In our special edition of the program today, we hosted a debate for Salt Lake City Council District Six, representing the city’s east bench including neighborhoods like Foothill and Yalecrest. Incumbent J.T. Martin has been in office for one term. But he took second place in the September primary election to challenger Charlie Luke, whose slogan has been “fix District Six.”
Former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson pulls no punches when giving his thoughts on the state of the Democratic Party, describing it as both “spineless” and “gutless.” Citing the party’s unwillingness to fight for universal healthcare, lack of opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and over-reliance on corporate money, the former mayor has quit for good.
It’s official: Republican State Representative Carl Wimmer is in the running for Congress. The conservative lawmaker and co-founder of the legislature’s states-rights oriented Patrick Henry Caucus expects to run in the state’s new 4th congressional district, after the final boundaries are adopted next week.
Utah lawmakers haven’t been able to reach an agreement on how to re-draw the state’s congressional boundaries, as the redistricting process has created a firestorm of controversy, generated protests and led to the threat of a lawsuit. Utah Republican Party Chair Thomas Wright joined Democratic Party Chair Jim Dabakis in the studio for a discussion and debate about what’s happening with redistricting in Utah.
Since Peter Corroon’s election in 2004, a Democrat has been Mayor of Salt Lake County. But he pledged to serve no more than two terms, and his second term comes to an end next year. Now after 7 years in the Utah Legislature, Senate Minority Leader Ross Romero is hoping to succeed him. After publicly announcing his bid for the mayor’s seat Thursday night, he joined us in the studio.
The execution of Troy Davis in Georgia has people across the nation riled up about the state of American justice. And here in Utah, the recent exoneration of two people who spent several years in prison has shined a spotlight on our state’s justice system.
In just over two weeks, the Utah Legislature will meet in a special session and vote on the final redistricting maps for the Utah Senate, House of Representatives, Congress and the state school board. It’s the culmination of a months-long series of public hearings held across the state and at the Capitol.
There’s another tragic event that happened on a September 11th that Utahns are familiar with – the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857. This Sunday, the site of that massacre will be formally designated as a National Historic Landmark. It was a tragic legacy of the Utah War, a conflict that may not be that well known outside of Utah, but is well known to our guest. William MacKinnon is author of At Sword’s Point, a compilation of his extensive research on the Utah War.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert is continuing his push to promote Utah’s economy with a trip to New York City. Unemployment in the state is hovering around seven and a half percent. What’s his reaction to President Obama’s jobs speech Thursday night, and what plans does he have to offer Utahns who don’t have a job and put them back to work?
While Utah lawmakers re-draw their own boundaries, Salt Lake County has an independent redistricting commission. We talked about its work with commission chair Janice Rasmussen and county elections director Scott Konopasek.
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