Politics

The Utah legislature opens its general session on Monday with a lot of new faces.  21 out of 75 members of the Utah House of Representatives are serving their first terms, along with 4 out of the 29 members of the state Senate.  Republicans still far outnumber Democrats.  In fact, there are only 14 Democrats left in the House.  But among those new Republican members, there could be a few more moderate voices.  KUER's Dan Bammes spoke to a couple of new members of the House from Utah County.

Governor Gary Herbert says he doesn't want to join what he calls the "rush to judgment" in the case of Utah Attorney General John Swallow.

January 18, 2013

A View from the Edge of the Fiscal Cliff—What Happened and What’s Next?

Elizabeth M. Gore, former Chief of Staff and Legislative Director to U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND)

Alexander R. Dahl, former Deputy Staff Director and Senior Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee and Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia

Jacob A. Johnson, former Legislative Assistant for Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT)

January 16, 2013

The U.S. Foreign Service: Behind the Scenes of  American Diplomacy

Featuring: Nicholas Kralev, author, journalist and lecturer; former Financial Times and Washington Times correspondent.

Click here for more information about the Hinckley Institute of Politics Forums at the University of Utah.

Wednesday January 16, 2013

Fighting Hunger Worldwide: The World Food Programme’s Global and Regional Reach

Featuring: Dr. Carlos Guevara Mann, Programme Officer, Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean United Nations World Food Programme.

Click here for more information about the Hinckley Institute of Politics Forums at the University of Utah.

Utah Attorney General John Swallow is asking the U.S. Attorney for Utah for a full investigation into allegations that he schemed to bribe a congressman.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Lobbying at the Utah State Legislature
David Spatafore, Spatafore Consulting Group

Click here for more information about the Hinckley Institute of Politics Forums at the University of Utah.

Past Hinckley forums can be found here.

The chorus of voices demanding an investigation of Utah's attorney general is growing.  The Alliance for a Better Utah is asking the Utah State Bar to look into accusations that Attorney General John Swallow helped to arrange a lobbying effort aimed at sidetracking a federal investigation of Internet entrepreneur Jeremy Johnson.

Alliance Director Maryann Martindale says, if what Johnson has been saying is true, Swallow could have violated ethical standards.

Democrat Ben McAdams was sworn in as Salt Lake County Mayor this morning by Salt Lake County 3rd district juvenile court Judge Andrew Valdez at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. McAdams, Deputy Mayor Nichole Dunn and newly elected council members Max Burdick, Jim Bradley, Michael Jensen and Sam Granato all took the oath of office before a packed theater. 

John Dougall will be sworn in this morning as Utah's new state auditor as business opens for the day.  He won't be on the platform with Governor Gary Herbert or the other state officials during Monday's inauguration ceremony.  Dougall is a former Republican state legislator from northern Utah County who won the auditor's job after defeating the incumbent, Austen Johnson, in a primary election last summer.  He's promising to bring some fresh energy to the job.