Dissatisfaction is an Opportunity
A recent survey announced on Utah Policy.com found that 48 percent of Utahns disapprove of the job of the state legislature, while only 41 percent approve. That is a significant drop in the past year. Legislators are in trouble.
The numbers are even worse for women; only 37 percent approve of the legislature's job. Strong Republicans approve of the legislature, but independent Republicans are divided. While over 50 percent approve of the legislature, nearly four in ten do not. And independents and Democrats strongly disapprove—56 percent of independents and over three-fourths of Democrats.
This is a tremendous opportunity for the United Utah Party. Public dissatisfaction with the two major parties is high, as it is for Congress and the president. But at the local level, that dissatisfaction is growing as well. Voters are looking for an alternative.
But we can't provide that alternative unless we are prepared to do so. How do we prepare?
First, raise enough funds to help our candidates get their message out to the voters. Last year, the party gave several hundreds of dollars to each of the candidates who ran active campaigns. This next year, we need to give thousands, not just hundreds, to those candidates. How will we do that? It will only come from your donations to the party to help us accomplish that. Please give generously at unitedutah.org/donate.
Second, recruit candidates. Please help us do that. One way is to identify people who would be good county commissioners or state legislators. Contact them and ask them if they have considered running, and if so on the UUP ticket. Explain that the UUP is not like the two major parties. We are more interested in good people who can act wisely than in people who fit strict ideological tests.
Third, volunteer at unitedutah.org/volunteer. Give us your name so we can let a candidate in your area know that they have a friend and supporter. It is lonely to be a candidate without support. Give that support by signing up to help a candidate campaign.
Finally, pass this message on to others you know. This week, tell at least one other person about the United Utah Party. Spread the word that the time has come for a person that represents people in the middle—Utahns who are tired of extremist politics and being forced into boxes they don't fit in.
Thank you for helping us build a political home—not only for ourselves, but also for the many other Utahns who are looking for a new one.
–Richard Davis, Chair
Welcome to Our New County Leaders
A big welcome to our new county United Utah Party leaders! We are excited to see the great heights to which you will lead your counties in coming months. Thank you for your commitment of time and energy to the uniter cause.
For those who were unable to attend the relevant county conventions, the new county leaders are as follows.
Cache County
Chair: Dannon Loveland
Vice-Chair: Roger Mann
Davis County
Chair: Jeff Gapinski
Vice-Chair: Kimberly Wagner
Secretary/Treasurer: Ben Brimhall
Iron County
Chair: Ruth Scovill
Vice-Chair: Patricia Bradford
Secretary/Treasurer: Troy Stonely
Sanpete County
Chair: Amy Anderson
Salt Lake County
Chair: Brian Fabbi
Vice-Chair: Jonathan Harmon
Secretary/Treasurer: Lisa Gregg
Utah County
Chair: Lora Beth Brown
Vice-Chair: Emily Bergeson
Secretary/Treasurer: Wayne Woodfield
Wasatch County
Chair: Rob Fredricks
Vice-Chair: Kody Clyde
Weber County
Chair: Shelly Ripplinger
"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."
Term Limits: A Party in Motion
We are all caught between two forces, according to Sir Isaac Newton's first law of motion. According to Newton, "A body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will remain in motion unless it is acted upon by an external force." He meant it literally, but it is true metaphorically as well.
Everyday, we encounter forces that can stop our progress if we are in motion or set us in motion if we are at rest. It is our hope that we can be a force that brings motion, change, action for good in this state. Many political practices, laws, and even people in this state have been in a state of rest for far too long. We are the moving force needed to give them a push to get them moving in a better direction!
Right now, we are united as a growing, moving body in motion, pressing forward toward term limits. The Unite 4 Term Limits Initiative is a citizens initiative that will put Term Limits on the table for legislators in 2020. In order to do that, we need signatures of citizens who support term limit—a lot of them.
A party in motion will stay in motion, but we must be careful not to let our movement be brought to a halt by the motions of apathy or discouragement. We have about 116,000 signatures to get and less than 100 days to get them. That is going to require a huge effort from the whole party. Every one of us must do our part to make this happen!
There are two easy steps that we each can and should do.
First, we need everyone reading this newsletter to sign the petition. If you're not sure how, sign up here and we can get you in contact with someone about signing! (Unfortunately, signing online only indicates that you would like to sign the petition and does not count as a signature on the petition. If we could get signatures online, this race would be over in a flash!)
