Republican Sean Reyes wants to be Utah’s next Attorney General. He counts among his accomplishments becoming one of the first minority attorneys in the state to make partner at a major law firm and co-founding an organization to help Utahns combat fraud. He joined us in the studio to talk about where he stands on the important issues.
Employers would get rewarded for hiring the homeless, under a bill being proposed this legislative session. Thursday, lawmakers in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee voted in favor of a bill that Democratic Representative Brian King says would compensate businesses with a $1,000 tax credit.
Salt Lake County can be better managed for less. That’s the message of former county councilman Mark Crockett, who’s now hoping to return to county government, this time as mayor. The GOP candidate says millions of dollars can be saved by cutting waste and not overlapping with city services. We asked Crockett what ideas he has to offer voters and delegates heading into the Republican convention a few months away.
As Chief Deputy Utah Attorney General, Republican John Swallow has battled against the federal government on issues like health care reform and public lands. Now, with incumbent Mark Shurtleff retiring at the end of 2012, he’s running for his boss’s job.
Monday marks the start of the 2012 session of the Utah Legislature. So far, it seems all sides agree that education funding should be the state’s top priority – but exactly how to fund education could prove to be a contentious issue, alongside immigration and whether to repeal Utah’s guest worker law, HB 116.
Despite 36 years in the Senate, Republican Utah Senator Orrin Hatch is far from invincible this election year. He might have gotten lucky when Congressman Jason Chaffetz declined to take him on, but now a new challenger has stepped up. Former Republican State Senator Dan Liljenquist made a name for himself in the legislature by tackling public pension and Medicaid reform, no small task for a freshman lawmaker.
Salt Lake County Recorder Gary Ott has a track record when it comes to budget cutting. During his decade on the job, he says he’s trimmed nearly $2.5 million from his office. Now, he’s taking that record to the race for Salt Lake County Mayor, as the first Republican who officially entered the race. He joined us to discuss his accomplishments and vision for the county.
State Senator Ben McAdams has been a rising star in the Utah Democratic Party. The senior adviser to Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker was chosen by his party to fill a vacancy in the Utah Senate starting in 2010, and since then, the young politician has made a name for himself by speaking out in his quiet but humorous style. Now, he’s running for Salt Lake County Mayor, hoping to succeed retiring incumbent Peter Corroon.
Republican Utah Governor Gary Herbert now has some competition as he runs for re-election in 2012. After serving three terms in the legislature and leading this year’s redistricting, GOP Representative Ken Sumsion has entered the race. How does the lawmaker plan to take on the well-funded incumbent, and why does he think he’s the right alternative to Governor Herbert?
Internet entrepreneur Pete Ashdown is once again venturing into politics. The founder and CEO of Salt Lake City-based Internet service provider XMission will make another run for the U.S. Senate in 2012, hoping to tackle the influence of money in government.
