Dear Utah Women & Politics PAC Members,
Thank you to everyone who attended our meeting on Tuesday, April 3rd at Evolutionary Healthcare. We had a productive preliminary PAC Candidate Support meeting.
Meeting Recap
Crystal Young-Otterstrom provided the group with an intense civics 101 course on the election process: candidate eligibility, caucus procedures, delegate selection, convention (county and state) candidate selection processes and when there is need for a primary race and how the signature process fits into that. A much appreciated overview.
The Candidate Vetting Committee chaired by Carol Osborn has been meeting over the past month to review candidate applications posted to the UWP website. The committee has interviewed all candidates in person and, in many cases, followed up directly with the candidates for specific information. The committee has also helped to recruit candidates for selected districts where turning a seat is a possibility. Districts have been ranked based on past voting patterns to identify those districts that have the best chance to change or move the needle. With this background and the extensive research applied to each candidate, the following candidate slate was proposed for support. After discussion, the slate was put to a vote and unanimously approved by the membership in attendance.
Recommend primary delegate support
Kathleen Riebe, Senate District 8
Recommend general election support now
Deana Froerer, House District 8
Suzanne Harrison, House District 32
Andrew Stoddard, House District 44
Anthony Sudweeks, House District 49
Races we're watching & may recommend financial support later (but not at this time)
DeLaina Tonks, Senate District 11
Our support for Kathleen Riebe is immediate to help get her through the convention with enough delegate votes so her race doesn’t need to go to a primary race.
NOTE: This is the first round of candidates seeking support. Additional applications continue to be submitted and the committee will continue to vet and bring names to the membership for PAC support.
Next Steps on Candidates
The approved candidates names will be forwarded to the Candidate Support Committee, co-chaired by Christine Gailey and Diane Stewart, which will determine the level and benchmarks for our financial support along with additional support that may be required, e.g. fundraising parties, list maintenance, neighborhood walks, volunteer recruitment, etc.
Upcoming Meetings and More
We will send another announcement for the next general membership meeting (probably mid-May) where we might be voting on additional candidates for PAC support and where we will be bringing PAC supported candidates in for the membership to meet and hear their platforms and winning strategies.
In the mean time, check the utahwomenandpolitics.org website to see how you can get engaged in the races and continue to support UWP through its committees and fundraising. The list of candidates we are currently supporting is listed here utahwomenandpolitics.org/pac-endorsements. We are also calling for volunteers to host small house parties (we will help you organize it!) as fundraisers to help reach our $100,000 goal.
Thank you all for all your support and all that you do. We are on our way. We won’t stop until we make the difference we all seek to make our legislature more representative and responsive to the needs and desires of its citizens. Let us know if you have questions.
Sincerely,
Cindy
Lucinda L Kindred