Happy Thursday!
A majority of U.S. political consultants believe that sexual harassment is at least somewhat common in campaign industry. Nearly half of female consultants say that they have experienced harassment themselves. The survey by Campaign and Elections magazine suggests that more than a year after the advent of the “Me Too” movement, such conduct lives on in campaigns. “There are bad apples in every industry, but there’s a clear recognition within the political campaign space that it’s not as good a working environment for people of color and women,” said lead pollster Jason Boxt. (Campaign&Elections][TheHill]
Topping the news: Troy Williams, prominent LGBTQ advocate and executive director of Equality Utah, quit a state suicide task force accusing Gov. Gary Herbert of turning his back on gay young people after supporting a substitute bill that gut a proposed ban on conversion therapy on minors. [Trib][DNews][ABC4]
-> Draper leaders delayed a controversial housing development proposed for Traverse Ridge while they look into allegations against two City Council members of undue influence by the developer. [Trib]
-> A bill that would have allowed Utah grocery stores to sell higher-alcohol beer was gutted by a committee and replaced by a measure that would create a task force to study the proposal. [Trib] [Fox13]
Tweets of the day: From @BenWinslow “Overheard at the news conference on the tax bill: A man who claimed it’s the first he’s heard of it and when told local news has been covering it for weeks now: ‘I don’t pay attention to local news. It depresses me.’ #utpol #utleg”
-> From @TroyWilliamsUT “I expect @GovHerbert will issue a statement about his precious love for children, and sincere desire to end suicide, and other platitudes. But, it’s not empty rhetoric that we are interested in hearing. We want action. We want him to keep his word. Period. #utpol”
-> From @alison__berg “The most exciting event of my life was when @SpencerJCox followed me on twitter and I realized I never tweeted about it, so this is me tweeting about it.”
-> Reply From @SpencerJCox “Here’s hoping you have FAR more exciting times ahead!”
Happy Birthday: to Scott Harrington, Taylorsville CFO.
Trib Talk: On this week’s episode of “Trib Talk,” Riverton City Mayor Trent Staggs and Salt Lake Tribune reporters Tony Semerad and Taylor Stevens join Dan Harrie to discuss the frustration and challenges over development and transportation in Riverton and neighboring communities. [Trib]
In other news: A bill that would prohibit people from openly carrying a gun within 500 feet of any K-12 school in Utah was defeated in committee Wednesday after complaints from gun lobbyists and Republican lawmakers. [Trib]
-> Another school safety bill to require schools to provide more lockdown trainings and create staff teams to respond to threats deadlocks in committee, for now. [Trib]
-> A bill that would redistribute state scholarship funds by taking away some merit based funding in order to bolster support for students from low income families cleared committee unanimously on Wednesday. [Trib]
-> Matt Tueller, a career diplomat from Utah nominated to be the U.S. ambassador for Iraq, said during a Senate confirmation hearing that he understands the challenges in the Middle East and is well prepared to take on the job. [Trib]
-> Utah voters will have an opportunity on next year’s ballot to approve or deny a proposal to render the state’s constitution more gender neutral. [Trib][DNews]
-> Prosecutors dropped charges on what appears to be the first case of charges against a Utahn who qualifies for medical Marijuana under newly implemented state law. [Trib][DNews]
-> Former President Barack Obama told a business conference in Salt Lake City on Wednesday that he based decisions on ‘facts, reason and logic’ — a possible jab at President Donald Trump, whom he never specifically mentioned. [AP]
-> In a bill cleaning up Utah’s criminal code, lawmakers repealed the misdemeanor crime of fornication. [Fox13]
-> The Provo City Council votes to endorse a bill in the Legislature that would increase the age for legal purchase of tobacco in Utah from 19 to 21. If state lawmakers fail to pass it, the council may pass a city ordinance to do so. [Trib]
-> A right-wing political painter from Provo releases his latest piece in support of U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico southern border. [Trib]
-> A controversial Utah tax overhaul bill will abandon attempts to reduce local option sales taxes because, lawmakers have said, the clause renders the bill too complicated. [DNews]
-> Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke said it is time for Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney to back-up talk with action. Both senators have criticized President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, and soon they will be faced with a voting on a resolution to repeal the order. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley illustrates bar flair at the Utah legislative session. [Trib]
Nationally: Former presidential lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen presented documents to House Intelligence Committee that he hopes will demonstrate that President Trump’s lawyers helped him in drafting a false statement to congress in 2017. [NYTimes]
-> As investigations into the Trump administration ramp up, congressional Democrats are still wary of targeting the president’s adult children. [Politico]
-> Arizona Sen. Martha McSally, a former Air Force pilot, reveals during a hearing that she was raped by a commanding officer, and did not report it at the time because she felt powerless. [Politico][MilitaryTimes]
-> Tensions reportedly ran high among U.S. House Democrats during a closed caucus meeting while discussing a resolution introduced by leaders of the party in response to comments made by freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar. on Israel. [WaPost][Politico][NYTimes]
-> The Democratic National Committee blocks Fox News Channel from hosting host any Democratic primary debates during the 2020 election cycle, saying it doesn’t have confidence the conservative-leaning network would responsibly handle such an event. [Politico]
-> A 1976 law could allow House Democrats to pass a resolution to reopen questioning every six months on the state of national emergency declared by Trump at the U.S.-Mexico southern border. [Politico]
-> America’s trade deficit in goods with the rest of the world rose to its highest level in history — $891 billion — as the United States imported a record number of products, including from China. That delivers a setback to President Trump’s goal of narrowing that gap. [NYTimes]
-> Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen sparred with Democrats in a hearing over separating migrant children from their parents their parents. [NYTimes]
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Lee Davidson and Christina Giardinelli
Follow @sltribpolitics