It is delightful to get together with extended family and discover that even though you may live hundreds or thousands of miles apart, you are doing many of the same things.

Case in point.  I’m currently in San Diego at a reunion of my maternal grandmother’s family.  My Aunt, who lives in Fairbanks Alaska, but was raised in Warren, Utah is here.  Sue is just 11 years older than I, and someone I looked up to growing up in Hooper.  I watched Sue graduate from Weber High School, then BYU and marry the distant cousin on my dad’s side that I’d had my first little girl crush on (he was the star football player on Roy High’s team).  

Turns out that Aunt Sue is also a first time citizen candidate this year, running as a Republican for a House of Representative seat in Fairbanks.  Sue and I share many of the same concerns and reasons for why we are taking this step into public life. 

Yesterday we were talking about how expensive it is to run a campaign.  I started to share with her the fact that my opponent has raised 10s of thousands of dollars during the past 4 years but only 1 donation, of $150 has been from one of his Provo constituents.  Sue looked at me and said “RaDene, how is that possible?  Where are his campaign contributions coming from?”  When I explained that Utah does not have any restrictions on who can contribution to political campaigns nor limits on how much individuals, businesses, or special interest groups can contribute, my Aunt Sue couldn’t believe it.  She told me that she can not take contributions from businesses, in fact, she has received 2 donations from friends who because they are business owners and wrote the check from their business account, she was unable to accept their donations.  In Alaska,  the campaign contributions must come from individuals and can not be for more than $500.   

Sue’s shock reminds me of my own when I found out about how my opponent has financed his campaigns to represent the people of Provo.  There is something uncomfortable about a person running to represent the people of his or her town and and taking money from special interest groups – not individuals – outside of his town to do so.

But unless we talk about this practice, really shine a bright light on how our Utah public servants are selected, supported, and elected – unless we bring out in the open who is financing the political campaigns in our state and look closely at why these folks are willing and able to pay as much money as they do to finance political campaigns in our state,  until we do the work it will take to reveal the truth about the ‘money behind the process’, until we do that – I’m afraid we will continue to shock and startle people who learn about what really is possible in Utah these days.

It’s Pioneer Day in Utah.  One of my favorite holidays. (My family will tell you that every holiday is ‘my favorite’!)

I love having the chance to pause and remember my pioneer ancestors – the men and women who left their homes in New England and the British Isles to follow their new faith and journey to the deserts of Utah to establish a place where they could work and live in peace and prosperity.

A few years ago when making an application to join the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, I realized that all of my ancestral lines crossed the plains to Utah before the 1860s.  I felt a renewed sense of gratitude for and loyalty to my ancestors and all they sacrificed to make the Utah desert blossom like a rose for me and my generation.

It’s my turn to be a pioneer.  I’m a Mormon Woman, a Democrat, taking Pioneering steps – working to become the first Democrat Woman Senator from Provo.  (If anyone knows if there has been another woman democrat Senator from Provo, let me know!)   

On top of that I’m doing things I personally have never done before – like blogging!  

It’s great to be a Pioneer on Pioneer Day!  Happy Celebrating Neighbors!  RaDene