Salt Lake City’s plans to restrict electronic billboards survived during this year’s legislative session. But changes will still be coming to the city’s anti-idling ordinance. Mayor Ralph Becker joined us in the studio to discuss the impact of this year’s session, along with City Creek and his efforts to fight against the SkiLink proposal being pushed through Congress.
Usually, political candidates who want to go to Washington pledge to put Utah first. But University of Utah engineering professor Joe Andrade, a candidate for the state’s 2nd Congressional District, says he’d put Utah third. He’s says it’s the planet that comes first.
Salt Lake City Council Chair Soren Simonsen is setting his sights on higher office, filing to run as a Democrat against Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz in District 3. Simonsen says he’s been contemplating the bid for a couple of years, as the possibility of Utah gaining a fourth district became apparent. He says he’s most interested in giving local governments more representation on the national level.
West Valley City Mayor Mike Winder is plowing ahead with his bid for Salt Lake County Mayor. The candidate has picked up the support of several elected officials in the valley, including mayors and lawmakers. But the chair of the county Republican party has opposed his candidacy, after he admitted to and apologized for writing newspaper articles about his city under the name Richard Burwash.
Republicans wanting a voice in Utah’s political process were given that chance last night as thousands of new delegates and precinct chairs were elected at GOP caucus meetings across the state. KCPW’s Jessica Gail was at Hawthorne Elementary in Salt Lake City and reports on what people there had to say about the upcoming elections.
Republican Utah Senator Mike Lee’s decision to vote against all of President Obama’s judicial nominees in protest of his controversial recess appointments could put him in an awkward situation when a Utah judge comes up for a vote. Every Friday, we talk with Thomas Burr, Washington Correspondent for the Salt Lake Tribune and author of Political Cornflakes, a daily, online round-up of Utah politics.
Today, Utah Republicans will flock to their caucuses across the state, following the Democrats’ meetings held Tuesday. And with his bid for a seventh term in office on the line, it’s a huge day for longtime Republican Senator Orrin Hatch. KCPW’s Jeff Robinson spoke with both Hatch and challenger Dan Liljenquist, and has this report.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert’s 2012 campaign kickoff last night came only five days after the end of the annual session of the Utah Legislature, which had less discord than in years past, but at least a few sharply divisive issues. And with Republicans holding their caucuses tomorrow to select delegates to the convention, he hopes they’ll listen to his message of job creation.
Weber County Attorney Dee Smith became the first Democrat to enter the race for Utah Attorney General this morning . As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, Smith has the support of prominent Democrats, but they say he’s a candidate for the people, not politics.
While the Catholic Church has battled the Obama administration on mandatory contraception coverage for health insurance plans, Utah’s dominant religion, which does not oppose birth control, has been quiet on the issue. But that doesn’t mean prominent LDS Church members like Mitt Romney and Orrin Hatch have stayed silent.
Additional Programming Provided by
