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How to Sound Smart About Utah Politics – June 6, 2014

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Federal court puts recognition of same-sex marriage on hold in Utah. Group plans to file a complaint with the FEC over alleged laundered campaign donations made to Sen. Mike Lee. Hatch hints at a possible 8th term.

 

Countdown:

  • 18 days to Utah’s 2014 primary election
  • 151 days until the 2014 midterm elections
  • 234 days to the opening day of the 2015 legislature
  • 515 days until the 2015 elections
  • 591 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucuses (tentative)
  • 889 days until the 2016 presidential election

Friday’s Utah political news highlights:

  • The 10th Circuit Court halts recognition of same-sex marriages in Utah pending the state’s appeal of a lower court ruling [Tribune, Deseret News].
  • The Alliance for a Better Utah plans to file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission over possible laundered campaign donations made to Sen. Mike Lee by accused fraudster Jeremy Johnson [Tribune, Deseret News].
  • Sen. Orrin Hatch is starting to make noise about a possible 8th term [Tribune].
  • Spencer Eccles steps down as executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development to form a private investment firm [Tribune, Deseret News].
  • Sen. Hatch names Rob Porter as his new chief of staff [Tribune].
  • Bob Bernick says it’s high time the John Swallow and Mark Shurtleff saga starts moving to a conclusion [Utah Policy].
  • The Salt Lake City Council is considering closing some municipal golf courses [Tribune].
  • Salt Lake County may impose restrictions on e-cigarettes [Tribune].

On this day in history:

  • 1844 – The Young Men’s Christian Association was founded in London.
  • 1925 – Walter Percy Chrysler founded the Chrysler Corp.
  • 1933 – The first drive-in movie theater opened in Camden County, N.J.
  • 1934 – The Securities and Exchange Commission was established.
  • 1944 – Allied troops stormed the beaches in Normandy, France during the D-Day invasion of Europe.
  • 1968 – Sen. Robert F. Kennedy died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, a day after he was shot by Sirhan Sirhan.
  • 1978 – California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 13, which called for major cuts in property taxes.
  • 2001 – Vermont Republican Senator James Jeffords left the party to become an independent, handing control of the Senate back to the Democrats.
  • 2002 – President Bush proposed a new Cabinet level department: The Department of Homeland Security.
  • 2011 – Rep. Anthony Weiner confessed he has tweeted a lewd photo of himself to a woman and admitted to “inappropriate” exchanges with six other women.