I found
myself in a bit of a predicament this last Tuesday night. I committed to teach a scout troop about the
rights and duties of US citizenship to help them fulfill one of the
requirements for the first class rank.
Two days after I made this commitment, the Davis County Republican Party
announced a meet the candidate night for the very same time that the scout troop
was meeting. Free Tuesday evenings are
few and far between for me, so I knew rescheduling with the scouts was
impossible, but as a county delegate I needed the opportunity to research the
candidates properly as I refuse to vote blindly. So, I emailed a few questions to each of the
candidates for Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary. Lucky for me, all of the candidates were
gracious enough to email back rather quickly with answers to my questions. With the candidates’ permission, I am making
them public since chances are not all of the delegates were able to attend the
Meet the Candidate event. To be fair, I
am listing the responses in the order in which they were received. Enjoy!
For the
office of Chair:
While both
candidates emailed me back, neither actually answered my questions, but rather
sent me links so I could learn more about them.
Phil
Wright: Sent the following email:
Dear Deborah,
When the candidates
are good, honest, and likable people, how do you chose the best to represent
you?
"Rhetoric is cheap,
evidence
comes more dearly."
John Fund
My opponent is a good man, and a friend. It is
not that I don't believe he could be our Chair one day, it's just that I
believe that I am ready to be our Chair today.
Here are some of the things that I've accomplished as your Vice-Chair over the
last 13 months:
·
Helped EVERY
Republican Candidate get elected (re-elected) in Davis County
·
Helped grow and
protect our County Party Funds which are now among the highest in the State.
·
Created the first
Party Budget since 2008
·
Helped organize the
County with Re-Redistricting
·
Helped facilitate the
largest Caucus Turn Out in Utah's History
·
Built relationships
and friendships that will help me as County Party Chair promote our
platform, keep our party organized, support the best candidates, and improve
our Caucus and Delegate Education.
I've worked hard to
earn your trust, and now I ask for your vote as Chair of the Davis County
Republican Party.
Sincerely,
Phill Wright
Vice Chair Davis
County Republican Party
Candidate for Chair Davis County Republican Party
For the
office of Vice Chair:
1)
Why do you want to serve as DCRP vice chair?
Carl Downing: I chose to run
because I know many of the parties involved in the Count my Vote initiative and
having had discussions with them I firmly believe their strategy of altering
our caucus / convention system will cause irreparable harm to the State of
Utah. There is a reason why Utah is the best managed state in the union
and leads the nation in nearly every fiscal soundness category, I believe that
is the product of our caucus system and I want to be in a position to actively
defend that. Our next chair will be a busy person and I have extensive
political experience from grassroots all the way up to senior campaign
management, my experience will greatly benefit the chair and I can perform any
duties delegated to me from him. My vast campaign management experience will
greatly benefit both our incumbent candidates with advice and resources as well
as help develop the next generation of Republican leaders in Davis County.
Lisa Bingham: You ask why I'm running, and I have to be honest with you—initially,
I didn't want to. Who in their right
mind wants to hold themselves up to be hit by slings and arrows that are
constantly cast at people holding public office? The Vice Chair position is little
known, holds barely a smidgen of prestige, and really comes down to a lot of
work behind the scenes, phone calls, supporting the DCRP Chair and state party
officers and working hard to make sure things run smoothly through caucus and
conventions. All of this, so that we, as a county, are continuously held in
high esteem.
Right now, I find myself in a rare position in my personal life,
where I have a window of opportunity to sacrifice this time and effort, to a
party and community that I hold very dear to my heart. Keeping in mind that the
blood, sweat and tears of EVERY member of this party—no matter how many points
we agree upon—are mine to recognize, not dismiss.
2) How do you primarily see your role as DCRP vice chair?
Carl
Downing: The role of Vice Chair is primarily a supportive role to the chair and
I am prepared and committed to provide our next chair with competent, capable
leadership in their place as delegated. I have extensive corporate and
private organization budget experience to be able to fulfill the
responsibilities of the Vice Chair office.
Lisa
Bingham:
3)
How do you propose we increase unity in the Republican Party?
