The Coordinated Campaign, a project for the Utah State Democratic Committee, is accepting applications for a Regional Field Director.

Regional Field Directors will be responsible for executing the field program in their region, organization building and turning out first time 2008 and sporadic Democratic voters.

Most importantly, RFDs are responsible for recruiting and training volunteers, developing and managing volunteer leadership, interacting constructively with activists on the ground, keeping meticulous account of data collected and managing political relationships. RFDs also communicate the political climate of their region to state leadership and advocate for the needs of their volunteers. RFDs must meet or exceed field goals and report to their Field Director.

The ideal RFD will have experience as an Organizer that will help them to effectively manage their staff.

Skills and Qualifications:
·         Can-do attitude, willingness to work long hours and weekends, superior people-skills and a positive attitude;
·         Candidates should have strong interpersonal and administrative skills, experience meeting deadlines, and the ability to manage many tasks simultaneously;
·         Candidates will preferably have one election cycle of field organizing experience;
·         The ideal candidate will have a working knowledge of the structure of political campaigns and familiarity with campaign technology;
·         Strong skills in Excel and Votebuilder preferred
·         A good sense of humor and a strong interest in and commitment to politics are musts.
·         Candidates must be organized and be team players;

Travel is required, therefore, candidates must have a car (mileage reimbursed).

The Utah State Democratic Committee is an equal opportunity employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, gender, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, physical or mental disability or any other basis protected by law.

For more information, email Justin Daniels, Campaign Manager at jdaniels@utdemocrats.org To apply email your resume, cover letter and references to resume@utdemocrats.org No phone calls please.

Ms. Litvack said, “Sherrie Swensen is a modern example of the courage and values we saw from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor Roosevelt was a woman ahead of her time, a warm, loving, sincere, kind, wise, strong, disciplined, and very human person who used her talents and position to help bring about much needed social change for which she will never be forgotten and will always be treasured. We think the same can be said for Sherrie.”

Democratic State Party Chair Wayne Holland praised the selection saying, “The level of participation in Utah’s elections has fallen to such a low level that Governor Huntsman created a commission to find ways to encourage participation. I know of no person in Utah who has done more to fight the tide of apathy or more to encourage positive participation than Sherrie Swensen. She has truly been a great public servant, doing her best to get us all involved and doing with such competence and style. Utah’s election system is highly trusted by the voters in our state. That is due in no small part to the efficiency and hard work of Sherrie and the staff of her office.”

Sherrie Swensen was born in Murray and resided in Midvale for 28 years prior to moving to Sandy in 1998. She has two sons and eight grandchildren. She enjoys all sports including bowling, tennis and rollerblading, but particularly loves water skiing. She was involved in little-league sports programs for over ten years. Ms. Swensen served on the Executive Board of the Ute Conference and was both president and secretary of the Hillcrest Little League Football program.

Ms. Swensen did volunteer work for youth baseball and basketball programs as well. She served on the Board of Directors for the Advocates for People with Mental Retardation (ARC) and numerous civic boards and is involved in many community organizations.

Sherrie Swensen serves the community with integrity and, as the Salt Lake County Clerk, sticks to her mission of running accessible, fair, honest elections in Salt Lake County. She has coordinated and established several successful programs to make voter registration more convenient for residents in Salt Lake County. Swensen proposed and successfully lobbied for the passage of House Bill 488, "Emergency Absentee Ballots," which allows votes to be cast by people who have been hospitalized or confined to a care facility after absentee ballots have been mailed out.

The Democratic Party is proud to continue the tradition of honoring members who exemplify the high standards and share the compassionate philosophies of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Please submit the name, or names, of those you believe are deserving of this honor and recognition by submitting this nomination form using the email SUBMIT button on the form before the July 16 deadline.

 You may also PRINT and mail the form to the Utah State Democratic Committee, 455 S 300 E, Suite 301, Salt Lake Ctiy, Utah 84111 or fax to 801.328.1238.

            The donation constitutes the largest contribution to date from a single entity to Herbert’s campaign. Mayor Peter Corroon hasn’t received a single dime for his campaign from this statewide membership group. Corroon’s response to the UAR gift to Herbert is that the governor’s mansion should not be “For Sale.”

