Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Democrats are meeting Saturday at Park City High School for their annual state party convention, where they'll elect new state party leaders and take positions on environmental issues.
"We're looking forward to a spirited debate for all offices and for the future of the party," said Alex Cragun, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party, about the "Power to the People" organizing convention.
Kicking off the event set to start at noon will be Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., a former New Mexico Democratic Party chairwoman who last year was one of the two first Native Americans elected to Congress.
Delegates will vote on a pair of resolutions, one calling for the restoration of the Bear Ears and Grand Staircase national monuments reduced in size by President Donald Trump with the support of Utah GOP officials.
The other resolution seeks more debate on the "real and present danger" of climate change among the Democratic presidential candidates, and supports not punishing those candidates for participating in unsanctioned debates on any issues.
Both monument restoration and climate change are important issues for Democrats, but there likely won't be much debate surrounding the resolutions. The races for party leadership, however, are already sparking plenty of friction.
Current Utah Democratic Party Chairwoman Daisy Thomas faces three challengers in her bid for reelection, from Jeff Merchant, Becky Moss and Robert Comstock, in the key race that will be decided Saturday.
Merchant, who is the most active challenger, said social media posts critical of Thomas' leadership that surfaced in the days leading up to the convention were not orchestrated by his campaign.
"I have heard some of those concerns," he said. "The big issues that I know about and that I can really comment on are things like the party debt, which is over $70,000. …I know there has been a lot of turmoil with the staff."
Not only does the party only have a single paid staffer, other officeholders have resigned, Merchant said, adding to the difficulty of getting ready for a big election year in 2020.
"For people like me, we're done with the drama. We're done with the debt," he said, adding that if elected, he would be willing to work without pay until the party's debt is paid.
Thomas, who has not been paid since earlier this year, said the party is "already making great progress on the debt, which was largely inherited from the previous administration and the rest from election night 2018."
She said Friday night's annual Taylor & Mayne Awards Dinner is "on track to be the most successful fundraiser in recent memory, covering all convention weekend costs as well as leaving a big chunk that we can use to pay down debt."
The dinner, which also features Haaland, is expected to to raise $70,000, while the cost of the convention is between $30,000 and $40,000, Thomas said. She said the party is "transitioning into a new cycle" and will be looking to fill positions soon.
Her reason for running again is the upcoming presidential election year, "a huge organizational undertaking and 2020 will be the most important election of our lives." Thomas said with her as chairwoman, organizing can get started right away.
There are also races for the state party vice chairman and secretary positions that will be decided at the convention, while current party treasurer Sheila Srivastava is running unopposed. Email: lroche@ksl.com Twitter: DNewsPolitics
