Two items this week — possible long-term impacts of the voucher vote and who may be Salt Lake City's next mayor.
First, Utahns have the rare, but important, opportunity next Tuesday to have a direct say in how school policy is conducted in this state.
Adopting, as we have, a republic form of government, we elect governors, legislators, mayors and council members to make most of our governmental decisions for us.
Tuesday, all registered voters in the state will get the chance to vote on Referendum No. 1, private school vouchers.
And so, in the most direct way, individual Utahns will decide whether we provide tuition vouchers of between $500 and $3,000 per child to parents who send their children to private schools.
I won't try to summarize the pros and cons to private school vouchers, which were adopted by a slim vote in the 2007 Legislature.
Between all the voucher advertising now around, I suggest that you read the official Voter Information Pamphlet, which has a good, nonpartisan summary of how the new law would work, along with a few pro and con opinion pieces about vouchers. You can read the pamphlet online for yourself at elections.utah.gov.
Except perhaps in an election for governor, the voucher vote Tuesday is not only an exercise in citizen government but a seldom-seen chance to change the course of your government.
The new voucher program, in itself, may not be as big a swing of public education operations as some may say. But over time, it has the potential to significantly change not only our public education operations, but Utah society itself.
Think how different our daily lives would be if Utah had a large religious-based private education system.
Now, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have, over time, wisely refused to operate such a K-12 system themselves. And there is no indication that church leaders would start up such a system should vouchers become law.
But whose to say that, over decades, LDS-based elementary, junior and high schools would not grow up outside of official church operations?
Utah society is unique among the states. Nowhere is one religious denomination so dominant. And, at least for now, few other states also have such a large majority of one political party.
Yes, we have constitutional and statutory restraints on the majority imposing its will on the minority. But after watching 30 years of Republican rule in the statehouse, I can say that the state governmental system has been bent to accommodate Republicans. Would a private-school system, partly funded by tax dollars, be bent to accommodate Mormons?
Vouchers should stand or fall on their own merits.
And GOP leaders — both Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and Republican lawmakers — say they will abide by the will of the voters as reflected Tuesday.
But knowing lawmakers as I do, I find it hard to believe that vouchers will not find their way back into the Legislature in some form — if not the broad-ranging law reflected in HB148, then perhaps a special tuition-assistance program in some smaller iteration.
When you have been making decisions for someone else for a long time, whether that is a much beloved child growing into adulthood or constituents who are too busy with their regular lives to run government hands-on, you tend to believe you know what is best.
And you may resent it when those under you stand up and speak for themselves.
We'll see how Huntsman and GOP legislators react if citizens reject vouchers on Tuesday.
• Now, here are my picks in Tuesday's elections:
I see Ralph Becker as Salt Lake City's next mayor. He's the Democrat in the race, and city voters haven't elected a Republican in more than 30 years. GOP candidate Dave Buhler is a fine man, as is Becker. But the political odds were just stacked too much against Buhler. If this plays out as I see it, this would be Buhler's second loss in a mayoral final, and I don't see him seeking the post again.
And I see private school vouchers going down in defeat, perhaps in a very close vote.
In any case, make sure you get out and vote — a lot really is riding on your participation.
Deseret Morning News political editor Bob Bernick Jr. may be reached by e-mail at bbjr@desnews.com