Carl
Downing: We live in a time where social media makes it easy to become detached
and alienate some of our base supporters, I understand social media and
am an avid user both personally and politically. Social media can be a
great tool to unify and communicate our message to people but it is a double
edge sword and can also cause division and hurt feelings. I moderate a
political page for the Northern Wasatch Front and know that as we establish our
footprint in this world that early standards being set allow for a safe
environment for discussion and learning. In my page I had to recently
remove the past Vice Chair of the Utah GOP from the group because he was
continually personally attacking a member of the Utah County Party Leadership,
I have thick skin and even though he is now personally attacking me in other
forums I don't justify his anger with a response. When we engage
negativity with negativity in a public setting where anyone can watch, it
devalues the brand we represent. As Vice Chair I will continue to set a
standard where we avoid Republicans attacking Republicans, it is not healthy or
welcome behavior. I only wear one label, Republican and as such I welcome
anyone who wishes to associate with us and cherishes our platform regardless of
differences we all have much more in common and should treat each other as
allies.
Lisa Bingham: The issues I would like
to address are; 1) working hard to ensure every race in Davis County ends with
a Republican in office, and once they are elected, that they feel full support
from their county party and officers, 2) that we work to inform and energize
our younger Republicans, as they will be those casting votes in the coming
years and 3) to be a voice of reason and tolerance within our party, in
order to grow the tent, rather than shrink it.
It has surprised me how much suspicion there is within our own
party. I hope that by ensuring there is no filter from the top down, but
instead, that everyone has an opportunity to learn and vet and make informed
decisions, using our county party as an advocate, that this will help to
alleviate the feeling of alienation that seems to be felt by some
constituents.
4) Do
your personal beliefs differ from the DCRP platform in any way?
Carl
Downing: I believe in the Davis GOP
platform and respect the collaboration that has brought that document to where
it is today.
Lisa
Bingham: I have signed a disclosure
statement regarding my personal feelings on the party platform. I can assure
you that I agree wholeheartedly with everything that our party stands for.
Otherwise, I could not, in good conscience, serve.
5) What is the best thing that the DCRP is doing right now?
Carl
Downing: The Davis GOP fiscal management
is the best thing we are doing right now, I pledge to continue to keep us on
the conservative course so we can always be ready for the future.
Lisa
Bingham: Our party does a wonderful job
of making contact with their delegates. Also, having served in the past as a
county delegate, I appreciated how well our convention was run.
6) What is the foremost thing you would like to change about the DCRP?
Carl
Downing: The next chair gets to decide
the direction the party goes but I will be happy to share my ideas from past
political successes that could benefit the success of our chair and the DCRP.
Some areas where the DCRP can really shine would be to become much more
active in the Teenage Republicans Group and help the youth in each local high
school have a thriving chapter and allowing those students access to how we
operate as a party. Today’s sophomores will vote in the next presidential
election and we should inspire them. The different auxiliary groups that
affiliate with the Republican Party should be acknowledged and engaged actively
as much as possible in a closer relationship with the DCRP. We can hold
forums where experts in the various fields can inspire the next generation of
candidates and support the current ones. By becoming more active amongst
the delegates and those who wish to affiliate with us we can continue to grow
and strengthen Davis County. One area I hope our next chair would be
interested in would be taking an active look at the non-partisan school board
races where we aren't represented by conservative viewpoints, these positions
have a large impact on our pocketbooks as the Davis School District continues
to overspend its budget and raise our taxes to compensate for their fiscal
imprudence. I would definitely like to arrange panel discussions so we
can properly vet these candidates and place good Republicans in charge to
change the tax and spend mentality there.
Lisa
Bingham: I don't anticipate making large
changes within the party, but rather would like to help make better use of
technology, in order that our younger Republicans feel connected to their grass
roots and know how they can become involved.
For the
office of Secretary:
1) Why do you want to serve as DCRP secretary?
Kathleen Anderson: At
the behest of others within the DCRP, I am stepping forward at this time. This
is unchartered territory for me, and I feel very much outside my comfort zone.
That said, however, I am energized and anxious to become an integral part of
the executive committee.