            In defending the contribution, UAR president Chris Sloan only mentions that Herbert was a Realtor and has seen Utah through difficult economic times. Sloan coincidentally is also chairman of the Tooele County GOP.

            The UAR offers no perspective on Corroon, the Salt Lake County mayor who has proven to be an adept, fiscally conservative and bipartisan leader. Corroon, an attorney, property developer and real estate licensee, owns industrial, multifamily, and commercial office property in Utah and has seen Salt Lake County through the some of the most difficult economic times the County has ever seen.

            Sloan and Lerron Little, current president of UAR, and the PAC’s trustees are irresponsible in throwing away $100,000 raised from member contributions. These trustees should be bipartisan and more disciplined in directing member funds, focusing on more appropriate efforts such as state and national legislative issues that impact Realtor practices and real property rights.

            In a state that values strong ethics and high values, Governor Herbert willingness to accept such irresponsible donations is evidence that he is part of creating a special interest driven Republican Party that does not share the interests of Utahns across the state. The Governor’s Mansion is not up FOR SALE.

© May 27, 2010 Salt Lake Tribune

In a report by the Salt Lake Tribune, both Republican Senate candidates say they would support a resumption of underground nuclear weapons tests, presumably in Nevada, to help modernize the nation's weapons stockpile.

Mike Lee signed a "Peace Through Strength" pledge Monday, which consists of several defense policy positions, including protecting national sovereignty, not trying enemy combatants in U.S. courts, energy security and the modernization and testing of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

"We need to always have our eye on the ball for developing new weapons systems and that is going to require new testing," Lee said in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune .

In order to better serve you, we ask that you please verify your precinct number and legislative house district, which can be done at the Lieutenant Governor's website at www.elections.utah.gov

Please see the following chart to locate your Democratic Precinct Caucus Meeting location and time.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Justin Daniles at jdaniels@utdemocrats.org or Bryan Murray at bmurray@utdemocrats.org.

*All Meetings will be held on March 23, with the exception of that in Grand County which will be held on March 20 at 1PM.

In order to better serve you, we ask that you please verify your precinct number and legislative house district, which can be done at the Lieutenant Governor's website at www.elections.utah.gov

Please see the following chart to locate your Democratic Precinct Caucus Meeting location and time.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Justin Daniles at jdaniels@utdemocrats.org or Bryan Murray at bmurray@utdemocrats.org.

*All Meetings will be held on March 23, with the exception of that in Grand County which will be held on March 20 at 1PM.

UPDATE: The on-line process designed for use by Fair Boundaries and Utahns for Ethical Government is in full compliance with Utah law and the February 9 Attorney General’s opinion. While the petition information could be provided in an electronic format, if the government is not willing to accept electronic records and electronic signatures, the petitions will have to be provided in the paper format as required by the opinion. The on-line process was designed in a manner that would be able to comply with Utah law even if the government reached the conclusion that was expressed in the Attorney General's opinion of February 9. Registered voters in the State of Utah should still be encouraged to go to http://fairboundaries.utahpetitions.org and http://ueg.utahpetitions.org to sign the petitions.

Power is never given -- it must be taken. There is nothing more important that you can do in the next few days than sign the Fair Boundaries petition to take away the power of the Republican supermajority in the legisalature to create districts that prevent voters from holding them accountable for their actions.

If you don't take a moment today to sign the petition, it will take ten more years before you have the chance to hold them accountable.

Republican legislators need to be stopped from choosing their voters, instead of voters choosing their legislators. Only you can do that. It is all about putting power back in the hands of voters to hold elected officials accountable.

Tell a friend, tell your family, tell people you meet in the street, "Go to http://fairboundaries.utahpetitions.org

and sign the citizens' initiative to stop legislative gerrymanders."

The Utah State Legislature will begin the process of redrawing congressional and legislative district boundaries. Without your signature, politicians will continue to meet behind closed doors and protect their own political agendas without having to worry about repercussions, challenges from other candidates, or the will of the people. If we don’t get the Fair Boundaries Initiative on the ballot, it’s quite possible that your vote WON’T COUNT in any meaningful way for future state and local issues that matter to you most.  We have an opportunity to change this process.  Don’t be fooled by the detractors, this is an issue of fairness that crosses all party lines and affects everyone.  Your signature will help us tell our state officials that we, the people, want a more open and honest government.

