If you are undecided or having second thoughts about who you should vote for, here are my endorsements in the Republican Primary Race:
U. S. SENATE - VOTE DAN LILJENQUIST
I have known Dan and seen his work at the State Legislature. He is sharp, articulate, and experienced at handling difficult issues. An example includes Utah's massive and toxic pension problem that Dan was able to reform successfully and keep Utah out of insolvency. We need reformers like him in Washington. VOTE DAN LILJENQUIST!
STATE AUDITOR - VOTE FRUGAL...VOTE JOHN DOUGALL
John is another candidate that I have watched at the Capitol. I respect John's tenacity for getting to the root of problems and making cogent and reasoned arguments for change. He has served on the Executive Appropriations Committee (the architects of the entire State's $12.8 Billion budget) for years. He is extremely conservative fiscally and besides being "Frugal Dougall" he has been nicknamed "Cut-Cut Dougall" by his fellow EAC members. If you want to root out even more waste, fraud, and government misspending, VOTE DOUGALL. He is more than just a CPA.
STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL - VOTE SEAN REYES
Sean is a good Republican and well respected in the community. Alan Hall of Marketstar has given Sean his endorsement among many others. He is a high achiever with many professional recognitions to his name. He is also family man.
Much has been said in the media lately about a SuperPAC smear campaign that has attempted soil Mr. Reyes reputation. These ads are nothing more than a misleading character assassination of the worst sort.
When Mr. Reyes opponent Mr. Swallow was interviewed on the radio about the salaciousness of the ads, Mr. Swallow's response was (paraphrasing): "Well, he hasn't refuted what is in those ads. Oh, and by the way we are really proud of our 'clean' campaign." When Mr. Reyes filed a defamatory claim in court over the ads, Mr. Swallows response on the radio was: "Mr. Reyes is really defaming me instead because lawsuits are a protected form of speech and he can say whatever he wants in his suit." Sigh...such a slippery and lawyerly explanation for NOT denouncing an obviously ugly, indecent, and toxic message . No thank you. VOTE SEAN REYES!
Much has been said in the media lately about a SuperPAC smear campaign that has attempted soil Mr. Reyes reputation. These ads are nothing more than a misleading character assassination of the worst sort.
When Mr. Reyes opponent Mr. Swallow was interviewed on the radio about the salaciousness of the ads, Mr. Swallow's response was (paraphrasing): "Well, he hasn't refuted what is in those ads. Oh, and by the way we are really proud of our 'clean' campaign." When Mr. Reyes filed a defamatory claim in court over the ads, Mr. Swallows response on the radio was: "Mr. Reyes is really defaming me instead because lawsuits are a protected form of speech and he can say whatever he wants in his suit." Sigh...such a slippery and lawyerly explanation for NOT denouncing an obviously ugly, indecent, and toxic message . No thank you. VOTE SEAN REYES!
Thanks Jeremy! :-D
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insights, Jeremy, most of your choices were mine!
ReplyDeleteVotesperrydist40@aol.com
Mr. Peterson One question for you, as a taxpayer in the state, Were you there for this free meal?
ReplyDeleteLoophole lets thousands in lobbyist expenses go unreported
Ethics » Money spent feeding and entertaining lawmakers doesn’t have to be reported.
By Robert Gehrke
| The Salt Lake Tribune
First Published Jul 30 2012 06:27 pm • Last Updated Jul 30 2012 10:37 pm
Dressed in cowboy boots and belt buckles, a handful of Utah legislators, including leaders of the body, gathered last week at This is the Place Heritage Park for dinner and a hoedown with Utah lobbyists.
A night earlier, Zions Bank hosted Republican legislators from across the country, including those from Utah, who were attending the American Legislative Exchange Council’s annual conference at a reception at the Utah Museum of Natural History.
And because of a loophole built into Utah’s lobbyist disclosure laws in 2010, none of the expenditures or attendees have to be reported. It is an exception that has allowed thousands of dollars of lobbyist expenditures — a majority of what is spent entertaining and feeding legislators — to go unreported.
Kim Burningham, chairman of the group Utahns for Ethical Government, said that "it troubles me" that there is a loophole for the meals at conferences.
"I believe in lobbying, but lobbyists should provide information, not favors," Burningham said. "If [the meal] is being picked up by a lobbyist, you have to ask why they would do that. I think it is to buy influence and I think that’s questionable behavior."
Senate Majority Leader Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, co-sponsored the 2010 bill that tightened some lobbyist gift rules — like prohibiting a lobbyist paying for a lawmaker’s ticket to a Jazz game or covering green fees on a golf course — but created the conference loophole. He said that, when dozens of legislators and spouses and families are attending lobbyist-sponsored events at conferences, it makes it difficult to keep track of how much is spent on each.
And sometimes at national conferences there are legislators from other states attending, which makes reporting even more challenging.
"It just makes it impossible to report," Jenkins said. "It got complicated enough that that was what we decided to do."
Jay Magure, vice president of government relations for 1-800 Contacts, which organized the ALEC State Night dinner last week, said about 20 legislators attended and he and other lobbyists picked up the tab for the evening. He said it is the norm in other states to not have to report the state night dinners.
"I don’t know that I’ve ever had to report a state night," he said. "If they allow you to do meals, generally speaking, conferences are exempted."
Next week, about 50 people — lobbyists and Utah legislators — will gather at Keefer’s Restaurant in Chicago, which was called the best steakhouse in the city by The Food Network and one of America’s Top 10 steakhouses by Playboy magazine.
Thank you,
James Mcbeath
James,
ReplyDeleteI was at home with my wife and kids, or at the Splashpad in Roy cooling down with my wife and kids, or sweating it out at the Riverdale Drive-In with my wife and kids. I didn't attend ALEC.
Best Regards,
Jeremy Peterson