Saturday, April 25, 2009

Vote for Lisa Shepherd


It's about time the delegates voted for Lisa. I don't think I know anyone who personally puts in so much time and effort into her political stuff. Finally, others are realizing it. Politics can be mean. Lisa has had many personal attacks against her. I'm sure that can not be easy. However, she just picks herself up and keeps plugging along. She knows the problems we have and wants to help find reasonable solutions to them. She ran a great campaign. She gave a great speech. She talked highly of the other men in all the county leadership races. She really deserved this win.

Initially there was going to be a multiple ballot for Lisa's race. They take 3 names, and then narrow it down to 2. We voted the first time, and awhile later we were told that we were not going to need our second ballot. This is because one candidate received over 50% of the vote. We were a bit nervous about it, but hoped for the best and she came out on top. It's quite an accomplishment to beat out the man who had "all of our elected officials support."

The other great thing, is that Lisa was also running for State Central Committee. There were 52 candidates. The first 20 people with the most votes would be on the committee. Out of all the candidates Lisa received the number one most votes.

Wow! What a great outcome for both races!!!

2009 Utah County Organizing Convention Results

This County Convention was all about electing new Republican party county leadership. Offices we voted on were chair, vice chair, secretary, and treasurer. We also elected State Central Committee Members.

Here are the results:

Chair:

Taylor Oldroyd 440 votes

Steven Diamond 391 votes

Vice Chair:

Mark Cluff 415 votes

Lowell Nelson 405 votes
Don Larsen withdrew during his speech


Secretary:

Lisa Shepherd 484 votes

Matt Thompson 307 votes
Keith Kuder 32 votes


Treasurer:

Lynn Taylor 592 votes

Ben Smith 236 votes

State Central Committee Members (top 20 are committee members):

1 Lisa Shepherd 477
2
Steven Diamond 467
3
Lowell Nelson 456
4
Matt Thompson 454
5
Marian Monnahan 447
6
Ben Smith 421
7
Lynn Taylor 404
8
John Valentine 395
9
Mike Thompson 333
10
Don Larsen 324
11
Sharon Storrs 324
12
Kip Meacham 308
13
Curt Bramble 302
14
Karen Valentine 301
15
Stan Lockhart 299
16
Susan Bramble 294
17
Becky Lockhart 290
18
Clayton Holbrook 286
19
Brian Jenkins 278
20
Jackie de Gaston 268
21
Linda Houskeeper 257
22
Heather Williamson 255
23
Dave Duncan 253
24
Ivan Keller 242
24
Poppy Moreno 242
26
Holly Richardson 239
27
Chris Herrod 230
28
Jay Morgan Philpot 227
29
Beverly Miner 221
30
Marc Roberts 216
31
Jed Morley 213
32
Steven Turley 210
33
Craig Frank 203
34
Kristen Chevrier 202
35
Jordan Gunderson 196
36
Adrielle Herring 190
37
Jim Proctor 188
38
Judy Keller 182
39
Bradley Reneer 178
40
Chad Bunn 174
41
Phil Peay 164
41
Hayden Williamson 164
43
Corey Norman 156
44
Sam Brand 153
45
Mike McGee 150
46
Delaina Tonks 142
47
Bruce Armstrong 140
47
Alan Lisonbee 140
49
David Starling 118
50
Nathan Rathbun 112
51
Wendy Hart 95

52
Mark Steele 84

see previous post for convention info & pics.

My Time at the 2009 Utah County Convention


It was a cold and rainy day! As you approached the doors of the school there weren't many signs outside. I got there fairly early. I had told Lisa Shepherd I would come and help pass out papers while she went to the candidate meeting. I walked around the candidates tables, then I grabbed some of Lisa's stuff and I parked myself by the front doors, along with many other people, to handout fliers and other miscellaneous campaign items.

At 7:30 a.m. it was time for Central Committee Meeting. This is for all precinct chairs and vice chairs. Commissioner Steve White chaired this meeting. We discussed 2 platform changes, one on family and another on immigration. With some adopted changes, they both passed.

Next, we had Senate District Sessions. Mark Madsen is my senator and he was not there. I can't say I was very happy about it. Maybe he had a good reason, but I didn't hear about it. We voted instead to listen to candidates from our district that were running for the State Central Committee. This proved to be a very useful and informative use of our time.

