By Josh Ewing ~ Candidate, House District 25
If you had any do
ubt that Democracy is alive and thriving in Utah, all you needed to do was attend the Summit County Democratic Convention on Wednesday night. More than 150 people from all walks of life drove to the South Summit High School in Kamas to chose candidates for the County races and get the chance to meet with state and federal candidates like me.
I talked with farmers, students, lawyers, former county commissioners, and even one passionate Democrat who gave me a good “talking to” about one of my advertising clients. All of the Democratic candidates for the state House of Representatives in District 25 were in attendance. Of course, we were all working the room. In one of two truly Democratic counties in Utah, we have the rare opportunity to elect a strong Democrat, and the delegates are doing their duty to grill us the best they can.
But our campaigning was really a sideshow. Two contested races were in question: Summit County Auditor and Clerk. Incumbent Auditor Barb Kresser (an energetic, motherly, and obviously hard-working gal) faced a challenge from Ron Perry (an obviously intelligent and professional guy with lots of experience w/ appraisals). Ninety-seven delegates voted in the first round of voting, but could not pick a 60% favorite between the two – meaning a primary in June.
Three candidates faced off for the Democratic nomination to the office of County Clerk. Incumbent Sue Follett (who had been very helpful to me with getting past election results) faced a challenge from Cindy LoPiccolo (an accomplished municipal clerk who currently works for Park City) and Kent Jones (who lost to Sue the last go around by fewer than 50 votes). After the first round of balloting, the audience was shocked as Sue was knocked out of the race. A tight second-round ballot meant a primary between Jones and LoPiccolo.
As the delegates trickled out of the building talking local politics, the war in Iraq and everything in between, several of us candidates commented about “good ole democracy in action.” It may not always be pretty. And it certainly isn’t fun to be on the losing side. But you gotta agree… it sure is interesting some times…..and you have to have faith that the process will work and the delegates will put aside their personal preferences and elect the best person for the job.
ubt that Democracy is alive and thriving in Utah, all you needed to do was attend the Summit County Democratic Convention on Wednesday night. More than 150 people from all walks of life drove to the South Summit High School in Kamas to chose candidates for the County races and get the chance to meet with state and federal candidates like me.I talked with farmers, students, lawyers, former county commissioners, and even one passionate Democrat who gave me a good “talking to” about one of my advertising clients. All of the Democratic candidates for the state House of Representatives in District 25 were in attendance. Of course, we were all working the room. In one of two truly Democratic counties in Utah, we have the rare opportunity to elect a strong Democrat, and the delegates are doing their duty to grill us the best they can.
But our campaigning was really a sideshow. Two contested races were in question: Summit County Auditor and Clerk. Incumbent Auditor Barb Kresser (an energetic, motherly, and obviously hard-working gal) faced a challenge from Ron Perry (an obviously intelligent and professional guy with lots of experience w/ appraisals). Ninety-seven delegates voted in the first round of voting, but could not pick a 60% favorite between the two – meaning a primary in June.
Three candidates faced off for the Democratic nomination to the office of County Clerk. Incumbent Sue Follett (who had been very helpful to me with getting past election results) faced a challenge from Cindy LoPiccolo (an accomplished municipal clerk who currently works for Park City) and Kent Jones (who lost to Sue the last go around by fewer than 50 votes). After the first round of balloting, the audience was shocked as Sue was knocked out of the race. A tight second-round ballot meant a primary between Jones and LoPiccolo.
As the delegates trickled out of the building talking local politics, the war in Iraq and everything in between, several of us candidates commented about “good ole democracy in action.” It may not always be pretty. And it certainly isn’t fun to be on the losing side. But you gotta agree… it sure is interesting some times…..and you have to have faith that the process will work and the delegates will put aside their personal preferences and elect the best person for the job.
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