Republican legislators are trying to take power from Utah citizens by:

• drawing legislative districts to suit themselves;
• by taking the choice of who is the Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court away from the judges and giving it to a Governor who has never spent one day working in the Courts;
• by taking away the vote from elderly people who no longer live alone and do not have a drivers' license;
• by taking away the ability of teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public employees from contributing to political campaigns;
• by taking away your ability to sign citizen petitions like this one online;
• by subverting the State Constitution to prevent employees from voluntary association to negotiate safe working conditions and better wages;
• by subverting the State Constitution to create an so-called "ethics" panel that will keep all their darkest secrets from the public and be stacked with Republicans for the foreseeable future and where only co-conspirators are allowed to lodge complaints;
• by banishing neighborhood registration and setting voter registration deadlines so far from election day that only those who have participated in the past are eligible to participate in the future;
• by taking over $1 billion per year away from our neighborhood schools and instead supporting exclusive opportunities that profit Republican leaders;
  
  ...and much, much more.

Sign the Fair Boundaries petition today. Then tell a friend, tell your family, tell people you meet in the street, "Go to http://fairboundaries.utahpetitions.org

and sign the citizens' initiative to stop legislative gerrymanders."

The Fair Boundaries petition would put a citizens’ initiative on the November 2010 ballot that:

• Establishes an eleven-member independent commission;
• Allows no more four members from the same political party, three unaffiliated;
• Sets anti-gerrymandering standards;
• Keeps more local communities intact;
• Defines an honorable, open and transparent process;
• Excludes individuals with obvious conflicts of interest from the commission; and,
• Opens the process to citizen applicants.

We want Fair Boundaries to hit its target of 95,000 signatures during this legislative session, and with your help, we can!

If you have questions, please visit www.fairboundaries.org.

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

Web forms can be a great asset on your business site. They let you collect pertinent data and contact information from your visitors without exposing your direct e-mail address to the world. They also set specific boundaries on the type of data you receive from customers so that the information fits nicely into a spreadsheet or database as needed.

Building a web form used to require a bit of coding and “wiring” on the back end of your site. These days, there are some great free and low-cost resources on the web that make building and integrating forms into your business website a breeze.

1. Wufoo

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Wufoo is a great web-based form generator with a very intuitive interface. Forms are extremely customizable with simple drag-and-drop commands and many style options.

The forms you create “live” on Wufoo, but they are fully embeddable into your own website or blog by pasting a bit of code. But what makes Wufoo especially useful is that your account on the site serves as a hub for all the data that flows into your forms.

While you can download and configure your form to function with your own database, you may not want to when you see all the great looking reports and widgets you can generate just by logging into your Wufoo account. By hosting your data with them, everything is DIY, and easily accessible, with no need to hand your files over to a database expert to get your form up and running. In addition to viewing entries on the site, you can configure Wufoo to e-mail or text you when a user completes your form.

A free Wufoo account allows one user to generate three forms with three corresponding reports. Additional forms, users and reports come at a few price points, starting at $9.95 per month.

2. Icebrrg

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Icebrrg has nearly identical features as Wufoo, and similar price points for paid accounts. You can host your own files or integrate the forms easily onto your business website and receive notifications when they are filled. A nice feature is that embedded forms are rendered in HTML, and will comply with the CSS styles of your website to match the look and feel automatically.

Icebrrg no longer has a free account, but at $9 per month, you get 10 forms, 500 entries, and 100MB of storage for customers to upload files.

3. Formsite

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Formsite has a focus on a few more complex features that not every business may need in a form, but some will find extremely valuable, such as payment integration for credit cards, PayPal, and Google Checkout. They also offer multi-page and “skip/branch” surveys, which allow you to control the flow of questions based on certain rules and user responses.

Formsite has all of the customization, embedding, hosting, and notification options as the sites mentioned above, and their free account lets you create five forms, with 50 items per form.

4. Google Docs ()

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If you’re already using Gmail (), Calendar, and other Google Apps for your business, you may want to take advantage of the forms function within Google Docs.

This form generator is pretty bare bones, but the dead-simple interface and integration with your existing Google () account make it useful for internal employee surveys or even the daily lunch order.

Once you create your form document, it’s tied to a spreadsheet and data summary that also live in your Google Docs. The data feedback, in the form of a response counter and various charts and graphs, is extremely detailed and easy to read (similar to Google Analytics ()), and the timestamped spreadsheet is exportable for whatever your database has in store.