We then moved on to our Legislative Districts. We stood out in the hall for a very long time waiting, because the Senate District before us went over time. It was Margaret Dayton's district. Finally, we all came in and took a seat and Margaret proceeded to take up some of our time as well. Keith Grover is my legislator and he was there. He talked about legislator's lack of salary and the way to take care of ethics in the house is by voting every 2 years. He talked about the committees he is on and all the email, letters and house visits he receives from constituents. He said that this is not a permanent career from him and invited us all to come visit him in Salt Lake City, during the congressional session, and to spend time on the floor.

He opened the meeting up to questions, which was really nice. We discussed the I-15 project at various points, Provo Center Exchange, and Orem Center Street overpass, etc. We also talked about the Common Ground Initiative, Health Care coverage, The Autism Bill that didn't pass, and air pollution in Utah County.

On to the Convention...

Provo's Mayor, Lewis Billings, chaired this meeting. He did a great job.

Prayer, presentation of the colors, singing of the National Anthem, and the Pledge of Allegiance followed. This is what Mark Shurtleff, state Attorney General, twittered about the Pledge:
At Utah County GOP Convention. I have NEVER experienced a more powerful and moving Pledge of Allegiance!

It really was remarkable!
Next, we had a vote on if the candidates for county leadership should be allowed 5 minutes, instead of just 3 minutes, to talk. This was turned down.

Becky Lockhart, Rules chair, talked next. A motion to approve the rules was made and it passed. Later on we find out that doing this approved the meetings agenda. Pretty sneaky of them, since they knew many people were in opposition to the agenda and that there was going to be some talk on amending it.

Susan Bramble, credentials co-chair, said that out of the 1234 possible delegates (7 unfilled), 805 had checked in. This was 66% and constituted a quorum. [You have to have a quorum to vote on anything.] The number of delegates that checked in is not the final count.

Phill Peay gave the treasurer's report. He said that the party has $44,988.25 and a postal credit of $856.83. He said that the post office box and insurance are paid until 2010. Accounts receivable were $27,500 and I believe he said most of this comes from the Lincoln Day Dinner.

Garr Judd, auditor, made a motion to accept the audit and it passed.

Marian Monnahan, county party chair, spoke next. She talked about the $54,000 that the party gave to the Utah County PAC, which she said made another $50,000. [This Utah County PAC is always a topic of controversy.] She talked about how the penny is actually called a "one cent" coin. She talked about the balance of email and privacy. [This has been highly controversially the past year or so.] She hopes that this will continue to be the best run and most successful county in our state and said, "Ask not what the party can do for you, but what can you do for the party?"

Next up Clayton Holbrook asked for an agenda amendment. This is where we found out that unknown to all of us we had already accepted the agenda. There was a lot of booing. However, we still had some debate on it. Clayton wanted the County Party Leadership races to be voted on before the State Central Committee. Which completely makes sense. Why they wanted to do it the other way is beyond me. We needed a 2/3 vote to pass it. There was discussion back and forth about it. The reason for the request is because we get to vote for up to 20 people. The County party chair and vice chair are automatic Central Committee members. So delegates felt like they might be wasting 2 of their votes if they voted for one of the winners of those 2 races. Curt Bramble requested that we amend the rules to vote for 22 instead. He couldn't do this because it was out of order, we weren't discussing the rules, just the agenda. After all this discussion it was essential turned down.
[Senator John Valentine was Parliamentarian]

However, another man got up and made a new agenda amendment. I can't remember how he worded it, but it was essentially asking for the same thing, to move the County Office elections to now. This passed! I guess it's all the way you say it!!!

Ideally the way this should have gone, is we had all the opening and party report items. Next, vote on County Leadership. Following the vote, the elected state representatives should have spoken. They were supposed to be going to the Salt Lake County Convention following ours. This would have allowed them to get up there sooner. Why are the conventions even on the same day? After that, we should have elected the State Central Committee, because we could have had the results of the county leadership by then. But of course, this is not how it went.

So we listened to each of the candidates for county party leadership.
Taylor Oldroyd, Steve Diamond, Lowell Nelson, Don Larson, Mark Cluff, Matt Thompson, Keith Kuder, Lisa Shepherd, Lynn Taylor, and Ben Smith.

