This is a fun time of year, with the big four spectator sports — baseball, football, basketball and politics — all underway with exciting contests.
But important issues are also percolating under the surface that will impact the upcoming legislative session and state politics. We offer different perspectives on issues you’ll read more about in the near future.
What machinations are occurring behind the scenes that will soon be revealed and could have a big impact?
Pignanelli: “The accountability of state legislators is so much more than federal legislators.” — Rob Woodall
Utahns read or hear about legislative leadership when the biennial caucus results are announced, usually within days of the general election. But these emotional contests are waged for months beforehand.
A real cage fight is underway to replace retiring House Speaker Becky Lockhart. Majority Leader Brad Dee, Majority Whip Greg Hughes and former Speaker Mel Brown each have strong attributes and a core group of supporters. Dee hails from Weber County, Hughes from Salt Lake County and Brown from Morgan County — so geography will be a factor. These candidates possess very different personalities, another important feature in these extremely personal races.
The bout for House majority leader is a more gentlemanly competition between Don Ipson (St. George) and Jim Dunnigan (Taylorsville/Kearns). Both are well respected. Dunnigan is the workhorse of the House Caucus, especially health care and ethics reforms. Ipson is a prominent southern Utah businessman and philanthropist. Brad Wilson (Kaysville) is facing Steve Eliason (Sandy) for assistant whip. So far, no one dares irritate the big Texan, Francis Gibson (Mapleton) by challenging him for the whip position.
Senate Majority Leader Ralph Okerlund confronted health issues in the last legislative session, fostering speculation he would retire and force alterations in Senate leadership. He is looking vibrant and his colleagues support his return as leader. Senate President Wayne Neiderhauser leads with dignity and fairness. Thus, no expected changes in the upper house.
Legislative leaders provide a subtle — but strong — direction to state policy on every issue. Those secret ballots in the mid-November caucus elections are important to Utahns.
Webb: You read it here first: An unprecedented coalition of prominent advocates for the Big Three — education, transportation and water — will shake up the legislative session when they jointly and unapologetically ask for something scarier than Halloween: a meaningful tax increase.
Facing a population boom, crowded classrooms (lowest per-pupil funding in the nation), highway congestion, dirty air, future water shortages and reduced federal funding, advocates from normally competing interest groups will decide they are better together — they will be more effective by jointly asking for a tax increase instead of fighting each other for existing scarce funds.
Each interest group makes a strong case. If Utah’s economy is to remain strong and provide for double the population, we must invest more in education quality and reform. We must invest more in highways and public transit. And we must invest more in water infrastructure.
I have been saying for months that if the three groups go to Capitol Hill independently and fight among themselves for limited dollars, they will fail. Instead, they must form a broad coalition and make a strong case, backed by thousands of supporters, that it’s time for additional revenue.
Certainly, low taxes attract businesses. But failing schools, congested roads and crumbling water infrastructure repel businesses.
My baby-boom generation is already leaving our children and grandchildren with massive debt obligations, while we enjoy our Social Security and Medicare benefits. Can’t we at least give them a good education?
Let’s find out which Utah politicians have the courage to invest in Utah’s future.
Will any local issues drive the upcoming general elections or are candidates just riding (or trying to avoid) the GOP wave?
Pignanelli: So far, the biggest push for most candidates is name identification, followed with the traditional pump for public education, lower taxes, etc. Polls are indicating the most energized voters are those angry or supportive of federal policies (mostly the former), causing conjectures national emotions will govern Utah elections.
Webb: With few close races, Utah election contests are mostly predictable. Republicans will dominate across the board. The failures of the Obama administration on so many fronts have created a toxic atmosphere for Democrats running at any level of government. The only question is how big the GOP sweep will be.
Will the U.S. Supreme Court refusal to hear the same-sex marriage cases have an impact on national and local elections?
Pignanelli: The announcement coincided with early and mail-in voting in Utah. So many voters can use the ballot as an immediate outlet for their initial reactions, which may impact some elections.
Webb: Nationally, most swing states and districts are split on same-sex marriage, so candidates are avoiding the issue. In safe political jurisdictions, including most in Utah, conservative candidates will criticize the Supreme Court decision, while liberals will praise it. But it will have little influence on election outcomes.
Republican LaVarr Webb is a political consultant and lobbyist. Previously he was policy deputy to Gov. Mike Leavitt and Deseret News managing editor. Email: lwebb@exoro.com. Democrat Frank Pignanelli is a Salt Lake attorney, lobbyist and political adviser. Pignanelli served 10 years in the Utah House of Representatives, six years as minority leader. His spouse, D'Arcy Dixon Pignanelli, is a state tax commissioner. Email: frankp@xmission.com.