Sharp-eyed readers have probably noticed that we have made some recent additions to the Weber County Forum sidebar. We are planning to provide as much information as possible for the upcoming 2006 General Election campaign, just as we did for the recent 2005 Municipal elections. We are thus now feverishly assembling a 2006 Election Information Module, in the interest of assuring that our gentle readers will once again be the best informed voters anywhere.Among the links we have added to date are the following:
- A complete roster of all 2006 candidates
(with weblinks where available) - The Weber County Clerk's website candidate information
- Recent election-related news articles
In this connection, our gentle readers should be reminded that four elective offices which will apear on Weber County ballots in November remain subject to a June 27, 2006 Primary Runoff.
Unlike the recent Municipal elections, Weber County Forum is endorsing three Republican candidates in the primary elections. For the time being, we have placed the "lawn signs" for each of these candidates prominently in the WCF sidebar. During the week or so, we intend to post articles explaining in detail why we have elected to endorse these candidates.
Whether we will endorse candidates for the November elections is doubtful. As to the June 27 primaries, however, we believe there are very clear-cut choices in the races for Senate District 18, House District 10, and Weber County Commission Seat A. In these three instances, we believe the Republican primary race presents an opportunity to reject proponents of BIG GOVERNMENT -- and to elect candidates who support the political values that we incessantly promote here at Weber County Forum, namely:
- Small, frugal, open government
- Non-intervention in traditionally-private matters
- Jealous regard for fundamental citizen rights
Incidentally, Weber County Forum hereby issues an invitation to ALL candidates whose names will appear on 2006 Weber County ballots to directly submit your weblinks via email. If any candidate has a web presence, we'll be sure to add his or her links to our candidate roster.
We're also open to suggestions from out gentle readers. What information would you like to see added to our election capsule?
Comments, anyone?
18 comments:
Rudi:
The Republican Party as the party of limited government? Ah, Rudi, your faith in that idea is touching. Unsustainable on the facts, of course, but touching none the less. Almost inspiring to see that kind of blind faith still around in these cyncial times. [grin]
Have read all the links. Sounds good to me, but then, it would. I will be interested to read the opponents' websites also, and hope WCF can link them.
Lots of issues here. I found Thomas' website the most helpful in pinpointing them. Illegal immigration, no child left behind, tort reform--since you asked what we might wish, a simple explanation of tort reform might be nice. Thomas explains this with emphasis on the "loser pays" system, but is the phrase "tort reform" a broader one than that?
Also, there is this school bond election I think on that same ballot for June 27th. Have heard much pro and con about this one, and perhaps we should discuss it, too.
Check out our sidebar Candidates Roster, Dian.
So far as we are aware, we've linked all candidates of all political persuasions who currently have a campaign website.
Gee. None of these people are saying whether they are for or against the gondola. Can there be a larger world out there?
Curm,
Republican party has been running that limited government line, yet if you ask any republican they are probably more ready for the govt to intefere in so many corners of our personal lives than any dem. They have ridiculous blind faith in military, democracy and have destroyed any semblance of division of church and state. They could take a few lessons from the libertarians.
Republicans won't even cosider drug legalisation as it is their vehicle for entrenching police, govt, and military power at home and around the globe. Alcohol prohibition only lasted a few short years for the corruption, gangs, and illegal distilleries it produced. Drug prohibition is now a few GENERATIONS deep and no one considers it's ramification in all levels of our domestic and global mess. It is the foundation of 911 and our presence in Afghanistan and will be our pretext to enter South America. Yet the flow of drugs continues unabated in greater quantities. They all fear the mess if they are legalized while they live in some kind of fantasy world that there is any control now.
Cannabis may be the best producer of alternative fuel among other strategic materials and would certainly ease our dependence on oil. Yet republicans talk of switchgrass. Blind fools all of them.
Mutch, So I guess what you're saying (blogging) is that the republicrats, I mean the demicans; er, I can't keep them straight anymore (Especially on the national level. I joined the libertarian party last year. Even though I agree with their stance on issues, I've found them to be a kooky, nutty bunch ('spose that's why I fit in)). Nationally, both of these parties run campaigns on red herring issues. Speaking of red herrings (gondola), what's Ogden's Mayor's party affiliation? (I should win a prize for 3 's in a row)
Oh, Lord...there's too much red punch being drunk these days. Don't add cannabis too.
Except for Dian's remarks, there was nothing worth the time I wasted reading this tripe tonight.
Happy Father's Day to anyone who fits the bill, and the one who probably wore the apron all day.
the mayors party is the republican party, at least he signed up as a delegate to that party. I tried to get him to be apart of hitlers party but he said that we weren't nasty enough for him.
Bill Hansen is the first to say and mean that he wants to lockup child sex offenders. Republicans have a hostory of catch and release. Just read the papers!!! Now just watch the Republicans jump on his wagon.
It was very interesting to see in the Standard Examiner that Utah has the rank of 4th highest taxes in the nation. Yet it is the strongest Republican base and control of the government. What Happened to only those “Liberal Democrats” as the tax and spend. Well, What is worst ?the “Tax and spend” or the “Barrow and spend” with taxes and fees way, way up there. Along with leaving the tax bill to the next generations to pay of these notes.
What a lot of lying hypocrites especially those that are members of the fiscal conservatives. What happened to their promise that if they got control of congress that they would have a balanced budget amendment. You know, “The Contract with America” that all of our delegation from Utah signed off on in 1994. They now have control of all three branches of government in Washington D.C. and control of the state of Utah government as well.