The speeches were interesting. They were only allowed 3 minutes. Don Larson withdrew himself when he got up to speak. Keith Kuder railed on the Brambles, which lead to Curt talking to him on stage and continuing in their seats after they were asked to sit down. Matt Thompson had Margaret Dayton talk about him, which I think if anyone was still wondering about who to vote for, knew after listening to her, that it was not going to be him. Taylor 's wife and kids came up to the front and stood there at the end of his speech. After he was done all the kids left except one little girl who was watching her daddy. It was adorable. I think it scared her when she realized that she had been left behind.

Then we voted. We were told that because there were 3 people in the secretary race we might need our second ballot. The only reason we wouldn't is if one candidate got more than 51% of the vote.
Chris Cannon was given the Ronald Regan award and spoke.
Next, came the introductions of the 52 candidates for State Central Committee. Their names were read off and they marched across the front of the stage.

Then we voted. Both times we placed our votes in taped up cardboard boxes.

Here is Chris & I waiting for the all the ballots to be collected and for the meeting to continue. Mayor Billings had to ask several times for everyone to take their seats and ended up having to go over to legislators on the stage and ask them again to take their seats.
LauraLyn Eberting talked about the platform and if anyone wants to make changes they should submit their requests to their precinct chair. She talked about the 2 changes that were adopted earlier in the Central Committee Meeting. We then voted to either ratify or reject the changes and not discuss them at all. They were both ratified.
Our elected officials now had the floor...
Gary Herbert said our state is in good shape. Governor Huntsman took $1.1 billion out of the state budget. Utah has been recognized as the best managed state. Forbes said Utah is the best place in America to do business. Utah was also recognized as the best state poised for economic recovery. Republicans hold every main office. He said, "traditional family is the bedrock of our society." He also mentioned - principles are the important thing. Principles are what guide us.


Mark Shurtleff thanked everyone for their prayers and support. He mentioned his thoughts on hearing the Pledge of Allegiance. He said that the #1 problem in our state is prescription drug abuse. He talked about SB81 and his Attorney General Strike Force against criminal illegal aliens. The said, "Utah's Constitution prohibits same sex legal unions - PERIOD." He also talked about state directory to protect your email and cell phones from adult oriented solicitations. It is @ https://www.utahkidsregistry.com/ He talked about the Tea Parties. Nancy Pelosi was calling those who went "dupes" and how President Obama claimed he was unaware of them (the parties). He goes on to say just like how he was unaware of the AIG bonuses, that 5 of his cabinet members weren't paying their taxes, or for 20 years was unaware of his pastor. He talked of Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. Quoted Cleon Skousen and Longfellow. I liked his closing statement about rising up the purple majesty, rolling across the plains and crashing down on the current administration.
Stan Lockhart - He mentioned that it wasn't until 1996 that all the offices in Utah County were Republican. The said that the party chairs is responsible for 3 things. 1) to make sure Republicans are elected. 2) to organize the party 3) to raise money. He said it's the grassroots that make the party not the administration. He told the new leadership that the standard is not perfection, just the best that they can. He also told them to understand that it is difficult and to keep a good attitude. He talked about how the legislators hit a brickwall when it came to I-15. They were told they would only bond for it if the legislators agreed to raise taxes. Legislators said no. They eventually worked out a compromise of a small vehicle fee increase.
Jason Chaffetz stared with, "Welcome fellow terrorists." He talked about recently going to IRAQ. He said that we should be of more service. He also said that we should thank, help and support our troops. We need to do more to take care of those men and women who take care of us. He also said he wouldn't support a president that apologizes for being a military and economic superpower during his stops around the world. His speech was short and sweet. He got a standing ovation and lots of applause.
Bob Bennett - He said that there are 2 fun things to do at convention. 1) to be a cheerleader, to be proud to be an American, that it's OK to be American. 2) to be a truth teller. He said we already had cheerleaders today, so he was going to be a truth teller. He said that this week is the 1st time in 5 years that polls show Americans feel that America is on the right track - 80-90%. He said American's really like their attractive, new president. He said all we have to do is be smarter than Barrack Obama. He talked about General Washington and the Continental Army and how he looked for points of weakness to win. He said that we need to be careful about finding the right battles to win. People will lose their love affair with attractive, young president.
Orrin Hatch talked about how he is "fighting his guts out to have 41 senators [Republican senators for US Senate]." He said it is hard not to like Obama, but they are running us into bankruptcy. This administration spends, borrows and taxes too much. He talked about how the House can push anything through, but it stops in the Senate. They want to limit spending to 20% of GDP. Right now it is 28% going to 38%. He said that Obama is pushing the wrong programs. He said that he is the longest member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and when they release papers people will think that they had the wrong impression of George W. Bush. He said George W. Bush could have used his veto pen more. He said there has never been one single day where physical conservatives were the majority of any one body of congress. Republicans aren't just dreamers, we are doers. It's going to take all of us to make change and for our dream to come true.

