Utah has very low voter turnout, we’re almost last. Yet we claim to be a patriotic state. But how can you have a democracy if you do not have citizen involvement? I hope Fruit Heights has a larger percentage of people who do vote. Either way, please get out and vote this year. Take some time to learn about the issues and candidates running for office.
You can start voting now (here are the early voting locations – the closest to us is at the Farmington County Courthouse) until October 29 (Friday) or wait for the general election on November 2, 2010 starting at 7am.
Here’s a Utah voting pamphlet for all counties. Here is a link to the ballot questions (which always throw me off but they are all concerning changes to the state constitution).
One of the most confusing parts of voting is knowing what district you are in. If you’re living in Fruit Heights you are in:
Legislative District: 17
Senate District: 22
School Board District: 5
The big race is Mike Lee and Sam Granato who are running for Senate (to replace Bob Bennett). My big issue with Mike Lee is he’s vowed not to take Federal money, which is ridiculous because then we’ll just pay the feds without getting the benefits. The money is already set aside, the earmark is just to decide who gets it. If Lee is in charge Utah won’t get a cent. The money will go to other states. I like having federal funds for schools, roads and other things. Based on that alone I hope Granato wins.
Another note: Mike Lee doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about when it comes to money – he wasn’t well-respected in his talk to Utah financial planners a few months ago. He got his facts wrong, and wouldn’t back down even when called on it in front of everyone.
We do have someone from the neighborhood on the ballot, Mike Allphin is up for re-election for 2nd district court judge. I’m not aware of any others from our neighborhood, but please tell me if you are. I’m not aware of how to check out a judges record, it’s usually based on if you’ve had a good experience with them (or not). Most of the time you have no experience to base your vote on.
You can see who’s on the ballot by clicking the “candidates” tab of this web page: ttp://www.co.davis.ut.us/clerkauditor/elections/candidate_info/default.cfm
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Just so you are aware… any time states accept federal funding there are stipulations with what they may do with the money. When you take grants you are basically signing a “waiver” of sorts saying, “I’ll play by your rules.” This is exactly what the Tea Party-ers are fighting against… they don’t want to be mandated by the feds. So it’s no surprise Mike Lee stated that he will not accept these funds. There are many in the state legislature who have also refused federal funding.
(My comments are not meant as an endorsement of Mike Lee.)
Thanks for the clarification Rebecca. You have to weigh the benefits and costs. I’d like to know more details about the rules – the kinds of things that are stipulated when accepting the money. It still seems as if Utah will miss out on large scale projects if we don’t accept the money.
My parents operate the same way. They lend money, they care about how it gets spent. I’ve never known anyone to give large sums of money without some stipulations or expectations.
-Janet
Woah! I really love the template of this site. It’s simple, yet effective. Good balance between user friendliness and visual appearance. What’s the name of the theme you’re using? Is it free? Thanks.
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