Welcome to The Senate Site

By Pete Knudson
Utah Senate Majority Leader

Steve Urquhart’s blog is one year old today. Happy Birthday!

For those who came in late, Representative Steve Urquhart is one of the PIONEERS of political blogging in Utah. He wasn’t the first blogger, but he was the first one on our radar screen to post the consistent unvarnished thoughts of an elected official. Luckily, even his unvarnished offerings are lucid, interesting, and fairly persuasive.

Steve is a pioneer in the true sense of the word; he showed the rest of us the way. As we contemplated developing a site for the Utah Senate, Steve’s blog was one we looked to for inspiration.

Some say the cure for democracy’s ills is more democracy. Steve deserves sincere thanks for his contribution to that dynamic. His blog site has enhanced the way citizens understand the legislative process, participate in the discussion, and respond to public officials. It has influenced what citizens expect of us and how they hold us accountable. Steve has generally taken a positive, deliberative, open tone and that has helped improve the quality of Utah’s policy-making dialogue. We bask in reflected glory.

People are never aware of all the implications of their actions or the long range positive impact they have in the world. We may never be fully aware of the extent blogging has changed, and will continue to change, the political landscape in Utah. One thing, however, seems obvious. Democracy in this little mountain republic is healthier and more interesting because of Steve’s efforts.

Well done – and thank you.

1 Comments:

 steve u. said...

Hey! I've been travelling, and I just now saw this. Thank you, Pete. That's very nice.

12/08/2005 8:22 AM  

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