And what happened to term limitations, there we go again more lies. Wake Utahans quit allowing yourself to have the national reputation of being the capital of bankruptcies, and pawn schemes. Quit allowing your selves to be deceived again and again. Especially quotes like this one, “If I vote for a democrat I will burn in hell”.
It was this type of pathetic thinking that allowed the dark ages to get a hold of Europe, and Hitler to be elected and supported. Remember the glory of God is intelligence, not stupidity, or ignorance. Wake up!!!!!
Sigh....
Can't we have a debate/discussion concerning the election and candidates and parties that does not descend into charges that a particular candidate is a [virtual] Nazi or that one side is soft on child molesters or accusing citizens who disagree with our particular view on a matter of being commies [see letter in the SE this morning accousing gondola skeptics of being "Marxists"]? There are real issues out there [national, state and local], and real differences between candidates and parties, and we need to chew them over this election season, because how those issues are resolved can make a real difference in the lives of ordinary Utahans, for good or for ill. All this "the other guy's a Nazi/Marxist" [pick one] or "the other guy's soft on child molesters" and such like does nothing to make a democratic system work.
[Democrat, you've forced me to post in defence of a Republican candidate. I hate doing that. Don't make me do it again. It's enough to drive a good Yellow Dog Democrat to drink....]
And Anon:
I read the story about Utha carrying the 4th highest tax burdern in the nation. And it seemed to me the figures were just a tad cooked. The story itself, and the very useful little box table the SE put next to the story made it clear what was going on. The "tax burden" was determined by adding all taxes and, apparently, all government collected fees as well. That's defensible in the case of license fees for cars for example, but the Utah Taxpayers' Association also considered tuition paid to public universities as "fees/taxes." That seems over the top to me. I don't know of anyone who considers their college tuition a "tax". To their credit, the Taxpayers' group also provided numbers with the tuition money taken out, and when you do that, Utah dropped somewhere into the mid-teens in terms of its national ranking for tax burden.
I am all for thumping the Republicans for being hipocrites with respect to their claims of being "fiscal conservatives" [brief pause while I recover from a fit of laughter], but we shouldn't stretch and tease the numbers to make them look worse than they are. The record of Republican fiscal irresponsibility straight up, with no massaging, is bad enough. [$15 million for a parking building at the capitol so their girlfriends and lobbiests can park closer to their offices on the same day they cry poverty and vote down $2 million to continue urgent dental care for the desperately poor and elderly? My god.... ]
* Small, frugal, open government
* Non-intervention in traditionally-private matters
* Jealous regard for fundamental citizen rights
Show me any example of republicans practicing these fundementals and I'll show you a hundred examples where they have corrupted the same. It's scary when your everyman-common-sense conservative type (Rudi and others here perhaps) align themselves with such a bunch of cretins that today call themselves republicans.
One could be far more conservative than the average joe-blow con without being a part of that group. Please know who it is you associate yourself with...
A true conservative would be working feverishly, at great political risk, to rescue this nation AND lead the world into an era of smart resource and energy management, sustainable growth and protection of civil liberties.
Dear Curm,
I voted for the parking garage because my girl friend has straight and bright white teeth and so I didn't need the 2 million anyway, I understand that the democrats tried to get the bill out of the rules committe and the R's voted it down, now they the R's say they want to be the party of compasion!
give me a break. they need to put up or shut up. either way, enough is enough, time to throw all the R bums out and let the democrats show you how it can be done, after all their is a new generation of Ideas and no lunicies.
It is refreshing to actually have two hopefuls in the Weber County Commissioners race with very divergent points of view.
L. Nate Pierce is a career government employee schooled by the League of Cities in redevelopment giveaways of taxpayer monies.
The Pierce plan is to form regionwide partnerships to create jobs which means a continuation of taxpayer funds giveaway to one businessman in preference over another with taxpayer TIF monies.
Jan Zogomaister is a businesswoman who does not believe in government redevelopment handouts. She believes in the free enterprise system where all individuals have the same footing and create success by their own efforts.
The three Weber County Commissioners handle millions in our tax dollars. The job pays $89,000.00 per year. Choose your candidate as carefully as you would if you could vote for the next head of the Federal Reserve who controls all our financial lives.
Your primary election vote on June 27th is the most important vote you will cast in this race for one of these two Republican commissioner candidates.
Don't throw away your vote! Call each of these candidates and talk to them personally about what is most important to you for Weber County.
See you at the polls.
You know, while I can understand that an incumbents public government bio webpage can provide some information about that candidate, I don't know that it is really fair to provide a link to that site under the title "2006 Candidate roster" where people are expecting links to the candiates election website. If an incumbent doesn't have a candidate website they should not get a link. What option does a challenger have?
Dorothy, I’ve always liked your way of thinking. But it’s Republicans that keep raising taxes for bigger government; using eminent domain for private development and corporate welfare. You need to join us Democrats. We're in the same fight you are.
Even if you don’t change parties. We democrats think the world of you and we’ll continue to fight with you. God Bless you.
Republicans I can tell you not to worry today about the Commission seat A. I really feel Hansen is going to win that. He has the right stuff. He's a tough strait shooter, no nonsense kind of a guy. He's against eminent domain and against corporate hand outs. He's against fat paycheck for the guys at the top. He works in the Sheriff’s Office where 25% of the county budget goes. He knows where the wasted tax money is. He is more republican than his two opponents.
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