National Government

OGDEN — Roy resident Angela Urrea remembers a time in the early 1970s when the majority of Roy city was Democratic.

Then something changed, and Roy, like the rest of the state, began slowly leaning more and more to the right.

Urrea was living out of state, serving in the U.S. Army, when the political climate changed in her hometown, she said. But the proud, longtime Democrat hopes that one day Utah’s Democratic Party will find traction again.

RIVERDALE — U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop said many of the problems facing the nation are a result of the federal government usurping the rights of the states and managing resources that should be handled at the local level.

At town hall meetings Tuesday night at Layton City Hall and Riverdale City Senior Center, Bishop, R-Utah, addressed voters’ concerns regarding education, immigration, “Obamacare,” the West Davis Corridor and the future of Hill Air Force Base.

“If you truly want to be able to fund services in the state of Utah, you have to have access to the resources that are in the state of Utah,” Bishop said, citing the one-third of Utah that is controlled by the federal government.

OGDEN — Nine years ago, Aron Ralston gained international fame for cutting off part of his arm to save his life in a Southern Utah slot canyon.

Today, he’s leveraging that fame to champion the cause of preserving Utah’s wild places.

Ralston, whose 2003 ordeal in Bluejohn Canyon near Canyonlands National Park was recounted in the Oscar-nominated film “127 Hours,” will visit Ogden this week as the keynote speaker at the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance Show, an expo for independent outdoor retailers nationwide.

SALT LAKE CITY — The candidate who stirred a controversy at the Republican State Convention over the 2nd Congressional District nomination acted irresponsibly in leveling charges against four other candidates, alleging a plot to thwart the election bid of eventual nominee, Chris Stewart, an investigation by the state party chairman has found.

Thomas Wright, chairman of the state GOP, released a seven-page report Tuesday after an investigation into the bizarre events at the April 21 state convention where Stewart won the nomination on the third ballot, emerging as the victor in a field of 11 candidates.

Wright’s probe levels some harsh criticism at Eureka Mayor Milt Hanks, a candidate for the nomination who stirred the controversy in the first round of speeches. Hanks alleged that four candidates — Chuck Williams, Cherilyn Eagar, Howard Wallack and Dave Clark — approached him at the Davis County party convention and asked that he pledge his support for any candidate other than Stewart if any of the candidates were to drop out of the race, and secondly that he engage in a last-minute act of negative campaigning to uncover what they alleged were misleading statements by Stewart.

SALT LAKE CITY — It was a record turnout for the Utah State Democratic Party annual convention Saturday at the Salt Palace.

Utah State Party Chairman Jim Dabakis called it “a great day for the Democratic family.”

“We broke attendance records ... we had great candidates to chose from, and the convention was a model of efficiency and civility,” Dabakis said.

The two Democrats seeking the party nod for the U.S. House District 1 race are already campaigning against the incumbent Republican rather than each other.

Ryan Combe, of Ogden, and Donna McAleer, of Park City, are lashing out at both five-term Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Brigham City, and the Washington D.C., establishment.

"I don't think Rob Bishop even knows who his constituency is anymore," said McAleer, depicting him as a professional campaigner enmeshed in the Washington world of career politicians. "I certainly believe Rob Bishop is vulnerable, and I believe I'm the candidate who can beat him."

SALT LAKE CITY -- The three Democratic candidates to the U.S. Senate have their own specific issues, but all feel there needs to be a change in how Utah is represented in Washington, D.C.

Salt Lake City residents Scott N. Howell, William D. Peterson II and Pete Ashdown each hope to be the party's candidate in November.

To do so, they will have to make it past the State Democratic Party Convention today and Saturday at the Salt Palace Convention Center, 100 S. West Temple, Salt Lake City. If no candidate receives 60 percent of the delegates' votes, the top two finishers will move on to a June 26 primary election.