A Google form is embeddable in an external website, but its cumbersome formatting and limited customization means that it probably won’t agree aesthetically with your sites. For now, linking to these forms is a quick and dirty way to gather data on a simple, clean interface.

After using the Freedom of Information Act to acquire the congressional correspondence to just one federal agency--the Department of Agriculture--the Times discovered more than a dozen two-faced GOP members, including Rep. Joe "You Lie" Wilson, the South Carolina Republican who interrupted President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress last year.

Sen. Robert Bennett of Utah. Not a bad guy. But he also assured us that the stimulus bill was awful, then wrote to Vilsack with a list of home state projects seeking stimulus cash. Like Wilson, Bennett was pretty sure that the stimulus would do what the Obama administration said it would. Which is no big surprise, considering that almost every economist with a brain on the planet endorses counter-cyclical stimulus plans to ease recessions and ward off depressions.

As the Times reported:

"On Feb. 13, 2009, Sen. Robert F. Bennett, Utah Republican, issued a statement criticizing the stimulus--but two days earlier, he privately forwarded to Mr. Vilsack a list of projects seeking stimulus money. "I believe the addition of federal funds to these projects would maximize the stimulative effect of these projects on the local economy," he wrote.

There is nothing new in this kind of hypocrisy. Since Yorktown, American politicians have been complaining in public about waste and spending, while scheming in private to bring home the bacon.

And you know who encourages them? We, the people. We hail the politicians and their brave talk about reducing the role of government, then nod with piggy approval when the local newspaper prints their picture at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for some Bridge to Nowhere.

That is politics. But if we are really serious about changing things, if the debt this time is truly scary, then this is the kind of behavior that has to stop--in both political parties.

So, kudos to the Washington Times for not being an apologist for the GOP, and for the guts it took to cut against the partisan grain. Let's hope that Fox News and the tea baggers will see the light and do the same.

HB67 sponsored by Rep. Carl Wimmer (R-Herriman) passed 53-20 on a largely party-line vote, changing what was originally a message bill into a barrier that state lawyers warn may be unconstitutional for usurping federal power and threatening the state's own separation of powers.

Wimmer's measure, which now goes to the state Senate, threatens to worsen Utah's healthcare crisis, by allowing the federal government to withhold medicaid funding. Further endangering Utah families' ability to afford healthcare coverage.

"Without some help from Medicaid, you could cripple families -- and that's a scary thought," said an emotional Jennifer Fillmore. Though most of her family is insured through her husband's work, her 13-year-old son's autism is considered a preexisting condition that won't be covered. The Fillmores rely on Medicaid to pay for his multitude of therapies, which can cost $1,000 a month.

The vote followed a press conference by the Utah Health Policy Project urging representatives to consider a substitute bill introduced by Rep. Carol Spackman-Moss, D-Holladay. Her replacement would allow the state to block federal health care reform as long as it had also considered whether federal measures best served individuals and whether there would be consequences such as losing Medicaid funding.

Remember these words come election time: "Utah House OKs Roadblocks for Reform"!

Buttars said his proposal would save public education $60 million. He emphasized the plan would be optional for high school students.

"There is no pressure," he said. "It's between the student and the parents."

— Amy K. Stewart

For the next few minutes, you can read their post here:

http://senatesite.com/blog/2010/02/retirement-reform.html

We expect it won't be too long until they take it down to rephrase.

The donation from Alton Coal Development LLC was revealed in a Jan. 11 filing by Herbert's political-action committee.

Alton's pleas did not go unanswered. At the September meeting, state regulators agreed to fast-track a decision for Alton to operate the mine near Panguitch, despite opposition from residents.

Herbert's office said Wednesday he never ordered regulators to give their approval and didn't know about the company's donation.

A Panguitch shop owner characterized the payment as a blatant effort by the coal developer to influence a decision by the Herbert administration.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out," said Bobbi Bryant, owner of the gift and coffee shop Bronco Bobbi's, who said she was opposed to the strip mine because the operation would bring heavy truck traffic through the small tourist town about 200 miles south of Salt Lake City.

"There's a lot more people down here against it than officials want you to know," she said.

A Utah regulator who was in the meeting with Alton and Herbert has said the governor never instructed him to make any particular decision and instead inquired, 'When do you think you will get it out?'

