August 12, 2026

Vote in the Utah Primary and in Salt Lake, vote for Crockett

Because of the heavy Republican majority in Utah, today is the poll that matters for most races–the Primary. If you haven’t voted, please do so before 8 PM tonight.

If you live in Salt Lake County, I ask that you consider voting for my good friend Mark Crockett for County Mayor. While I know both he and his opponent well, Mark is my pick for the post. Here’s why I have endorsed Mark Crockett (cont…)

John Dougall for Utah State Auditor

Growing up the oldest of eleven, it’s no surprise that John Dougall has a frugal streak to him. In fact, it’s more than a campaign slogan, says his sister Julie.

In fact, family legend has it that John has worn the same shoes since his mission, she says. “they are so old, they’ve come back in style… Since they are quite beat up, he just wears them like house slippers, but he still wears them, all the time.”

I want your vote: KSL’s “Star Correspondent” Competition

If you’ve been following or reading this blog for any amount of time, you know I like to talk about politics. With the National Republican Convention in August, the local news station (and one of the largest, if not the largest, local news outlets in the country), is sending one person on an all expenses paid trip to the convention as a “Star Correspondent.”

I want to be that Star Correspondent. [cont…]

Presidents ranked by job creation [infographic] [via Political Math]

Hat tip to Matthias Shapiro, a friend and local policy wonk who’s got a penchant for making numbers make sense.
First, his infographic:

Where there’s smoke, or an FBI investigation…

Yesterday, Democrat’s allegations that John Swallow was investigated by the FBI for corruption hit the Salt Lake Tribune, and almost immediately, I was hit by a storm of emails and a robodial telling me the allegations were false. Not one of them featured a single word from the candidate himself.

I know John Swallow has his career and his election on the line, but really: his campaign should first verify the allegations they’re making before spreading them so far and wide.

Here’s what happened:

When the government picks winners, the applicants might already be losers

Maybe it’s time to choose leaders who won’t keep “picking winners” by subsidizing private businesses and using government to compete with the market? Even the Chinese can make a city look good by pouring enough money into it. Just look at the Olympics. That doesn’t mean the economy will do better because of it.

Government subsidies equal corporate welfare. It doesn’t matter if you’re in Washington, D.C. or West Valley City, it’s the same thing. Whether it’s Solyndra or UTOPIA, the more a company shells out to get onto the public assistance, the less likely it would perform well in the market. Spending more money on campaign donations and lobbying might be correllated. [cont…]

How does Matheson survive? He doesn’t.

Today, in Salt Lake Magazine, Rebecca Walsh writes what is probably best described as “free advertising.” With almost no news worthy event to write about, Walsh goes after the obvious topic of concern to Salt Lake: how Jim Matheson wins reelection. With a Republican Primary nearly upon us–which means a race for Attorney General, Auditor, US Senator, and a County Mayor (PS vote Mark Crockett), at least–Walsh opts to cover the race that is all but on the back-burner until after June 26th. [cont…]