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By Lyle Hillyard
Senator, District 25

I was saddened last week to hear of the passing of Dix McMullin, but not surprised. When his wife Renae died about a month before, it was hard for me to imagine them being apart for long because of their closeness in life.

I first met Dix when I was elected to the House of Representatives where he was serving. Two years later, he ran for the Senate in a seat that had been created by reapportionment. The growth in the South Jordan area had been so great in the 10 years since reapportionment that the new Senate seat was actually smaller than the House seat he had held. The other Republican candidate for that seat was Mac Haddow, also a sitting House member. Because Mac was so well spoken and highly involved in campaigning, many people thought that he would win easily. But Dix prevailed, thus showing the deep respect people had for him in that area.

When I was elected to the Senate, I remember Dix calling me to say that he was running for Majority Whip and would appreciate my support. This is quite different from what is done now to campaign for leadership (see my previous post). He was elected and then I was selected to serve as the Senate Chair of Executive Appropriations, so I had the chance to work closely with him and the other members of leadership. I quickly learned to appreciate his wisdom and integrity. He was a very effective member of the leadership team and understood so well the budget issues that I appreciated his insight and help. Later, he ran for President and failed but still remained a good member of the body helping others and those who replaced him.

After he left the Senate, he would return on occasion as a lobbyist for various organizations. He was always well informed and presented his issues in a very comfortable way. He never abused his past position as a Senator and welcomed my insight of what was going on and how it affected the clients he represented.

I will miss the friendship my wife and I had with him and Renae. The people in the area he represented will also miss the quiet way he helped them out. He always cared for the issues that impacted his friends and neighbors.

CNN's Anderson Cooper, in Utah this weekend:

"It is only by seeing a situation from as many angles as possible that you can possibly understand a story."

(Hence the inestimable value of the Utah Bloghive.)

By Lyle Hillyard
Senator, District 25

I have heard that people are surprised at the outcomes of the elections for both Republican and Democrat leaders last Friday. Having observed this process over the years, both as a voter and a candidate, I can say that the day of the voting event is always stressful. You feel as though you could vote for either of the candidates, your colleagues, who are running.

In my first election for Senate leadership, a call would be placed from the candidate stating that he was running and asking for my support. These days, it is not unusual for the candidate to ask for an actual commitment. That puts the non-candidate at a huge disadvantage. If he or she refuses to make a commitment and the candidate is successful, there is a strong likelihood that he or she will not get the assignments they want in the upcoming session. On the other hand, the other candidate may discover that commitment and fail to give you those assignments you want anyway, if the one to whom you have pledged your support does not win. That is why the two candidates tend to count more votes than there are senators.

Emotionally, it would be nice to know how many votes you have before the election because no one likes to be at the table when the results are announced and the winner not be you, especially when you felt you had been promised the votes. Learning to be a good loser as well as a good winner is pertinent because things could change the next time around and the results could be reversed.

In spite of all the problems, it never ceases to amaze me that despite weaknesses in all of the candidates for leadership, everyone can rally to support the newly-elected leadership. May I wish Michael and Pat and their respective leadership teams congratulations on their victories and may we enter a very difficult session with the commitment to work together in the best interest of the state. As my good friend and former State Senator Chick Bullen told me, during elections, we are Republicans and Democrats but after the election, we should be good Utahns working together for the good of the State and its people. Get ready for an interesting few months.

Gehrke: Top 10 Rejected Senate Minority Leader Tiebreakers

KCPW: Jeff Robinson talks about new leaders in the Senate.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

In today's New York Times:

"I do not hate the L.D.S. church, nor any of its members and neither should you,” said one of the speakers, Senator Scott McCoy, Democrat of Utah, and one of three openly gay Utah legislators. “The way to deal with this problem is to love more, not hate."

Greg just added the new leadership page to our official site.

Tonight, the Utah Senate elected a new leadership team for the next 2 years:

Senate President: Michael Waddoups
Majority Leader: Sheldon Killpack
Majority Whip: Scott Jenkins
Assistant Majority Whip: Greg Bell

The new team talked with media reps after the caucus. Listen in on SenateRadio (or download the MP3 ).

The Senate Minority also elected new leadership today:

Minority Leader: Pat Jones
Minority Whip: Ross Romero
Assistant Minority Whip: Karen Mayne
Senate Minority Caucus Manager: Luz Robles

The Senate Majority Caucus will meet on Friday to select a leadership team for the next two years (a.k.a., The 58th Legislature).

We'll post the results here on the Senate Site Friday night.

Daily Herald

Salt Lake Tribune

KSL

From Glenden Brown at OneUtah:

As of this election, Utah is no longer the most Republican state in the US - that honor goes to Oklahoma with Wyoming in second place . . . . Obama did better in Utah than any Democrat has done for decades.

[Update:] These election maps put the vote in perspective.