Jeff Thornton: I have been involved on an increasing level in the Davis
County Republican Party since moving to Fruit Heights in 1992. I have
served as precinct Vice Chair, Chair, Legislative Vice
Chair and Chair, Credential’s Chair, and I have been elected several times to
serve as either a County or a State Delegate. I was elected two years ago by
delegates from Farmington, Kaysville and Fruit Heights, to serve as a Leg
District Chair for District 17. Nine months later, following the resignation of
the previous Secretary, I was elected by a vote of the Central Committee – the
body consisting of Precinct Chairs and Vice Chairs, to fill that vacancy. I
have served as County Secretary for the last 15 months. I wanted to serve
a full term, so I filed to run about a month ago. I enjoy the work
and I enjoy the people that I work with. I like being involved and
encouraging others to voice their opinions. I am kind of a techie, so,
since there is a lot of working with lists and databases, I enjoy that,
too. Those I support tell me I do a good job and everyone
appreciates being appreciated.
2) What do you plan to accomplish as secretary that hasn't been done
before?
Kathleen Anderson: Communicate,
communicate, communicate! I'd like to better communicate information throughout
the county party. I also hope to ensure that all information disseminated is
current and accurate. I hope to continuously explore the ever changing social
media outlets and incorporate those into our use as well.
Jeff Thornton: In the last 13 months, I have brought forth multiple, successful
amendments to our County Bylaws to better define the role of the Secretary and
streamline the operations of the party. I have organized the records that
I work with so that they are useful. I have worked closely with the
State of Utah Republican Party to maintain and improve the Caucus Tracker
system that we use to manage the delegate lists. I
have prided myself on doing all that I can to ensure that each of the precincts
is fully and fairly represented at the county and state conventions by
babysitting the delegate database and keeping the Legislative Chairs informed
where they need to address vacancies among the delegates. I have attended all
but two of the monthly Executive Committee meetings, all of the Central committee
meetings and all of the conventions during my service. I have faithfully
recorded and prepared minutes of those meetings and expeditiously sent them out
for the review of the attendees prior to subsequent meetings. I have risen at
5:30AM on several Saturday mornings to be available at the conventions to
verify delegates. .I will continue to do all this and look for other ways
to help out. I already do a lot of work, so I am not expecting that I
will take on huge new challenges, but if something arises that I can help with,
I do as much as I can to help make it happen.
3) How do you primarily see your role as DCRP secretary?
Kathleen Anderson: I see the role as delineated in the DCRP constitution
and bylaws. I will support the Chair. I will timely document and record all
necessary party business. I will keep accurate minutes and records. I will have
this information easily accessible to the delegates.
Jeff Thornton: There are three parts to this position. One is to serve as an executive
Officer and council with the Chair, Vice Chair and Treasure to make sure that
we are conducting the business of the party efficiently, effectively and
ethically. The second is to serve as a member of the Executive Committee with
the Legislative and Senate Chairs and Vice Chairs. The Secretary is to see that
the documents of the party are maintained and the minutes are accurate and
timely. The Secretary also acts as the nanny to the Leg Chairs to make
sure the delegate lists are complete and accurate. Lastly, and very
importantly, the Secretary, as do other members of the Executive Committee,
serves as an at-large delegate to the County and State Conventions.
4) Do your personal beliefs differ from the DCRP platform in any way?
Kathleen Anderson: No. I support the DCRP platform fully.
Jeff Thornton: No. I
have read the platform multiple times and I have no issues with what it
says. I make no inferences that it says
anything other than the words in the document and I have no hidden agenda, nor
do I feel that there is any such hidden agenda or veiled meanings in the
platform. I have signed the statement of agreement required by the DCRP Bylaws
without reservation.
5) What is the best thing that the DCRP is
doing right now?
Kathleen Anderson: Winning
elections! The DCRP won 100% of their races!
Jeff Thornton: First, we have actively worked to provide
education to the delegates and interested others about issues and the
candidates running under the Republican or Non-partisan banners for public
office in Davis County. Second, we have
successfully enabled the election of all of our candidates in Davis
County. Right now, our focus is on
holding a fair and representative convention.
6) What is the foremost thing you would like to see change about the DCRP?
Kathleen Anderson: I love
our party and platform. I feel that if we remain focused on battling the true
enemy(ies): apathy, complacency and entitlement mentality, through education
and communication, we will become an even greater organization. I'd like to be
part of a board that is responsible, respectful and listens more to its
members. I feel open and honest dialog is essential to success.
Jeff Thornton: Above all,
we need to change the format of the caucuses so that we continue to have large
turn-outs. If we don't deal with the
issues of venue size and voting delays, people will stop coming. We have already discussed a few things that
we can do to address those.
So there you have it! I
hope this helps everyone make a good, informed decision this Saturday. See you at the convention!