This began as a post on Facebook. It started to get a little long, so I moved it here:
A 29 county plan sounds nice, but ignores the reality that 4 counties have fewer than 2,000 voters. That would be like Howard Dean's 40 state plan if seven of the states were the size of Wyoming or smaller. Regional Headquarters makes more sense, but I'd like more details. Corroon's campaign seems to be half-assed. It's like he's daring us to vote for Richard Davis. Raising a ton of money doesn't do you a bit of good without the ability to put together a good message. Peter Corroon's expensive flier is a perfect example of how we do a good job at fundraising, but a horrible job of spending that money.
Yes, it's been a short campaign. However, it's a campaign that I had thought about jumping into myself. I had a pretty comprehensive platform from the start, especially compared to the lack of anything coming from either candidate.
I didn't undertake the race for a variety of reasons. One was money. I just didn't have the personal resources to start up the campaign, especially in such a short time. Another was the fact that my personal life and career are at turning points right now, and I didn't need to risk them.
If it was only those reasons, I would deeply regret my decision not to run. I could have at least made the race interesting. I would have at least forced the other candidates to actually mount good campaigns.
However, last night at the Taylor/Mayne Celebration, I realized a big reason not to run: Todd Taylor. I have been not been taking care of my health like I should. I know that Todd's weight and the stress of running the party were two major factors that lead to his young death. I seriously need to spend some time working on bringing my weight down.
However, I am reminded of a conversation I had with Todd one of the last times I was at the old party HQ. He told me that we are a party of good ideas, and that I am a person of good ideas. Rather than simply complain about how thing should be, I should use my voice to share those ideas. And so, with that in mind, here are some of the things I would have focused on as part of my run for chair:
-We desperately need to engage with voters, especially young voter, where they are. That means significantly increasing our profile online. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Having a Dynamic Web Site, and more. We don't have to rely on traditional media to get our message out anymore, so why are we?
-We need to focus our attention on areas that should be voting Democratic, but aren't. West Valley and Ogden should be as deep blue as Salt Lake. We need to recapture the labor presence in coal country. We need to bring an environmental message to South Eastern Utah.
-We need to let Utah Democrats know that they are not alone. We need to showcase our diverse body. We need to point out that we have very conservative members of our party, but we need to also embrace our progressive side as well.
-We need to change our messaging on abortion. While abortion is not a major issue to many, it is a major sticking point to many of my friends and neighbors who would consider voting for a democrat, if not for that one thing. We need to tell Utah voters that abortion is ultimately a medical decision between a woman and her doctor, and the last people that should be making those decisions are our Utah Legistalture.
-We need to tell people that while there are many natural factors involved in our inversions, there is a lot that we can do to help make our air healthier for us and our children to breathe.
-We need to concentrate on helping the "least of these." We have a real poverty problem here in Utah, and it is only getting worse.
This is just a small list, typed together in less than an hour. Unless either candidate can show me that they have focused on the issues at hand for longer than that, I plan on voting for neither candidate.
-Bob
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