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Richard Piatt reportingHe's called a political icon and a political guru, and he has had a big influence on thousands of young people. Eyewitness News uses him as a political pollster and a consultant. He is Dan Jones, and today a group of powerful and influential people gave him a unique honor.
A luncheon held at the University of Utah was a "who's who" of the political world: the well-known and a lot of those who help the well-known succeed. It's all to kick off a new scholarship, a unique honor for a unique political icon in this state: pollster Dan Jones.
"He really has been the main spinal chord of political thought in this state for half a century," said Frank Pignanelli, lobbyist and co-sponsor of the new scholarship.
Pignanelli and fellow lobbyist Doug Foxley spearheaded this effort, along with the Hinckley Institute of Politics. They did so to honor Jones' influence during years as a political analyst and as a teacher.
"The stories he told of his encounters with politicians could probably not have been surpassed by anybody else," former student Linda Clark said.
Marcus Nord, also a former student of Jones', said, "You enter his class, you're expecting just to know the normal political science class, and you come out loving politics, loving the system and wanting to get involved."
Despite seeming serious and somber, Jones gets passionate when he talks about the responsibility of democracy. "Democracy is not meant for the naive or apathetic, and that doesn't give you a right to say 'I don't know. I don't care or give a darn.' You see, democracy survives on participation," Jones said.
He can take a little ribbing from time to time too. "When I started telling people I was supporting for president a grumpy old man with little television appeal and a cool comb over, they wondered if Dan was running for president," Gov. Jon Huntsman said.
The new Dan Jones Future Leaders Scholarship, to assist political internships, already has $125,000 in it. For a man with a passion for politics, it is an honor without a margin for error.
E-mail: rpiatt@ksl.com