Awards & Such

Marian gave a gift certificate to one of the leg. chairs and a "Bush Souvenir" and gift certificate to Lewis Billings.

Mayor Billings said Marian has served 8 years as chair and that is the longest anyone has served in that position. She was given a flag.

Marian gave Susan Bramble one of the Republican logos that apparently Mayor Billings and family made some time ago.
Susan Bramble came and gave the final credentials report: 847 for 69%
7 spots not filled, 380 didn't check in. Someone earlier had mentioned that they only thought 420 would come. We doubled their expectation.

Next, there was a proposed resolution that needed to be discussed. The declared that we still had enough people there for a quorum so they went ahead. Don Larsen wrote the proposal. He said we must support the Rule of Law and the Constitution. The resolution failed. A division was called. They did it visually, not an actual count. It failed.

They announced the winners of the county party leadership, but they didn't have the results of the state central committee by the time it was over.

Results can be found here: http://provovoice.blogspot.com/2009/04/2009-utah-county-organizing-convention.html

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Lakeview Neighborhood Watch Meeting

Here is the information (from Lawrence Law our Neighborhood Watch Chair) for the upcoming Neighborhood Meeting:


Lakeview Neighborhood Watch Meeting for all neighborhood people.

Meeting date: April 28th
Meeting time: 7:30 to 9:p.m.
Place: Lakeview Elementary School Gym

Agenda:

1- Lawrence- welcome, prayer, flag ceremony, introductions of leadership. (Cluff get scouts for flag ceremony.)

2- Deena- short synopsis of last meeting. Update on what has happened since last meeting.

3- Neighborhood chair introductions by self. Don Allphin and Kevin Garver

4- Sgt. Jensen give update report on recent crime in area, stressing ongoing need for vigilance.

5- 2 min. District Reports with DL, ADL and Sec. of each district up front so people know them.

6- McGruff home update. PTA pres? How are homes chosen and filtered? Quota? 3 Step process- background check by police, check with bishops, neighbor concerns?

7- Deena- give contact information, talk about street team responsibilities and phone tree.

8- Jim Campbell- training on street patrols

9- 5-10 min district huddles (overview of purpose, possibility of BBW, upcoming meeting, patrols?)

10- Lawrence- thank you, retire flag, closing prayer.

We are asking for a donation to cover costs of the neighborhood watch program. We are recommending a minimum $5 per family or home to defray costs such as McGruff House program dues, flyers, paperwork, etc. We will be reporting costs and where the money is being used. No one is profiting from these funds and will be used sparingly. Please be thoughtful and donate generously.

So far we have spent $220 for paper, pens, staples, copies, posterboard

We have over 1200 homes in our Neighborhood Watch boundaries and every family needs to be represented. Please come support the safety and beauty of our neighborhood.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Provo TEA Party


Provo’s Tax Day TEA Party - Wednesday, April 15, 2009

I applaud David Kirkham (co president of Kirkham Motor Sports) for hosting such a spectacular TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party. What a great turn out, could easily have been 1000 people there. It was really something. I also applaud all the people who came out to make a stand on such a miserable weather day. The silent majority was not silent today!!!

(I apologize for the bad pictures and any name misspellings, etc.)

The party started just after 5:p.m. I am not sure what time it ended because I had to leave at 6:40 p.m. to be to another meeting at 7:p.m.

Brianne Nelson, the daughter of Provo City’s Library director, sang the National Anthem. It was stunning and beautiful.