Hat tip to Tyler Whitaker.

Come January, the senate will welcome six new members. Need a list?

The Trib's election results pages are easy to read at a glance. Click on a county in the right-hand column and then select a category in the tabs at the top.

And here is the LG's Utah Election Results page.

In today's Utah Policy Daily:

The Day Long-Awaited

Happy election day! Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Get out and vote. It will be fun to watch the returns. My guess is some local races will go down to the wire and we won’t know final results until the wee hours. Will the presidential race be close? We’ll see tonight.

Congratulations to all the candidates who had the guts and that slight touch of insanity to jump in to politics. Whether you get 50% of the vote (plus 1) tonight, or not, you’re a winner. America’s system of government only works if good people seek political office. So thanks for running.

Tonight’s Parties

-- Big party for Democrats: Downtown Radisson, 215 West South Temple, 8 p.m.

-- Big party for Republicans: Grand America, 555 S. Main, 8 p.m.

-- Big party for Libertarians: Mo's Neighborhood Grill, 358 South West Temple. 8p.m.

-- U of U students: Crimson View Room (Olpin Student Union Building), 6 pm – midnight, sponsored by Hinckley Institute of Politics, ASUU and the Union Programming Council. Food, drinks, live broadcasts of incoming election results.

-- Young Democrats of Utah: Radisson Hotel, 215 West South Temple, across hall from main Democratic party.

-- Utah Senate Republicans: Venezia Room, Grand America, 8 p.m.

-- 2nd District GOP congressional candidate Bill Dew: Ballroom C in Grand American Hotel, 8:30 to midnight.

-- ‘Renew the Zoo’ campaign: EdZoocation Station, 6-11p.m. All zoo friends are invited.

You need to vote on five amendments to the state constitution. Want a synopsis?

• Amendment A sets in stone a process to determine disability and fill vacancies in the offices of the Governor or Lieutenant Governor, should the need arise. Here's a PDF of the Voters Guide info and the world's shortest advocacy blurb by future-senator Steve Urquhart.
  

• Amendment B. The state has a Permanent Trust Fund, established in 2001. Right now the only real money going into it is from the 1998 tobacco settlement. How about opening it up a little to include some taxes we get from natural gas, oil and mining? That source of income won't last forever - but if we save some in an interest-bearing account . . . maybe it will. More info here, including Senator Lyle Hillyard's synopsis (the bill sponsor always gets first right to explain the bill in the Voters Guide).
  

• Amendment C. We get killed every year for convening the legislative session on the same day the nation celebrates Martin Luther King's birthday. Problem is, the State Constitution - which pre-dates MLK / Human Rights Day, BTW - specifically dictates the start date. We voted to change it, but it's a constitutional amendment so you need to approve the change too. Please. Find complete info, plus Senate President John Valentine's explanation here.
  

• Amendment D. Utah is required to draw new legislative boundaries in the legislative session immediately following the Census. The next census is 2010 so, technically, we need to redistrict in the 2011 session. Problem is, the results aren't available until the spring of 2011 - long after session is over. This amendment says we'll redistrict in the legislative session after census results are available. Read Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble's explanation here.
  

• Amendment E would allow the state to invest some School Trust Land money into stocks and bonds of private companies - within the safety margins dictated by the prudent investor standard imposed by law. Almost-certain Bottom line: more $$ for education. House Majority Leader Dave Clark and Utah State Treasurer Ed Alter write about it here.
  

Death (and rebirth?) of a newspaper.

KSL opines on the five Constitutional Amendments you'll consider this November:

KSL’s most recent editorial urged voters to support Constitutional Amendment B on November 4th. Four other proposed amendments are also on the ballot . . .

Amendment A modifies and clarifies how unplanned vacancies would be filled for the office of Governor and Lieutenant Governor. The change resolves some of the questions that arose a few years ago when then Governor Mike Leavitt resigned to join the Bush Administration.

Amendment C appropriately changes the start of the annual legislative session from the third Monday in January to the fourth. It means lawmakers would no longer be required to convene on the Martin Luther King holiday.

Amendment D clears up some of the potential conflicts that could arise with the redistricting process that occurs every ten years in conjunction with the federal census. It assures that redistricting will be based on the most current census numbers.

Amendment E deletes what experts call the archaic prohibition against investing certain state funds in private companies. It would allow for greater diversification of the state’s investment portfolio.

Amending the Utah Constitution is not something to be taken lightly, however these are valid changes. KSL encourages voters to approve all five constitutional amendments when they cast their ballots November 4th.

But you, gentle reader, are NOT satisfied with a two-sentence explanation. You want facts and philosophy. You want details. You want impartial analysis, salted with advocacy. You want the entire 91-page Utah Voter Information Pamphlet.

Well, here it is.

Constitutional amendment info starts on page 30.

The Economist reports on why Utah's economy is soaring above its neighbors.