State Central Committee Meeting - 6/14/08

Not a meeting to attend if you were in need of sleep

By Ricky Hatch
House Legislative District 6 Chair

I told my friend Tiffany who came with me to the State Central Committee meeting that she should probably bring a book to read, because sometimes these meetings can be real yawners. I was wrong.

The Constitution and Bylaws Committee has a new email, cb@utgop.org, where you can submit your thoughts and ideas for all of them to read. This is helpful, because a new section, Section 7.5 of the Bylaws, "Standing Convention Rules," was given to the SCC in draft format on Saturday. They want us to read it, comment on it, and vote on it before November.

Lt. Governor Herbert spoke about the Presidential race being a race of personality (Obama) versus principles (McCain). He thanked everyone for their support in the Governor's re-election campaign, and stated that they'll be focusing primarily on the economy, especially on how they can help enable the private sector to succeed mostly by getting out of its way. He also talked about the controversy over the State Treasurer's race. I'll summarize his comments below.

We voted to fill a vacant position of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee. Jack Powers was elected with 30 votes. Mike Thompson got 23 votes and Kristin Chevrier (French for "goat raiser" - I'm serious) got 18 votes. There were a lot more than 71 people there.

A few amendments to the Bylaws and Resolutions gave the meeting its verve. If you want to see them, click here: Every one was voted down, after some lively debate on both sides. Our own Weber Country GOP Chairman Matt Bell made a good point in one of the debates.

Rob Bishop gave a relaxed one-minute speech from the back of the auditorium, sitting down. He mentioned that on July 2nd, the Republicans in office will make a Declaration of Energy Independence, introducing legislation to reduce our dependency on foreign oil.

National Committeewoman Nancy Lord talked about the fundamental proposed reform on when presidential primaries can be held. The Republican Rules Committee passed the Ohio Plan, which is a hybrid of a couple of different plans, and which is (surprise, surprise) the least controversial plan out there. It breaks the states out into 5 pods. 1-The "First States," (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and 1 or 2 more I can't remember) which would have their primaries on February 1st. 2-The "Small States," including all territories, and states with 3-5 electoral votes. They'll vote anytime after the Monday of the 3rd week of February. Pods 3-5 are the Rotating Pods, which are made up of the following:

X – Utah and several other states

Y – California and other "medium-sized states"

Z – New York and other "large states"

The order of these states' voting will be determined by a lottery in 2012, and then will rotate for the next presidential 2 election cycles. i trying to get Utah (& 3 other states) added to the first pod, which would put our elections earlier than most?

The Utah Republican Women spoke about the upcoming conference at the SLCC Larry H. Miller campus in Sandy. The conference is called, "From Sea to Shining Sea," and looks to be excellent. It's on Saturday, June 28th. For more info, click here and go down to the April 29th entry. You'll be glad you did.

The Republican Hispanic Assembly raised $25,000 for John McCain, the highest donation amount by any Hispanic Assembly in the 50 states!

The Teenage Republicans are sending 7 kids to Washington DC next week, the most kids they've ever sent. They need an advisor for their Weber County chapter. Please, someone step forward and help these great kids make a difference!

Lt. Governor Herbert's discussion of the Treasurer controversy:

A complaint was filed about an alleged election code violation by Mark Walker. The Lt. Gov's office's responsibility is to gather the information and make a determination as to whether or not the alleged wrongdoing warrants an investigation by the Attorney General's office. The Lt. Governor is a friend of both Republican candidates and stated repeatedly that his first duty is to the public, and that he is being completely neutral in this information gathering.

LG Herbert said that there's a lot of information to gather and process, and he can't possibly have it resolved prior to the primary elections. Some people, Enid Greene included, feel that she should make his decision prior to the primaries. He and his attorney said that even if they could have gathered all of the info in time, they legally cannot resolve the issue before the general election. Why? - you'll have to get the non-Cliff Notes version of the committee meeting, probably by calling the Lt. Gov's office. There are options and possible resolutions other than going through the Lt. Gov's office.

The Utah State Supreme Court decided on Friday that Lt. Gov. Herbert did NOT have to reveal his findings and opinion prior to the primaries. Herbert said this was a victory for the Separation of Powers of the State.

A couple of articles on this issue: Utah court enters election flap; and High court to weigh alleged election-code breach.

--
Carpe Diem