| "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." —Ronald Reagan | ||
| "The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money." —Alexis de Tocqueville | ||
| "Liberty, once lost, is lost forever." —John Adams |
Utah Republican Party Chair Candidates
Dave Duncan (challenger)
Web site
I am a true, grassroots Republican, who believes in the party platform, rather than cronyism. I believe that the delegates should be the ultimate authority in the party, and they should choose nominees, officers, and policy directions on a level field where the options are fairly and informatively discussed and evaluated. Party officers should enact the will of the delegates. As it is now, the party officers impose their will on the delegates. They give incumbents preference over challengers, and perpetuate a system that engenders cronyism. They stifle the voice of the delegates in some cases. In other cases they control the message so tightly, that delegates don't have the critical information they need to set the right policy directions.
I believe that our party platform has merit, and that our elected officials should be evaluated relative to it, and that party officers should champion the principles in the platform. I believe that if we renew our dedication to the platform, that we will attract many people who have tired of "politics as usual" back to the party.
I believe that as the party officers vehemently defend the platform principles, we will attract solid conservatives to the party, and that we will persuade many to become conservatives.
Question from RealConservative.org: Would you eliminate ex-officio delegates?
Automatic delegates are not allowed by the current Utah Republican Party Constitution. I respect the rules. As party chair, I would give the counties plenty of advanced warning that they need to comply with the rules, or risk challenges to the credentials of those delegates who were not elected in compliance with the party constitution. This is an important point on which the incumbent and I are divided. He excuses ex-officio delegates saying that is a county issue. But the state party constitution is clear that it has precedence over county party rules, declaring them "null and void" (Article VII.A) where ever they conflict the state party constitution.
The only other remedy would be a constitutional amendment that allowed delegates to be allocated somewhere other than the precincts. But an amendment to that effect was put before the delegates in 2006, and failed miserably. Chaffetz's (et. al.) letter helped to defeat that proposal at the convention.
Article XII.1.A of the URP Constitution says that county parties are supposed to allocate the delegates to the precincts based on the relative Republican Strength of the precincts. That means no delegates may be stripped from the precincts, as is the current practice, in several counties. Some counties designate over 20% of their seats as automatic delegate positions for party insiders. In Utah County, where the percentage of automatic delegates is 11.5%, one out of every three precincts is cheated out of an additional state delegate position that they earned, according to Article XII.1.A of the state party constitution. And those precincts never even knew that they deserved another seat.
I stand in defense of the voice of the grassroots--delegates chosen by their own precinct. The incumbent stands for diluting the voice of the grassroots by withholding delegate seats from the precincts, and giving those seats to party insiders.
Question from RealConservative.org: Would you oppose the veto power?
Yes. In fact this is another area in which the incumbent and I are divided. He voted in favor of the veto power proposal on December 4, 2010. In the January 22, 2011 meeting, he voted down the Delegates' Rights amendment, which would have clearly RESTORED the right of the delegates to amend the party constitution without the SCC's interference.
After the uproar surrounding the SCC Veto power-grab, they realized their tactical error, and violated the rules in referring it to the C&B committee, rather than having it come up during the convention. However pulling it from the convention did not significantly change the shift of power that Wright sought with his veto power vote. The SCC Veto Power is essentially already in effect, since the SCC's C&B Committee can keep any undesirable proposals from coming before the convention.
Witness my Proposed "Delegates' Rights" Amendment which would ensure that the delegates proposing amendments could choose whether the proposal is heard by the SCC first or goes directly to the convention. The SCC voted it down overwhelmingly, realizing it gives power to the grassroots, and bypasses their control over the party.
I resubmitted the Delegates' Rights Amendment for the convention, with a minor modification, addressing some supposed concerns that the SCC had. But the SCC's C&B committee did not forward it to the convention, where it would undoubtedly be approved. Instead, they sent it to the SCC, where it will BE KILLED. Five years ago, the delegates overwhelmingly passed a resolution, demanding that their right to propose amendments to the constitution be restored. (It was seized the prior year by a reinterpretation of the rules by the SCC, and a party chair who upheld that interpretation.)
Instead of complying with the clear will of the delegates on this issue, the SCC simply made a bylaw that gave their own C&B committee authority to decide whether proposed amendments would go to the convention or to the SCC, first, where they could be sidelined and killed.
