Of the 524 elected Delegates, 507 were in attendance. The delegates called the convention a well-run and charged Nominating Convention. When the effort was made to seat a few of the missing 17, the majority already seated declined to accept their tardy credentials. The message was clear - be on-time or out-of-time! Mathew Bell, the County Chair, did an excellent job, according to delegates interviewed, in moving the agenda along at a steady pace, while maintaining some sensitivity to individual and group participation, within the prevailing guidelines of “Robert’s Rules of Order.” Alan Silva, a Delegate from District 12, Roy 6th Precinct at his 1st convention, said it was “Fantastic, chaotic and freedom at its best!”

Wendy Johnstun, a Delegate from District 10, Ogden 43rd Precinct at her 1st Convention, said it was “Exciting to be part of people who care what’s going on!” Cal Buttars, at his 4th Convention as a delegate from District 7, Ogden 4th Precinct said it was the “Best one I’ve seen - people were involved and thinking more- since they don’t like the way the economy is going.” Interestingly, Cal was directed to vote for specific candidates by his electing caucus group. Of 15 delegates interviewed, he was the only one so charged. All the other delegates were directed to investigate the field and vote for the individual they thought was the best candidate. Greg Martin, a delegate from District 7, North Ogden 11th Precinct said “We need more time with candidates and don’t need to discuss the State Candidates at the County level.”

Phil Howell, a Delegate from District 7, North Ogden 10th Precinct said the convention was “Well organized and went smoothly with committed, good quality candidates.” Rand Briem, a 12th year Delegate from District 9, Ogden 28th Precinct said this was “One of the best - not so confrontational as in years past - delegates were united in the direction of getting change and tired of incumbents.” Larry Hanks, a returning Delegate from District 9, Ogden 31st Precinct, from over 30 years ago said he was “Stunned at the volume of people present who were aware of States’ rights and Constitutional Principles and amazed at the bold resolutions that seemed vitriolic and self-defeating.” Larry commented that the powerful Invocation given by Suzanne Ellison-Ferre, the Legislative 8 Chair, seemed as though she was “Pleading for the future of her posterity to stay close to the founding principles of our county.”

Austin Green, a Delegate from District 9, Ogden 36th Precinct said he “Didn’t like the confusion on the Resolutions and was not clear on the process.” He was referring to the two proposed and defeated Resolutions. The first sponsored by Brent Odenwalder, was a call to action for the Weber County Republican Officials to “Immediately withdraw their support from Senator Bennett.” The 2nd sponsored by James Mackley, Managing Editor of this publication, was a call to action to recognize that our freedom comes from God, and that we pledge to help each other defend our freedoms, and as such to “Spend funds only to help candidates that are truly committed to freedom under God.” A quick motion for a vote on both resolutions occurred, precluding any opposing discussions. On the 2nd Resolution, it seemed as though the difficulty lay in the wording, and as to who would be empowered to define and determine qualified candidates that were “Committed to preserving freedom and our rights and privileges as given to the people by God.” One person shouted out “Who defines what freedom means?” Jim Mackley believes “that had there been sufficient discussion, these questions could have been resolved, and it is appropriate to discuss who is making decisions, and learning about what freedom truly means is important so he is hopeful that the people who attended from Weber County will research these questions on their own and in the Republican Party.” He notes that nearly half of the delegates voted for the resolution in any case, and is hopeful a similar resolution can pass the next time around.

Cindy Jessop, a Delegate from District 7, Ogden 3rd Precinct said it was “Run well and great to see politics at it’s best in a free democratic society.” When reminded that Utah and the United States are a Republic and not a Democracy, she corrected herself and said she meant that we had the “Freedom to speak up and vote for what we feel is right.” It was indeed freedom to vote in a Republican manner, where the elected few from the local level, chose from a field of 11 Candidates for 7 Elected Positions, of which 3 were un-opposed. This principle of democracy to elect representative delegates is the process that maintains our Republic of the State of Utah, within the Great Republic of these United States.

The election results reflected the anti-incumbent mood. For Treasurer, John Bond, recently appointed for less than a year, took 65% of the vote over fellow newcomer Darcy Kruitbosch. For Clerk Auditor, Ricky Hatch took 64% of the vote over incumbent Alan McEwan. For Sheriff, Terry Thompson took 67% of the vote over fellow newcomer Brett Haycock. For County Commissioner, Kerry Gibson took 75% of the vote over incumbent Ken Bischoff. All of the candidates avoided a run-off election with their majority votes. They, together with the unopposed incumbents of County Commissioner, Jan Zogmaister, County Recorder, Ernest Rowley, and County Assessor, John Ulibarri, move on to the November election, together with the unopposed incumbents of County Commissioner, Jan Zogmaister, County Recorder, Ernest Rowley, and County Assessor, John Ulibarri.

There were 3 minute sound bites from each of the State and Federal Candidates. Senate Candidate Cherilyn Eagar, was strong in her declaration that a “Conservative woman is their worst nightmare,” referring to the current male-dominated, liberal Senate Chamber. Mike Lee declared he would dismantle the Departments of Education, Energy, and the EPA. Current Senators Bennett and Hatch voiced their greatest assets as “Experience as senior members on critical committees.”

Congressman Rob Bishop gave an abbreviated message from his appearance last week at the 9-12 Project meeting, as detailed on the sentinelnnews.net website. Brad Dee, the House Majority Whip acknowledged that “Utah made some tough budget cuts to balance the budget.” He reinforced Congressman Bishops comment on how important it was to send “Message bills” as the “States are the only check & balance the Federal Government has. If we don’t send these message bills – WE’RE DEAD – THE FEDS WILL RUN US INTO THE GROUND!” He explained “The Feds haven’t yet written the Health Care rules,” nonetheless, they have “set a deadline for the States to ‘Opt In’ within 2 weeks on a new mandated program to establish a second high risk pool that would marry the State and Fed pools together. How do we ‘Opt In’ without knowing the rules?” He emphasized “It’s the craziest thing I’ve seen in my life!”

A straw poll taken from the delegates showed Mike Lee as the Senate frontrunner with 32% of the vote, Cherilyn Eagar with 28% and trailing with 230%, incumbent Bob Bennett. Congressman Rob Bishop had 92%, and Governor Gary Herbert had 90% of the votes. Lunch for the delegates was graciously provided by Senator Hatch, although some delegates refused to partake citing pandering concerns.

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