John Baza, director of the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, said he then decided to hurry things up.

Bryant said Baza's regulators showed up in Panguitch days later "saying they felt pressure to get some reports or inspections done for the approval."

Environmental groups are seeking to block the mining, saying the strip mine would raise dust and foul air quality 10 miles from Bryce Canyon National Park, which is known for its magnificent views, pristine air and sparkling night skies. Bryce Canyon's superintendent also has objected.

The decision by regulators is under review by a state board.

A 33-page memo, obtained by The Associated Press, said the result of Alton's meeting with the Republican governor was to fast-track a decision by regulators. The memo was written by Priscilla Burton, a chief environmental scientist for the division, who noted regulators had a full year to make a decision.

"However, the applicant had an audience with the Governor on Sept. 17, 2009, with the result that the permitting process will end on October 15, 2009," Burton wrote. The mining approval was issued four days later.

While campaign records indicate Alton made its $10,00 donation on the same day it met with Herbert, the check actually arrived four days earlier and was deposited in a bank on the day of the meeting, Herbert spokeswoman Angie Welling clarified Wednesday.

Welling reiterated that Herbert "did not direct" anyone in the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining to "take any particular action with regard to Alton Coal Development's project." Nor was Herbert aware of the donation, and he did not accept the check at the meeting, Welling said.

Herbert "is a longtime supporter of energy development in the state of Utah, particularly coal development and clean coal technology," Welling told the AP in one of a series of e-mails Wednesday. "As such, it should not be surprising that a company such as Alton Coal would choose to support Governor Herbert."

Welling also sought to clarify that neither Herbert nor anybody in the governor's office was aware of a check Alton sent to a campaign office across town.

"Fundraising is entirely a function of the campaign. Those of us who staff and schedule meetings are unaware of who is contributing or how much they've contributed," she said.

Sometimes the 12th grade means "nothing but playing around," Buttars said.

He made a dramatic pitch during Monday's Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee meeting, saying killing off 12th grade would save the state $102 million.

"You're spending a whole lot of money for a whole bunch of kids who aren't getting anything out of that grade," Buttars said. "It comes down to the best use of money."

He also would like to cancel all busing for high school students to save $15 million.

One lone mom from Granite School District took on Buttars during Monday's committee meeting, saying she believes administration should be cut before anything else.

"The first place to consider cuts is with the bureaucracy," said Cheryl Richardson, a mother of seven. She added Buttars' proposal is "a bad idea."

Rep. Marie Poulson, D-Cottonwood Heights, who taught high school for years, adamantly opposes Buttars' plan, saying senior year is when kids mature and excel in academics, sports and activities.

Further, cutting 12th grade would wreak havoc with college admissions. "Because of our budget concerns, should we lower our expectations … and be satisfied with substandard education options?" Poulson said.

Rep. Francis Gibson, R-Mapleton, said, "Dramatic times deserve drastic measures."

Buttars encouraged lawmakers and educators to cease their fear of change. He made reference to the song "Tradition" in the musical "Fiddler on the Roof."

"It's easy to make fun of big cuts because you've never done it that way," he said.

One-time money and backfill funding year after year is going to catch up with education sooner or later, Buttars warned. "You can't keep going like this," he said.

The senator is serious about his proposal and said he plans to open a bill file Thursday.

Whether the senator's idea will fly is yet to be seen. Committee co-chairman Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, called Buttars' idea "provocative" and added, "It gets us thinking. We'll see."

Poverty in Utah is real. It doesn't have to be. Poverty takes many forms - from the panhandler on the street to the family that struggles to make a mortgage payment. 10.3% of Utahns live in poverty. 11.3% of Utah's children live in poverty. One important goal for Democrats is to alleviate the effects of poverty for the 254,000 Utahns who live with it every day.

The Shriver Center for Poverty Law believes that this devastating trend will be reversed only if our nation’s political leadership — the President and Congress — take aggressive action to address the many complex structural causes of poverty by adopting the right priorities, enacting needed laws, and adequately funding essential programs.

With the help of national anti-poverty experts in 20 different fields, the Shriver Center has identified the 18 House votes and 14 Senate votes over the past year that were the most significant in fighting poverty.

= vote to fight poverty = vote against fighting poverty