Morgan Philpot Commercials Rock

I think Morgan Philpot (@morganphilpot) has some of the best ads ever, not since the Nolan Karras campaign have I seen such creativity.

Utah's Top Bloggers 2010 - Thanks for the Nomination.

I found out this morning via Google Alerts that my name was posted to a website called SEO by Swaby, They are running a contest for the Top Bloggers of 2010.  I voted on this site a few days ago for Blogger Holly on the Hill. Well, someone has written my blog in as a nominee. (See Here).  Well I am pretty sure I have no chance of winning, but I thought I would put it out there and ask you all to vote. 


Vote Here - http://seobyswaby.wordpress.com/utahs-top-bloggers/


Thanks to the readers of South Ogden and beyond for your support.  This has been a fun project and look forward to many more years of blogging.

Ballot Issue Constitutional Amendment A - Secret Ballots

When the Utah State Constitution says, "All elections shall be by secret ballot" some are concerned this could be misinterpreted to mean only "sometimes."  This amendment adds new language language to the Utah State Constitution to ensure a secret ballot vote.

Republicans support this measure and state historical facts and potential future legislation as threats to our secret ballot laws. They claim the "Employee Free Choice Act" could trump our state constitution on secret ballot laws. Democrats claim this is simply a message bill that was pushed through the legislature to simply make a statement.

The amendment says, "All elections, including elections under state or federal law for public office, on an initiative or referendum or to designate or authorize employee representation shall be by secret ballot."

So when it said "ALL ELECTIONS," people started to panic it wasn't specific enough. In my opinion.  "Secret Ballots" haven't had a problem since Utah was founded and I am not a fan of messing with the constitution in any form.  I say leave it be and if a problem ever does come up, then we can discuss it.  It's not broken so why fix it.

Hatch Act Violators...how many are there?

Standard Examiner reporter Scott Schwebke (aka @TheChalkOutline) shares with us another potential causality of the infamous Hatch Act (See Here).  Apparently someone has filed potential Hatch Act Violations against Terry Thompson and his competitor Greg Haws, whom are both running for Weber County Sheriff.  Though Mr. Haw's violations have since been dismissed, Terry Thompson's are still in process.  Haws is now bringing this to light because the OSC (U.S. Office of Special Council) is dragging their feet in the investigation.

Haws is quick to point out he isn't using this as a campaign tool against Thompson but instead wants things to be finalized and done with so he can beat Terry the right way.  I find this hard to believe.  But you can read the quote for yourself:

"This isn't a campaign ploy," he said. "I want to beat him (Thompson) on the merits of what I can bring to the table."

It is hard not to think Mr. Haws isn't feeling the heat and wants to this to destroy Terry's campaign.  Heck I would probably do the same thing if I were in his shoes.  But the real question now is, Does Terry Thompson manage any type of Federal Funds and is he now in violation of the Hatch Act?  I brought this same argument up back in March after the caucus meetings.  A number of inside sources had told me both Mr. Haws and Mr. Thompson managed some sort of organization that received Federal Funds.  Apparently Haws has been exonerated in the accusations, but Thompson's violations are still up for debate. 

Two things need to happen.  Either we need to find out who is violating this Hatch Act across the board and kick them out of office or we need to scrap this whole Hatch Act thing.  Too many people are using the Hatch Act as a convenient way to remove someone the don't agree with.  I am betting there are tons of elected officials that are using Federal Funds and are in violation of this act.  They just haven't ticked off the right people yet.

Do you know someone who is violating the Hatch Act or what do you think if this law, feel free to comment?

U.S Senate Candidate Review

We have three candidates running for the U.S. Senate stemming from the "Anyone But Bob" campaign of this previous summer.  These three candidates are as follows:

• Scott N. Bradley (C)
• Mike Lee (R)
• Sam F. Granato (D)

Scott N. Bradley - Mr. Bradley is a champion of the constitution with a PhD in constitutional law.  He is from North Logan and has been involved in management for a number of years. His campaign signs make him look like a mad scientists.  Someone tell him to comb that hair down just a little. Website: www.scottbradleyforsenate.com

Mike Lee - Another constitutional law expert and lawyer.  He clerked for Justice Alito (which could have been anything from making waffles to writing opinions). He is from Alpine and has signs everywhere.  He is a bit to radical for my tastes. Website: www.mikelee2010.com 

Sam F. Granato - Business owner and entrepreneur.  He is on a number of boards including IHC, Beehive Credit Union and Utah Dept of Alcoholic Beverages. I think he brings a well rounded resume to the picture but I would worry about special interests. Website: www.voteforgranato.com

Feel free to comment and share your feelings about the candidates.  As for endorsement, I haven't decided on this one.  Mike Lee is a little much for me but Granato doesn't make me jump either.

