By Michael WaddoupsUtah State Senator, District 6
and
Carlene WalkerUtah State Senator, District 8
Once a year, the Utah Legislature forgoes monthly meetings on Capitol Hill to focus attention and learn about a particular area of the state. In 2006 we visited the oil fields and communities of the
Uintah Basin; the year before that was
Cache Valley. On August 15th and 16th we'll visit
Salt Lake and Davis Counties. We're looking forward to it. We're glad the legislature will have the opportunity to explore areas in SLCo (aside from Capitol Hill) and really focus on issues unique to urban and suburban Utah.
Here's are the schedules:
Wednesday, August 15: Davis County (PDF)
Thursday, August 16: Salt Lake County (PDF)
You can join the site visit on-line. We plan to share the experience with Senate Site readers by posting short updates and photos throughout the day. Maybe even a podcast or two. People with questions or insight can post comments and we'll do our best to respond. It might even be fun.
The people here are some of the best on earth and our districts are unique - we're looking forward to showing them off.
P.S. We have a good itinerary for the time alloted but of course it's not perfect. There is no way to bring the entire legislature to every important spot and delve into every local issue in just one day. We hope people would be available for informal visits to additional important spots throughout the year. We
do come to the Capitol at least once a month for committee meetings. If any of our readers have suggestions for places we need to see/local issues we need to consider, please post them here.
2 Comments:
I don't mean to be a grouch, but it's disappointing that legislators have decided not to hold public meetings in Davis and Salt Lake counties, unlike other counties that they visit. (Actually, it's not clear--who made the decision?) I won't assume it's because there are a greater number of Democrats/potential critics here, as suggested by the D-News, but it is a head scratcher. Public fora with Q & A are different than trying to speak to a limited number of legislators at a rushed committee meeting. A town hall meeting presumably would be in a more accessible location, wouldn't conflict with other meetings, and would allow everyone to hear the feedback. And if you're really worried that people wouldn't show up -- don't be.
I am trying to figure out how to make a China-joke out of these Davis and SLCo visits. When figure it out, I'll let you know.
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