My Votes and My Predictions
Ok…I’ve voted. Now its time for the reasoning behind my votes and my predictions.
County Government
How I voted and why:
Rob Miller (D) may have a shot at winning commission seat A. I sure hope he does because he is the finest candidate for local office I’ve ever seen. He listens to everyone and is excellent at creating a dialog between people with seemingly opposing philosophies. Rob has great ideas for Davis County and the courage to publicize and eliminate stupid government mistakes. His opponent, Bret Millburn (R), is a nice and honorable guy but as far as I’ve been able to determine his only other qualification for office is that he is a warm Republican body. Vague platitudes and parroting of an opponent’s ideas do not make for a compelling campaign.
Louenda Downs (R) and Chris Martinez (D) are running for seat B. It took me a while to cast a vote on this one. I like Chris Martinez a lot yet am absolutely impressed with Louenda Down’s resume. Ms. Down’s resume put her over the top and she won my vote.
All other candidates for Office in Davis County are uncontested Republicans (I am ignoring third parties). I voted for Jim Ivie for Assessor and Max Elliott for Surveyor. I know and like both men and consider them well qualified for office. I don’t know any of the other candidates and am hesitant to vote for a candidate with an (R) behind his name who I don’t know.
What will likely happen:
It is likely that Republicans will win all local races as is typical for Davis County. This is unfortunate for all of us because the lack of partisan competition in these races has left Republicans able to do whatever they want in Davis County with very little accountability. Raising taxes will get you kicked out of office even if the taxes are needed because reactionary Republicans rule the day. Raising your pay to 6 figures and giving yourself a $600/month vehicle allowance won’t hurt you because there is no partisan pressure to encourage moderation.
State Government
How I voted and why:
I voted for Kim Burningham for State School Board mostly because of this blog post. Utah is doing a great job educating our kids using far less money than any other state. The administrators and teachers responsible for this success need to be honored and rewarded…even if they are wrong in not supporting tax credits for families who want to send their kids to private schools.
I voted for the Democratic Candidates for all other state offices. I don’t know any of the candidates and as I’ve stated above…I default Democratic if I don’t know the guy because we need to break the Soviet like dominance Republicans have over Utah’s government.
What will likely happen:
The Soviet like dominance of Republicans in Utah will continue. We need to keep trying to get reasonable/moderate people involved in the Democratic Party so Utah can have decent and ethical government. This will be a successful effort but it may take some time. We need to marginalize our crazies first then encourage reasonable people to join up by promoting fair and ethical representation from their government. Healthy partisan competition benefits constituents no matter how they vote.
Federal Government
Steve Olsen (D) won my vote. For the most part I like his philosophies on government and he is an honest and honorable guy. I could do with a little less of the class warfare rhetoric but I guess I have to deal with that since I am supporting Democrats. Hopefully we can get candidates in Utah who will be more hesitant to use envy to motivate voters to support them. Rob Bishop (R) has proven good at listening to his constituents and he has an excellent staff. His argument that voting with Republicans 90% of the time benefits Utahns is absurd and loses him any chance of me voting for him.
Pete Ashdown (D) won my vote because he is new, he’s an actual Utahn, and he is a master of communicating with Utahns. His technological innovations throughout this campaign will hopefully be adopted by other candidates for office. They allow a greater amount of input from constituents than ever before. I disagree with Ashdown profoundly on several topics but his benefits outweigh his drawbacks. There was never a chance I’d vote for Orrin Hatch (R). He is utterly worthless as a Senator from Utah. He needs to be retired back to Pennsylvania where he can write songs no one will ever listen to for the rest of his days.
What will likely happen:
Bishop will be re-elected and Hatch will keep his senate seat for another 30-40 years if he can stay alive that long. For some reason Utahns love the guy.
I also believe that Republicans will maintain dominance of both houses of Congress. I think Democrats nationally have done a very poor job stating why they are better than the Republicans in nearly every area of interest to voters. They haven’t said how they will help the already good economy (I don’t consider a raise in the minimum wage an improvement). They haven’t stated how they will do better than Republicans in keeping America safe from its enemies. They’ve done a good job cataloging the real and harmful errors of the Republicans in this area but they haven’t explained why they are a better alternative. Until they can do this we will continue to see Republican wins because by default most Americans have shown that they trust Republicans to do a better job keeping America secure even after seeing the Republicans fail time and time again in this effort. National Democrats often hide from the strong arguments in their favor because they are politically tone deaf and out of touch with most Americans. If we are going to get good responsive and politically competitive government we need our party to do a better job appealing to Americans for their votes because we deserve them…not because the Republicans are so horrible.
