One Utah

Last night, I was walking a precinct for the Becker campaign.  The basic schtick was easy - knock on the door, ask “Are you voting in the Mayoral primary on September 11?  Have you decided who you’re voting for? What is the primary issue for you in the mayor’s race?  Here is some information about Ralph Becker, current minority leader in the State House of Representatives . . . yes, he’s a Democrat.”

Local politics is not terribly complex - you just talk to a lot of people, over and over and over and over and over.  When you hear about retail politics, what your hearing about is walking around, meeting people face to face, talking to them, hearing about their issues and concerns and ideally using that to shape what you do as a candidate and elected official.  Basically, you walk around till your feet hurt and you talk till your jaw aches, drink a bottle of water and do it all over again.

After last night, I’m even more impressed with Salt Lake City’s voters than before.  Although many of them aren’t really thinking about the mayor’s race, those I talked to know their issues, articulate them clearly, and want to speak their minds.  Many of the voters I talked to know the names of the candidates. I realize how that last sentence sounds - as a campaign volunteer during 2004, I talked to voters who didn’t know the names of Utah’s Congressional delegation, people who weren’t sure who was running for Governor. 

I suspect - completely without evidence - that what I saw last night was an outcome of several factors- first Rocky Anderson os a high profile figure.  He is a polarizing figure in many ways and people are more aware of the mayoral as a result.  Second, I think voters are more engaged today than they’ve been in a long time.  The excesses, corruption, abject failure of government in the last 6 years has raised people’s awareness of the importance of being involved and educated.  Local politics, especially mayoral races, are an easy entry to politics - IOW local races feel manageable.  It’s easy to get involved, it’s easy to make your voice heard.  Third, and finally, people care about their city and want a mayor who cares as much as they do.  Rocky Anderson’s success is largely attributable to that - he obviously passionately cares about Salt Lake City, about the issues affecting its residents and he doesn’t avoid tough, big issues just because they’re “national” issues.  Rocky Anderson cares because national policies affect his city and its residents.  Voters have responded to his caring.

This entry was posted Friday, June 29th, 2007 at 9:28 am and is filed under Ralph Becker, Salt Lake City, This Blog. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.