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Situational Awareness - Thursday, September 3, 2020

Good Thursday morning. Are you ready for some politics?

We have a Trivia winner!

Last Monday's question was: Name the relatively unknown Utah Republican congressional challenger who won a congressional seat on a fluke when his Democratic incumbent opponent was arrested for sex solicitation. The question also asked who his campaign manager was for his first re-election.

Several people got the name of the congressman: Dan Marriott. But only Doug Foxley got his re-election campaign manager: Mike Leavitt (actually, Leavitt himself emailed me to "acknowledge the painful fact that if you live long enough you'll become the answer to a trivia question").

I remember that 1978 race because it was one of the first political races I covered as a reporter for the Deseret News. It was a time when Democrats still won congressional races. Marriott was a freshman incumbent and expectations were low because he was elected on a fluke. His opponent was a smart and articulate law professor named Ed Firmage. I found it fascinating that instead of avoiding debates with the formidable Firmage, Leavitt encouraged Marriott to debate Firmage more than two dozen times, anywhere and everywhere. And, surprisingly, Marriott did very well in the debates. The final vote was 62-35 percent for Marriott. Leavitt, age 27, made a name for himself as a campaign manager and went on to manage other major campaigns.

So, congrats to Doug Foxley
--LaVarr Webb

TICK TOCK

21 days to the 1st Congressional District debate (9/24/2020)
25 days to the Utah gubernatorial debate (9/28/2020)
34 days to the Vice Presidential debate at the University of Utah (10/07/2020)
39 days to the 4th Congressional District debate (10/12/2020)
42 days to the 3rd Congressional District debate (10/15/2020)
46 days to the 2nd Congressional District debate (10/19/2020)
48 days to the Utah Attorney General debate (10/21/2020)
61 days to the 2020 election (11/3/2020)
139 days to inauguration day (01/20/2021)
144 days to the start of the 2021 Utah Legislature (1/25/2021)

Today At Utah Policy

Utah Headlines

Deseret News

• Boyd Matheson: Why this political activist wants Americans to take a 24-hour break from politics (+podcast)
• S.L. School District's supply of educational devices depleted; 6,000 Chromebooks backordered amid supply chain pinch
• New study shows gender gaps in Utah's county governments
• EPA creates new office in Colorado for historic mine waste in the West
• USA Today's Susan Page to moderate Pence-Harris debate at University of Utah
• Utah rental company owner admits to Paycheck Protection Program fraud
• Salt Lake City ready to move to yellow or 'low restriction' phase, mayor says
• Utah is now national headquarters for public lands recreation planning
• Equity in policing commission begins to look at Salt Lake police policies

Salt Lake Tribune

• Greg Sheehan knows he is going to make people mad over Utah's public lands
• Salt Lake City asks to move to 'yellow' risk status; 419 new cases of COVID-19 reported statewide
• Summit County says Wells Fargo illegally sold disputed property to Hideout developers
• Spencer Cox reemerges in leading role of state's pandemic response
• USA Today journalist Susan Page will moderate vice presidential debate in Utah
• UTA ridership slowly recovering; new UTA chief gets $12k salary hike
• Mitt Romney shuts down his presidential campaign committee
• Two cities back out as critics line up against Utah-supported municipal nuclear power project

Other

• Study: Only 13.8% of Utah County government leadership positions held by women (Daily Herald)
• Ogden City Council passes sweeping, ambitious master plan for downtown area (Standard-Examiner)
• Nearly 400 Weber County businesses share $330K in waivers on tax penalties, fees (Standard-Examiner)
• 'Itch to spend': June sales tax revenue in county breaks records (Logan Herald Journal)
• 'Multi-targeted approach': Logan hopes to eliminate blight, entice development with $1.3 million acquisition (Logan Herald Journal)
• Temple subdivision petition not certified (Tooele Transcript Bulletin)
• Utah's state constitution still includes slavery, but voters could change that (St. George Spectrum)
• Local group fighting mask mandate via Washington County School Board endorsements (St. George Spectrum)

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National Headlines

• Pelosi says San Francisco salon 'owes me an apology for setting me up' (The Week)
• Gall of Nancy Pelosi: Salon for me, lockdown for you (New York Post)
• U.S. Debt to Exceed Economy's Size Next Year, a Postwar First (Wall Street Journal)
• The global coronavirus economy: How bad will it get? (POLITICO)
• Shockingly, the Democratic Nominee Will Visit Wisconsin (National Review)
• Did Impeachment Happen, Or Did I Imagine It? (Federalist)
• 'We Are Not Closing Down This Church' - California Pastor Warns Officials (HillFaith)
• The Pinnacle of Looting Apologia (Atlantic)
• The Trayvon Hoax (NEO)
• To Destroy America (City Journal)
• From riots to the filibuster, liberal America won't accept political opposition (USA Today)
• After decades of effort, Trump has delivered in the Middle East (Washington Examiner)
• Nancy Pelosi just handed Trump a campaign gift (CNN)
• Opinion: Betsy DeVos' back-to-school letter to America's parents (Detroit News)
• Kenosha Could Cost Trump the Election (Atlantic)
• Why Won't Biden Condemn Antifa or BLM Violence? (RealClearPolitics)
• The door-to-door army that helped Trump win in 2016 is ready for battle (New York Post)
• Doug Schoen: Markey's Mass. primary victory proves AOC is most powerful Democrat in America (FOX News)
• Joe Biden makes the case Donald Trump has already made America more dangerous (Vox)
• The Democrats' Laughable 'President Chaos' Strategy (American Greatness)