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“The Soviet like dominance of Republicans in Utah…”
Huh? I think a more apt comparison to the Utah Republican party be the Visigoth’s, because nobody knows what an Ostrogoth was. Just as nobody will know what a Deemocrot was after the Republican dynasty reaches it’s apex.
Comment by Tyler Farrer — October 24, 2006 @ 11:23 am
Ugh…the Republican dynasty hasn’t reached its apex yet? How sad for me and the 3-5 other “Deemocrots” in Davis county!
Comment by Jeremy Manning — October 24, 2006 @ 2:09 pm
We do need a second party to become competitive in Utah to approach good government. Your analysis of what Dems need to do to build support is quite cogent.
Comment by Reach Upward — October 25, 2006 @ 8:50 am
“The Soviet like dominance of Republicans in Utah…”
I’m not sure what is Soviet-like about the Republicans’ dominance. I guess the comparison is lost on me.
It’s clear Republicans overwhelmingly control state politics in Utah, and politics in most counties (but not Salt Lake County). I guess the “problem” is that (a) voters like Republicans more, and (b) the Democrats can’t shake their national party’s reputation created in recent years by the extremists who control the party.
I guess that’s the reason most Democratic candidates are ashamed to indicate their political party on their campaign signs. I’m impressed by those few Democrats who have the courage to put it on their signs and own up to it. That alone may be reason to vote for them. As for the others, if they feel so strongly that an overwhelmingly Republican majority is not good for Utah, they should proudly state that they are Democrats. A few weeks ago I made a vow to not vote for any Democrat whose signs don’t say what party he or she belongs to.
Finally, the one place I think political party really does mean something is with federal candidates. The first vote a Democratic congressman will cast in January will be for Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the house. Nothing against her personally, but she represents the very fringe, loopy liberal philosophy that turns off so many Utahns from the Democratic party.
Comment by Frank Johns — October 25, 2006 @ 8:34 pm
The Constitution Party has the same problem: crazy extremists that can tell you what they stand for, but can’t tell you what they’ll do. Principle Before Policy, that’s them.
Comment by Jesse — October 25, 2006 @ 10:12 pm
Frank,
I like your philosophy about not voting for Dems who are afraid to put their party on their signs.
Republican dominance is “soviet-like” in that our government in Utah isn’t decided in the general election it is decided by the Republican party in its caucus and conventions just as leaders in Soviet Russia were chosen by the Politburo then the Supreme Soviet before being “elected” by the voters in the general elections.
Jesse,
I used to be a 3rd party supporter too. I just don’t think they work well in our system for lots of reasons…but mainly the one you cite. The extremists always rule the day and there is never a platform for dealing with real life issues.
Unfortunately the modern Democratic Party has been acting a lot like a third party itself. That will change soon though. I really think Republicans have worn out their welcome. Change is coming. Maybe not this election…but soon.
Comment by Jeremy Manning — October 25, 2006 @ 11:13 pm
Thanks for your vote Jeremy.
Comment by Pete Ashdown — October 26, 2006 @ 7:11 am
Pete,
Thanks for the comment
Nice to see you have time during the campaign to check up on blogs.
You earned my vote. I watched you and Hatch on KSL last night and I really think anyone who paid attention to the substance of the discussion has to agree that you would be a far better Senator for Utah than Orrin Hatch has been. Thank you.
Comment by Jeremy Manning — October 26, 2006 @ 7:23 am
Thank you.
Comment by Rob Miller — October 26, 2006 @ 9:43 pm
Kim Burningham is more diserving of the “Soviet Style” label. He sides with the secular humanist phlisophies of education, defers more to the UEA than the parents of school children, and is not a supporter of free market reform for education. What is more Soviet than a government school system that refuses to consider reforms that benefit individual students? A vote for Burningham is a vote for more of the same and higher spending to pay teachers more regardless of their competence. Good teachers should be paid more. Bad teachers should be shown the door.
Comment by Don Milne — October 27, 2006 @ 11:06 am
Siiighhh… I was just telling my husband the other day that I don’t think Ashdown has a chance. Orrin Hatch will continue to be elected until he retires. Or dies, like you said.
Comment by Sare — October 28, 2006 @ 1:59 pm