David introduced each speaker and spoke a bit between each.

1st up was House Representative, Jason Chaffetz. It’s always fun to listen to him speak.

David spoke a bit next. He talked about how he organized the first Tea Party in Utah on March 6th in Salt Lake City. Among other things, he mentioned the instapundit site (www.instapundit.com). I really liked David. I wished that he would run for some type of public office. I think that he would be great.

Mayor Lewis Billings spoke next. He said that Provo City was in its fourth rounds of budget cuts. He also said that the government should be more like those of old with the motto of fix it up, make it do, or do without. He said that “CHANGE is all we have left.”

Margaret Dayton spoke next. She spoke of if there is a decision between government brains and private brains, private brains should always win. She talked about how she wanted to opt out of the No Child Left Behind program. She asked for a raise of hands for how many people were first time protesters. It was well over half.

David Kirkham talked about how one time he was in Poland at the factory that was building the body of his cars. He said that the factory had it’s lights off. Men were in there working with machinery without any lights. He said that is what happens with Socialism. He said, “I don’t want my children to grow up with that.”

David had a child come up with the sign he was holding. The sign said “I owe 12 trillion dollars.”

Nick Kirkham, David’s 12 year old son, gave an amazing speech. He read an essay he had written. It moved me to tears. He talked about a conversation he had with his father about John Revere and talked about driving a cobra through town yelling, "the Socialists are coming." He asked if you were a Republican to raise your hand. He then asked if you were a Democrat to raise your hand. He then told us we were all liars – we are all AMERICANS!!!

Chris Herrod spoke next. He said that Socialism destroys the soul. He said that Obama’s change is just old philosophy that has failed time and time again. He talked about how Glenn Beck says power rests in WE the PEOPLE. He also quoted Ezra Taft Benson. It was a great quote, wished I had it to share with you.

David mentioned many times how he turned down people to speak at this event. He said his purpose for holding these events was to effect change in the 2010 elections.

John Dougall was next. He said our agreeing to debt today is taxing our children. He talked about how Patrick Henry said, “Give me Liberty or Give me Death,” but now it is “Give me Liberty or Bail me Out.”

David said we left Europe once already, why are we headed back? He said that there were 13 Tea Parties in Utah.

Francis Gibson spoke about getting involved. If we get involved we can make change. We each needed to tell 5 people about our opinions and to get them involved also.

David talked about our need of economic freedom.

Brad Daw said, “Where is this global warming?” (Did I forget to mention there was snow on the ground and it was raining and cold?) He reminded us that our rights don’t come from Washington, but from a higher source. They are God given. He said our federal government shouldn’t dictate to us, we should dictate to them.

David - Socialism is trickled down disappointment.

Jess Jones, a college student, spoke.

Ken Ivory said that 93% of the bailout went to only 25 companies. He talked about the “Big Stick Tea Party.” This will be an event when 1000 tea bags will be hand delivered to all 535 members of congress. Accompanying the bags will be a video called the “Big Lie.” The purpose is to stop future government bailouts. (http://www.ourcaucus.com/BigStick.html)

Senator Valentine spoke and pointed out that we are a silent majority no more!

David read one of the signs – “Extinction is Forever, Save the Tax Payer.” David told a story of his friend Tiffany whose husband recently died of cancer. When trying to get financial help for their medical bills it was recommended to them to get divorced, because then Tiffany could go make some money. At the time, the government had them sucked into their system and only allowed them to make $200 (two hundred, didn’t want you to think I wrote it wrong!) a month.

Ruth spoke about 912. Glenn Beck first started it. The purpose of the Utah 912 Project (utah912.com) is to unite with other Americans who share the values practiced by our founding fathers; to study, uphold, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America; and to take action to hold our elected officials accountable for the oaths they have sworn. Glenn came up with 9 principles and 12 values to bring us back to that time of September 12th where we all stood united. United We Stand. Change takes place in our neighborhoods.

David’s neighbor, Simon Jester, spoke next. He recited the 4th verse to the Star Spangled Banner. (You must read his comment to this post!)

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Brianne sang another song, Power of a Dream.

David read another sign, “Revoke Congress’ VISA”

This is when I had to leave…

There were people standing on the sidewalk along University Ave getting people driving by to honk their horns the entire time. It was great!