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Policy News

Insightful podcast: Burningham interviews Jon & Mary Kaye Huntsman
Businessman and former gubernatorial candidate Jeff Burningham has an excellent podcast featuring a discussion with Jon and Mary Kaye Huntsman. Burningham's introduction: "Today I give you an inside glimpse into one of America's most well known families; The Huntsman's. Here are a couple of questions I ask Jon and Mary Kaye: 1. What's it really like to be a Huntsman? 2. The role that faith has played in their lives? 3. How they decided not to run a write in campaign for Utah Governor 2020? Hope you enjoy this inside look!"Listen to it HERE.

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Long-term implications of COVID-19 on transportation, development patterns, and air quality
COVID-19 is an important moment in the history of cities. Even as we continue to battle the public health emergency of COVID-19, and are grappling with the economic emergency, we are beginning to understand that living with a pandemic may forever alter people's lifestyles and decisions. COVID-19 shifts include teleworking, more online shopping, less commuting and driving, different uses of living and working spaces, and more biking and walking. In short, life has been revolving more around our neighborhoods. This is a "great localization" of life and activity.

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Sutherland Congressional Series available on YouTube
In August, the Sutherland Institute hosted the five events for its 2020 Congressional Series via Zoom. This series is designed to facilitate civil dialogue and convene stakeholders, elected officials and community leaders to discuss important issues. Full transcripts and videos of the events, featuring Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney, and congressmen Chris Stewart, John Curtis and Ben McAdams, are now available to review the topics and policies that members of Utah's congressional delegation believe are crucial today. See Sutherland's website for transcripts and videos.

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Utahns prefer that new K-12 spending go to teacher pay
As part of the 2020 Utah Priorities Project survey, when asked if they would be willing to pay more taxes for public schools, a majority of voters agreed. Utah voters preferred that additional funding be directed toward teacher pay. What about the other preferences? Find out the details in our post.

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ULCT 2020 annual convention: Respond, Recover, Reimagine
September 21st - 25th, 2020 Utah League of Cities and Towns (ULCT) is partnering with American Planning Association (APA) and Wasatch Front Regional Council (WFRC) to provide opportunities Sept. 21-25 to see and hear the latest about planning, managing, communicating, and innovating in Utah cities and towns. With more than 30 workshops, multiple mobile tours, roundtable discussions, a debate between the two candidates running for Governor, and keynote speakers including author Peter Kageyama, "Love Your City", and Reverend France Davis, you will not want to miss this event! The event is fully virtual, except for opportunities for the local mobile tours. Register HERE.

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Housing and racial injustice
On the 3rd day of Utah Housing Coalition's annual housing conference, several renowned national and local speakers will address racial injustice and housing inequality. Local advocates will discuss how racism affects healthcare, education, and access to criminal justice. Nationally renowned researchers will discuss Racial and Ethnic Equity: From Fair Property Taxes to Income Mixing Strategies.

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BUSINESS HEADLINES

• Ogden City Council passes sweeping, ambitious master plan for downtown area (Standard-Examiner)
• Nearly 400 Weber County businesses share $330K in waivers on tax penalties, fees (Standard-Examiner)
• 'Multi-targeted approach': Logan hopes to eliminate blight, entice development with $1.3 million acquisition (Logan Herald Journal)
• 'Itch to spend': June sales tax revenue in county breaks records (Logan Herald Journal)

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ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

(From History.com)

1783 - The Treaty of Paris is signed and the American Revolutionary War officially end. America became a free nation and Britain formally recognized the independence of its 13 former American colonies.

1914 - Giacoma della Chiesa is elected to the papacy of the Roman Catholic Church, becoming Pope Benedict XV, barely a month after the outbreak of World War I.
1939 - Britain and France declare war on Germany in response to Hitler's invasion of Poland. First casualty of that declaration was the sinking of the British ocean liner, Athenia, sunk by a German U-30 submarine.

2004 - Terrible violence in Russia as a three-day hostage crisis at a school ends with a gun battle between the hostage-takers and Russian security. Over 300 people die, many of them children, and hundreds more are injured.

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