NATHAN JOHNSON - Daily Herald | Posted: Tuesday, May 8, 2007 11:00 pm
It was the New Democrats versus the Daily Democrats, but in the end, leaders of the Democratic Party wanted to work to find common ground with Utah County residents.
At the county Democratic Party convention, nearly 200 people gathered to elect a new executive committee. The numbers aren't nearly as high as what is seen at Utah County Republican conventions in what is one of the most conservative counties in the nation.
Tuesday's election was between two slates of candidates, the more conservative New Democrats vs. the more liberal Daily Democrats.
The results were such that the term "landslide" is almost unfitting -- Richard Davis's New Democrats beat the Daily Democrats with about 70 percent of the vote.
The message that Davis, the new chairman, wants to send is that Utah County Democrats share common values with the majority of Utah County residents; values such as health care, education, transportation and fair taxation.
The New Democrats also have taken a stand against abortion, supporting a platform that supports abortion only in cases of rape, incest, reasonably certain fetal death or serious issues regarding the life or health of the mother. The stance is very similar, says Davis, to that of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Davis said that the way to appeal to Utah County voters, "is not by criticizing their values, rather it is finding common ground."
Davis asked the convention-goers to ask themselves where new voters were going to come from. Fishing for voters who hold to national democratic platform issues -- such as gay rights and abortion -- won't garner enough numbers to win elections.
Mary Lou Huffmon, who ran for the chair position on behalf of the Daily Democrats, said that the party needed to use a "big tent" philosophy and not split the party up internally. We "cannot afford to slice and dice our membership to oppose right-wing government," she told the crowd.
Huffmon said that abortion should not even be addressed in the county's Democratic Party platform so that all Democrats feel welcome in the party. Stances on abortion should be left to individual candidates, she said.
Both slates of candidates offered very similar views on several issues. Both wanted to see more money flow to the party, both groups wanted to win elections, and both groups support several traditionally Democratic issues such as the environment, education, health care and so forth.
At the convention, 106 people registered as Democrats, some of whom were previously unaffiliated or registered Republicans. Some of the registrants were previously registered as Democrats, but due to a glitch with county records, they were not properly listed.
Claralyn Hill, who was previously an independent registered as a Democrat Tuesday night, "because I think we need a two-party system."
Nathan Johnson can be reached at 344-2543 or at njohnson@heraldextra.com.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.