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By Lyle Hillyard
Senator, District 25

I have heard that people are surprised at the outcomes of the elections for both Republican and Democrat leaders last Friday. Having observed this process over the years, both as a voter and a candidate, I can say that the day of the voting event is always stressful. You feel as though you could vote for either of the candidates, your colleagues, who are running.

In my first election for Senate leadership, a call would be placed from the candidate stating that he was running and asking for my support. These days, it is not unusual for the candidate to ask for an actual commitment. That puts the non-candidate at a huge disadvantage. If he or she refuses to make a commitment and the candidate is successful, there is a strong likelihood that he or she will not get the assignments they want in the upcoming session. On the other hand, the other candidate may discover that commitment and fail to give you those assignments you want anyway, if the one to whom you have pledged your support does not win. That is why the two candidates tend to count more votes than there are senators.

Emotionally, it would be nice to know how many votes you have before the election because no one likes to be at the table when the results are announced and the winner not be you, especially when you felt you had been promised the votes. Learning to be a good loser as well as a good winner is pertinent because things could change the next time around and the results could be reversed.

In spite of all the problems, it never ceases to amaze me that despite weaknesses in all of the candidates for leadership, everyone can rally to support the newly-elected leadership. May I wish Michael and Pat and their respective leadership teams congratulations on their victories and may we enter a very difficult session with the commitment to work together in the best interest of the state. As my good friend and former State Senator Chick Bullen told me, during elections, we are Republicans and Democrats but after the election, we should be good Utahns working together for the good of the State and its people. Get ready for an interesting few months.

1 Comments:

 AggieAlum said...

A good representation from a statesman who has been around a while. Great to have you Senator Hillyard!

11/14/2008 12:04 PM  

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