U.S Congressional District 1 - Candidate Review

With only two weeks to go, it is time to review our candidates and start making some serious decisions.  Many may have already made up your minds and have already voted.  But for those in South Ogden (or elsewhere) that have not, I thought I would run through a little information about the candidates.

For the U.S. Congressional District 1 we have the following candidates:

• Rob Bishop* (R)
• Morgan Bown (D)
• Kirk D. Pearson (C)
• Jared Paul Stratton (L)

Rob Bishop our current Congressman. For those who don't know Congressman Bishop, he is from Davis County, born in Kaysville and is a former educator.  He has served us well as the * incumbent. Website: www.votebishop.com

Morgan Bowen lives in Hyde Park, is an LDS Seminary Teacher and was a CEO for 15 years of major agricultural company.  Brings some good credentials from the business and agricultural community. Love seeing business management on the ballot, however I haven't seen much campaign work from him. Website: www.votebowen.com

Kirk D. Pearson is from Lake Point, Utah and runs a construction company.  He is very committed to bring America back to what our Founding Fathers believed.  I like people who have started their own business from the ground up, kept it out of debt and are making things work.  Website: www.kirk4congress.com

Jared Paul Stratton is a Lab Tech at the University of Utah who appears to have thrown his hat in the ring simply to make a statement.  I mean, someone has to run for the Libertarians.  Website: www.stratton2010.com

I encourage you to comment on the candidates and check out their websites.  I will be endorsing Rob Bishop for another term in Congress.

Dixon Found

Shortly after my last post, "Where is Dixon Pitcher?"  A number people emailed me to put me in my place regarding Mr. Pitcher and his campaign.  However I stand by my original assessment.  But the kicker was Dixon's phone call to me earlier this evening.  He was incredibly open to my suggestions and we talked a lot about the campaign.  I still think he needs a website and a few other things.  But I can tell he is busy.

Also, I received his first campaign mailer today, just in time for early voting.  I am sure this was his strategy.

Where is Dixon Pitcher?

With the election now only two weeks away, I can’t help to be concerned about our legislative district race between Dixon Pitcher and Randy Rounds. For the past few weeks we have seen a growing number of campaign signs for Randy Rounds, he has walked the streets and knocked on doors. I have received a number of mailers and spoken to him personally. But where is Dixon Pitcher? I know there is a lot of timing that goes into putting up your signage and sending out mailers. Therefore we should see more from him in the next week but I feel he has lost some real ground and is not connecting with voters.

This district has always been strong for the Democratic Party and because of Rep. Brent Wallis and his amazing, tireless campaign work; it was won by the Republicans. Dixon Pitcher has not shown me even a shred of the energy that Wallis showed us. Which leads me to believe this district will go back to the Democrats in 2011. I have had one phone call from Mr. Pitcher asking if I wanted some signs and if Randy had visited my neighborhood. But after that, I have seen nothing. By this point, Mr. Wallis had hit nearly every door in South Ogden. The first of October he had a huge campaign rally and had tons of us going door to door meeting with potential voters. We had maps, clipboards, email addresses, etc. We went to sponsored “meet the candidate” dinners at voters homes and really got to know Brent Wallis. He was out there changing people’s minds who had voted one way for 20+ years.

Many have accused Randy Rounds for poorly written campaign literature, but at least he has some! Mr. Rounds has a website, flyers, posters, signs and more. It hasn’t been updated since May, but it at least it is there. http://randyrounds.weberdemocrats.org/

Mr. Pitcher – Nothing. He is still using his info@jumping.com email as the way to contact him. But gathering more info is difficult.

Currently over 100 people have come to my blog searching for info regarding Dixon Pitcher and Randy Rounds. Randy Round’s readers are staying for over 5 minutes, Dixon pitchers only a few seconds. This either because my blog sucks or that there is nothing to say, we haven’t seen him.

In all fairness, maybe he just isn’t campaigning in my precinct because Randy Round grew up a block from my house and still has family here. However, aside from a few meet the candidate nights, as I have driven around and spoken with other people; they all have the same question:

Where is Dixon Pitcher?