Utah Democrats Stand with Teachers, Firefighters and Police Against Keith Grover

“We want our elected officials looking out for Utahns and Utah families, not taking away their constitutional rights to free association and petitioning for redress of grievances!” declared Utah State Democratic Party Chair Jim Dabakis.  “You’d think that’d be required reading for a member of the Patrick Henry Caucus, but apparently Representative Grover skipped that part of the Constitution.”

“As an educational administrator himself, we understand that Representative Grover might have personal reasons for avoiding actually discussing things with his employees – we’ve all had bosses like that.  But to codify Grover’s personal management style into law is a serious mistake.  Utah companies and state agencies should be allowed to discuss with their employees issues that are important in their workplaces – whether it’s how to be safe when busting up meth houses, serving arrest warrants to drug dealers, or time for teachers to plan how best to educate our kids”

Dabakis continued, “Employees should be encouraged to work together with their administrators to address their workplace issues.  Taking away that right is governmental nannying at the highest level. Democrats stand with teachers, fire fighters, police officers, and all public employees against this assault on their abilities to speak with their supervisors about workplace issues. Working conditions are a matter best left between an employer and their employees, and Keith Grover should leave big government out of the conversation entirely, not hand down dictates from the legislative chamber.”

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State Democratic Chair Loves Democrats’ Chances In Utah

via the Cache Valley Daily:

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is extremely popular with most Utahns and some people say if Romney is at the top of the ticket this fall Democrats might as well not even field any candidates.

State Democratic Party Chairman Jim Dabakis says that is simply not true, Utahns through the years have shown they have a fiercely independent streak and besides, he says, Democrats have a great candidate for governor.

“He’s a two star general, he’s LDS, he’s got a great family, tremendous successful business guy, he’s a Democrat and he’s going to be taking Governor Gary Herbert on for the mess this state is in.”

Read the rest of the story HERE

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Dems In The News! Washington County Hands Out The First ‘Norma Matheson Award’

Area Democrat Honored For Her Service

By David Demille, printed in The Spectrum 12/9/11

ST. GEORGE – Local Democrats honored one of their own Wednesday, recognizing Rosalie Anne Spaulding for what friends described as tireless efforts to provide public service.

Since she came to St. George 14 years ago, Spaulding has been a part of the volunteer community, working five-hour shifts most days at Dixie Regional Medical Center and helping with everything from the Jubilee of Trees to the St. George Marathon.

She is also a regular at Democratic functions, having served in a multitude of capacities since she first got involved politically while representing a teachers’ union when she lived in Maine.

“It seems like once I knew who she was, she was everywhere,” said Mike Small, president of the Southern Utah Democrats.

Spaulding is the first recipient of the Norma Matheson Service Award, a recognition state Democrats are modeling after a national award tied to former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt as a way to recognize Utahns for dedication to helping others.

Matheson, the state’s first lady when her husband Scott Matheson served as Utah’s last Democratic governor from 1977 to 1985, presented the award at a special brunch Wednesday, with about 30 area Democrats and state leaders in attendance.

Matheson spoke about the importance of public service and lamented the current state of political partisanship, encouraging those in attendance to remember that politics should be about service and the common good.

“I think it’s up to all of us to set the tone for what politics should be,” she said.

To receive the award from Matheson, a stabilizing force behind perhaps the state’s most influential political family – her son Jim Matheson is a congressman and Scott Matheson Jr. is a federal judge who ran for governor in 2004 – was a special honor, Spaulding said.

“Norma is so wonderful,” Spaulding said.

A longtime kindergarten teacher in Maine, Germany and California before coming to Utah, Spaulding said she became politically involved after running for office herself in Maine.

“I didn’t win, but I started doing other things,” she said.

Now, despite dealing with her own health issues after having a stroke, Spaulding is a regular volunteer at DRMC, helping especially with cancer patients. She is a calm and tender presence to the patients as they deal with the stress associated with the disease, and has formed many friendships along the way, Dorothy Engelman, chairwoman of the Washington County Democratic Party, said in a statement.

Spaulding said she doesn’t do one particular thing that she would consider more rewarding than others, but instead just stressed the importance of getting involved in government and helping others where possible.

“You want to do something for somebody,” she said. “That’s just how I am.”

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