Our schoolchildren are missing out on billions of dollars that could be coming from these lands." Staff for both Herbert and Philpot did not return requests for comment. For those of you who are new to Utah politics, here's how things will play out in all races. The Utah convention is April 23. There, about 3,500 delegates will gather to select the candidates. Those who don't escape with at least 6o percent of the vote will run again during the primary election in June. Those winners go to the general election in November. For the best theater and perhaps the most direct democracy still available, keep focused on that early convention, although it is often criticized for putting the decision-making process in the hands of a small, vocal minority. It was there that then-Tea Party candidate and Sen. Mike Lee took out Sen. Bob Bennett in 2010. "If we were to get rid of the caucus system, it will be the candidate with the most money that will get elected," Sumsion said. "I think this is generally what the American process was like at the founding of our country?' Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon is finishing his final term as Salt Lake County mayor. As LOGAN FROERER Opinion Editor one of the few major races in Utah that tilts to the Democrats, it should be your go-to source for debate that doesn't revolve around endless circles of lower taxes, less regulation and traditional values. Two Salt Lake senators have entered the race. Sen. Ross Romero, who represents District 7 where the U sits, was the first Democrat to join. He's been in the Legislature since 2004 and has been a senator since 2006. Sen. Ben McAdams of District 2 joined the Legislature in 2009 after a special election and was subsequently elected to another four-year term in 2010. McAdams could not be reached for comment by Thursday. These two will balance working together in the Utah Senate through the legislative session with their dueling campaigns to lead the county. For the legislative session, Romero, the senate minority leader, named several priorities that will guide both of their sessions. "We're going to be working on the issues involving immigration, budget issues and the need for more money surrounding higher education," he said. However, above all else, Romero cited the work that needs to be done on public education. "How do we take our students who rank low in per-pupil spending and who are falling behind in class size and in resources, and how do we move them to the top where we often are on management issues and economic issues?" he asked. Once they move past the legislative session, the campaign for Salt Lake County mayor will be complicated because of last year's redistricting process and McAdams' unexpected entrance into the race. McAdams did not announce his candidacy until the statewide redraw was finished. Romero's district merged with another, and his seat will no longer exist, a result he supported because he expected to be a candidate for county mayor. "It did create this challenge as a result of redistricting that I don't have a seat to go back to, and Ben does," Romero said. That reality will underlay Salt Lake Democrats' decisions. If McAdams wins the nomination, Romero will be left out of the political scene. McAdams would still have the ability to return to the Legislature in his current seat. Hatch's Senate Seat Orrin Hatch is in his sixth Senate term and is running for a seventh. That's 36 years so far, gunning for 42. But he's going to have to avoid being flanked from within his own party. The two main challengers to watch are Dan Liljenquist and District 62 Rep. Chris Herrod. If there's any race that provides a pattern of what to expect, it is the 2010 election that saw conservative challengers Lee and Tim Bridgewater knock established Sen. Bennett out of the race during the state convention. The rhetoric of this campaign will likely center on the perceived need to remove an established insider and work to shrink the federal government. "We've got to starve the bureaucracies, like the Department of the Interior, the BLM, and the EPA," Liljenquist said, who cited his experience restructuring the state's Medicaid and pension systems as key experiences. Hatch will come in with money to spend, a recognized name and the ability to use his years of experience as a campaign tool. Still, none of that could matter if the few thousand delegates of the convention rally against him. "We'll never raise as much money as Orrin Hatch raises," Liljenquist said, "but we'll have enough to be competitive and get our message." House of Representatives All four of Utah's House representatives are back up for re-election. However, if you're really looking for political theater, District 4 is going to be your place. Its inaugural campaign promises to be perhaps the state's most electric. Wimmer, one of Utah's most vocal conservatives, has resigned from his seat in the Legislature to channel his time entirely into his campaign. He has already received about $200,000 from more than 500 donors. Through the conventions and primaries, Wimmer will have to get through three competitors. First, Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, who represents District 58 and is perhaps best known for his strict stance on illegal immigration that once included introducing an enforcement bill similar to Arizona's SB 1070. Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love and local attorney Jay Cobb have entered as well. The district, the tightest-packed district that includes southern Salt Lake County and parts of Utah County, will start with the four candidates burnishing their conservative credentials. "The biggest issue by far is passing a balance budget amendment," Wimmer said. Regardless of whether they agree, the other conservative candidates will be gunning for Wimmer, who has the largest profile of the three candidates. Whoever successfully slogs through the convention and primary system with the nomination will then run into one of Utah's most established politicians: Matheson. As the only Democrat representing Utah nationally, he'll be able to run on his extensive experience and reputation as someone who reaches across the aisle. "Jim Matheson does not live in the fourth congressional district," Wim- CHRISTOPHER REEVES/The Daily Utah Chronicle Participants in the Occupy SLC movement meet in a dome structure for one final general assembly to discuss their response to an eviction notice on Nov. 11, 2011. mer said. "He is simply running to further his political career and pad his pockets with the plush benefits Congress gives. Matheson has lost touch with the people of Utah." That's a sense of the electricity this race will generate. And it's only January. This one will be watched around the country. "We are absolutely going to defeat Matheson," Wimmer said. Get your popcorn ready, ladies and gentlemen. Protest Politics Don't forget that there's more to politics than a lot of rich white guys arguing. Keep an eye out for protest politics this year too. Even though the Pioneer Park camp is long gone, Occupy is maintaining a presence in Salt Lake City. They're still meeting, their stickers and signs still pop up on street poles, and they're maintaining a small presence on Gallivan Plaza. Watch to see if they can reconsolidate into some more substantial actions. Could the Utah Legislature and the candidates for these various races be subject to micchecks? We'll see. Although Tim DeChristopher will spend all of 2012 in a jail cell in Herlong, Calif., that doesn't mean Peaceful Uprising will fade out of existence. (Full disclosure: I worked for PeaceUp during DeChristopher's March 2011 trial.) The group is working through some organizational restructuring, but if its foundation gets rebuilt, it could quickly bring the environmental movement back into Utah news. Keep an especially close eye out for the development of a sustained campaign directed toward Rio Tinto and Kennecott, a major factor in the Salt Lake Valley's pollution, led by local artist and activist Cori Redstone. Legislative Session Before anything else takes over the news, the 45 days of the Utah Legislature will dominate Utah's political scene. Although there will be hundreds of important, constructive pieces of legislation moving through, there will also be the news-making bills that are going to lead to a lot of head-scratching. Here's a few to track: Sen. Allen Christensen's Senate Bill 22 would open up permitted hunting of wolves throughout Utah. Just in case anyone feels the need to have a nice wolf head to hang on the wall. Federal regulation of food has come into the sights of Sen. Casey Anderson, whose proposed Senate Bill 34 would "prohibit federal regulation of an agricultural product that remains in Utah after it is made, grown, or produced in Utah." Not only will it prohibit regulation, but if any pesky federal officials try anything, the bill would also "make it a class A misdemeanor for a person to enforce federal regulation of a Utah agricultural product that remains in Utah." The bill will likely be heard, despite the fact that it already has a legislative note attached to it about the "high probability that a court will find that this bill violates the Supremacy Clause" of the Constitution. Speaking of pesky federal regulations, for the third year in a row Rep. Jim Nielson of District 19 will introduce a bill to stop Utah from switching the clocks for daylight saving time. If the past two years are any indication, it will go nowhere. Nonetheless, your representatives will spend time talking about it. Speaking of regulation, is living with and knowing the people you make decisions for just another annoying government rule? It kind of appears that Rep. John Dougall of District 27 might think so. He has written up House Joint Resolution io, which proposes a constitutional amendment to "eliminate the requirement that a legislator reside in the district from which elected or for which appointed." That's 2012 in Utah, folks. If you're not fascinated and terrified by everything that could happen this year, you're not breathing. "2012 will be a year that people remember for decades," Liljenquist said. I'm kind of scared. He is probably right. letters@chronicle.utah.edu |
