Democrat Jim Bradley has been a longtime fixture in Salt Lake County politics. Serving as chairman of the county commission for four years in the early 1990s and the past 12 on the county council, he’s now seeking re-election. In recent years, Bradley has overseen the county’s new urban farming program and the creation of the Unified Police Department which led to some controversy.
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.
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.
The 2012 legislative session is now over. And with no immigration battles or open records fight, it was certainly calmer than 2011. Still, Democratic lawmakers are fuming over a package of bills aimed at starting a fight with the federal government over public lands, and they’re not happy about a new abstinence-only plan for sex education in public schools.
In less than two weeks, the Utah Republican and Democratic parties will hold neighborhood caucus meetings across the state. There, delegates will be chosen for this year’s county and state conventions. And those delegates have a lot of power, choosing the parties nominees to go on the ballot in the November election.
Former Utah House Speaker David Clark now has his sights set on a higher political office, running for Congress in the 2nd District. The state lawmaker of 12 years counts several ethics reforms passed in the Utah legislature among his accomplishments. He joined us to discuss what he has to offer voters.
A new study in Eastern Utah’s energy-rich Uintah Basin is being called the most comprehensive air quality study ever done in Utah. And the study includes participation by oil and gas drillers who extract resources from the basin. We talked with Lowell Braxton of the Western Energy Alliance about how the industry is taking part.
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.
Additional Programming Provided by