These are very important issues. They are at the heart of the question of who should have the ultimate say in party affairs--the delegates or the power-brokers. But there is much more at stake, as well. You can find out more about me at my very-informative website: http://dave4chair.com
Thomas Wright (incumbent)
Web site
Dear Friend,
I am running for Chairman because I believe our top priority for 2012 is to send 4 Republican Congressmen to Washington DC.
Can you imagine how much stronger our Country would be if Utah sent 2 Rob Bishop’s and 2 Jason Chaffetz’s to Washington?
This reality has motivated me to sacrifice my time and personal priorities to work for this Party and for America. Many delegates do not know that Party Officer positions are non-paid, volunteer positions. At great sacrifice to me and my family, I am committing to you to give my all to lead this Party.
I hope to earn each delegate’s vote on Saturday. Before you vote, please consider that when you vote for me, you are committing to work. I will ask you to give more time, money and energy then has been asked of you in the past. You should plan on walking neighborhoods, contributing financially to the party and candidates, inviting neighbors and friends to caucus night, and registering people to vote.
Politics is a team sport. I am running to be the coach and I need a team that is ready for battle. I am asking every grassroots supporter, elected official, donor, delegate, precinct leader and county party leader to suit up and get on the field, ready to give 110 percent. I will make sure my team has all the tools it needs to do their jobs effectively. I will fund-raise, organize and provide the backbone to beat Jim Matheson and Barack Obama and get this Country on track.
I am firm believer that the delegates and County Party’s are the leaders of this Party. I will empower them. I will defend the caucus system, delegate’s rights and county party self-government. You can read about my position on the caucus system in and Op-Ed I wrote for the Salt Lake Tribune: http://tinyurl.com/wright-defends-caucuses
We have a clearly defined strategy that will lead us to victory in 2012. It is not only a Republican victory which hangs in the balance; it is the future solvency and security of our county which is on the line.
I have enjoyed every minute of my time as State Chairman and thank you for the honor to serve. I am encouraged by your determination and have set some high standards for myself and for you. And I know we can win if we work together.
Highest regards,
Thomas Wright
Chairman, Utah Republican Party
P.S. I hope you can make it to one of my Meet the Candidate events this week. You can also visit me on Facebook.
Thomas Wright for GOP Chairman: http://www.facebook.com/#!/WrightUTGOPChair
Arnold Gaunt (challenger)
I seek the office of Utah Republican Party Chair because I believe the Party must do more to advance the Platform and to move strongly in the direction of limited, constitutional government. These objectives can be best pursued by ensuring that grassroots delegates have ownership and control of the Party.
I have been extensively involved with the Utah Republican Party since 1994 and have served in numerous positions since that time. I believe that all power in the Party should flow up from the grassroots and that the Party exists to advance its Platform.
If elected Chair, with your assistance I will work hard using my capabilities and prior experience to accomplish the following objectives on your behalf:
- Ensure the 2012 Nominating Convention elections are conducted fairly without favoritism towards any candidate
- Develop grassroots political infrastructure to defeat Democrats and provide greater accountability of elected Republicans
- Protect precinct caucuses from loss of delegate positions taken by State Party and County Party leaders for automatic assignment and appointment
- Provide full disclosure of Party finances. I will not ask you to contribute any money until a budget that should have already been produced in accordance with the Party rules has been adopted.
If you believe that the grassroots base of the Republican Party should be preserved and strengthened, please vote for Arnold Gaunt for Republican Party Chair! Please contact me at ajgaunt@xmission.com or at 801-621-3122 if you have any questions.
In case you did not receive the four e-mails regarding my candidacy that were sent to at least some state delegates, you may read them all at:
http://www.xmission.com/~ajgaunt/urp/messages.pdf
Question from RealConservative.org: Would you eliminate ex-officio delegates?
I don’t believe the rules enacted by the state delegates authorize ex officio delegates. If elected, I would use the office of Chair within the rules to do everything possible to ensure that all delegates are elected in precinct caucuses as required.
Question from RealConservative.org: Would you oppose the veto power?
I believe that the state delegates are the final authority over the Constitution and I will continue to oppose any attempt by the State Central Committee to institute a veto power over the delegates at the State Convention.
For more detailed responses to these questions, please see:
http://www.xmission.com/~ajgaunt/urp/answers.pdf