Second, after you've signed, we need everyone who reads this newsletter to share, share, share!
According to a UtahPolicy poll, 75% of Utahns support term limits for legislators. If everyone who reads and signs the petition chooses to then share the petition, encouraging other Utahns to sign and share the petition, the odds of us getting all 116,000 signatures by the deadline in February drastically increases!
So tell your neighbors and friends, talk to your colleagues at work, let your sewing groups and bowling groups and book clubs know! Post it on your social media accounts, email old friends, and help your parents get in touch with a signature gatherer. Just get the word out to your fellow Utahns! If you share it, they will sign.
In particular, please share the Initiative's facebook page (Unite 4 Term Limits) and share the following link so that your friends and neighbors who are interested in signing can get in touch with a signature collector and add their names to the cause:
https://unite4termlimits.nationbuilder.com/sign_the_petition.
Of course, there are other BIG ways you can help us make it to the deadline with all the necessary signatures in February.
We still need people to help collect signatures. Sign up here to volunteer to get those signatures. We'll get you hooked up with a leader in your area who can get signature packets to you. We have been amazed at how many great volunteers have come out of the woodwork and shown their willingness to take around packets.
But the truth is, we're going to need a whole lot more. Soon, we'll be launching more materials that will allow you to start gathering signatures today, if you are willing. All you'll need is a printer, a phone or email address, a stapler, and a way of getting to the county clerks office.
Another huge way that you can help is by making a donation. Click here to support us financially today. Every dollar counts! And every dollar will be used to help get more signatures on the petition.
Every signature, share, volunteer, and donation gets us that much closer to those 116,000 signatures. Every signature gathered gets us one step closer to getting term limits on the table in 2020.
Thanks so much for your support on this great initiative!
Save the Date
We've got some important events coming up in a few months, so make sure to mark these dates on your calendars!
| Date | Event |
| January 18, 2020 | Moving UUP Summit |
| March 24, 2020 | Party Caucuses |
| April 18, 2020 | UUP State Convention |
We'll look forward to seeing you there!
Press Release: UUP on Impeachment Inquiry
UNITED UTAH PARTY CALLS ON UTAH U.S. HOUSE DELEGATION TO VOTE FOR IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY
The United Utah Party has issued the following statement:
The U.S. House of Representatives is preparing to vote later this week on a resolution that would outline the process for going forward with an impeachment inquiry into the actions of President Trump. An impeachment inquiry is a grave step and it should be a rare situation for the nation. Unfortunately, the controversy over this inquiry has divided across party lines. Only a handful of Republicans, including Senator Mitt Romney, have noted that the president’s behavior is deeply troubling and require further investigation.
We agree with Senator Romney, and we hope that the rest of the Utah Congressional Delegation will as well.
The upcoming House vote is not a vote to impeach the president, but rather a recognition that the allegations against President Trump merit a formal investigation. The allegations include attempting to involve a foreign government in U.S. elections, using foreign aid (which is paid for by taxpayers) to persuade a foreign government to investigate a political opponent, and conspiracy to obstruct justice by interfering in a criminal investigation. If these allegations are true, they represent a dangerous misuse of presidential power. We believe our elections should be protected from foreign influence. It is illegal to purposely encourage foreign governments to violate the integrity of our electoral process. We believe no criminal investigation should be interfered with because even the president is not above the law.
Since these are serious allegations and have profound consequences for the presidency and the nation, Congress should investigate them. All members of Congress should want to get to the bottom of these allegations to determine whether they are accurate. A vote to stop this inquiry at the outset would demonstrate a loyalty to party over principle.
This is why the United Utah Party calls upon all members of the Utah Congressional Delegation—Rob Bishop, Chris Stewart, John Curtis, and Ben McAdams—to vote to allow this process to continue. Anything less would be a betrayal of the constitutional ideals our elected officials have sworn to protect and defend.
Endorse the Party?
Want to help the cause, but don't know how to start? Dip your toes into supporting the UUP by sending your name and hometown to [email protected].
If you do, you'll be helping us flesh out the party for those considering their options! We will include your name and hometown on a list of endorsements in a fundraising letter and on our website. We want to let people know who some of our members are.
Thanks so much for your help!
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The United Utah Party is dedicated to providing and supporting moderate alternatives to the political extremes.
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