A local initiative decrying corporate personhood is gaining traction. Thousands of Salt Lake City residents have signed the Move to Amend petition, calling for a ballot initiative this November that would ask state and federal officials to uphold that money is not speech, and that only humans have constitutional rights.
Campaign financing was a hot topic during a debate last night between two Utah Democrats vying for U.S. Senate, former State Senate Minority Leader Scott Howell and XMission founder and President Pete Ashdown. When Ashdown asked Howell about past money he’d taken from political action committees, or PACs, Howell acknowledged he had done so, but said it wasn’t used to buy his support.
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.
Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Peter Cooke is the candidate whose priorities are most in line with Utah voters, according to two surveys performed by the non-partisan research organization Utah Foundation. As KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports, the latest survey gauges the candidates’ top ten priorities and compares them with answers to the 2012 Utah Priorities Survey, which lists the top issues and concerns of Utah voters for the upcoming election.
Governor Gary Herbert is defending his decision to sign a bill demanding the federal government transfer its public lands in Utah to the state by the end of 2014, despite a warning from legislative attorneys that it could be declared unconstitutional. Speaking at his monthly news conference on KUED, Herbert said the legislation has been mischaracterized.
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.
Sex education, including discussion of contraception, will continue in Utah schools. Friday night, Governor Gary Herbert vetoed House Bill 363, which would have required schools teach abstinence-only or nothing at all. Senate President Michael Waddoups believes it was a good piece of legislation, and a special session to overturn the veto could be in the cards.
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.
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