Laura Black

UT-HD-45

OPPONENT: Republican Open Seat defender Brian Monsen

***UPDATE: Ms. Black lost by 14 votes in 2006 and helped chase the incumbent out of office. She is outraising the Republican attempting to defend this open seat, $23K to $18K, but still needs our help to finish the job and take this exceedingly winnable race.***

After spending five years in the classroom, Ms. Black moved to the Jordon Education Association. Her job there includes promoting teacher quality and retention, improving working conditions, and labor relations for educators.

In Utah, education professionals are very appealing and successful candidates, because it is such an important issue to the majority of the population, yet thoroughly, contemptuously neglected by the Republican-dominated legislature.

This is Ms. Black's third campaign for this seat.

http://www.votelaurablack.com/

Jay Seegmiller

UT-HD-49

OPPONENT: Republican Speaker of the House, Greg Curtis

***UPDATE: Mr. Seegmiller lost to the Speaker in 2006 by 19 VOTES!!! ...despite being outraised $350K to $50K!!! He is being outraised $50K to $30K this year, but his opponent entered the race with a huge $200K+ war chest. BUT THIS RACE IS STILL WINNABLE. Please help send the Speaker home!***

--An Amtrak conductor, Seegmiller is thoughtful, articulate and outgoing. Among other things, Seegmiller is also a...dare I say it...well-respected "community organizer."

--Despite its ultimate failure at the hands of a Republican Mayor and City Council in Sandy, Seegmiller led a formidable effort to prevent Wal-Mart and other big boxes from building a new mega-complex of asphalt and concrete, leaving many empty boxes and local businesses to struggle nearby. He earned huge amounts of gratitude from the community, which almost carried him to the toppling of the Speaker in 2006. He's at it again, for the third time, working hard and taking nothing for granted.

http://www.jayseegmiller.com/

Trish Beck

UT-HD-48

OPPONENT: Open Seat defender LaVar Christensen

I know former State Representative Trisha Beck, have helped her campaign in the past and strongly support her candidacy against a very disagreeable opponent.

***UPDATE: Former State Rep. Beck is being significantgly outraised ($17K to $43K) by one of the state's more notorious right-wingers, which is why she should still be considered the favorite, even in this moderate area. But she needs serious funding support.***

http://www.trishabeck.org/

Lisa Johnson

UT-HD-51

OPPONENT: Incumbent Greg Hughes

---This is Ms. Johnson's second run at this seat, a tough one because the opponent is a particularly entrenched, nasty and motivated self-dealer.

---I saw Ms. Johnson work in a City Council meeting and was very impressed. A linguistics professor, she presents like a litigator. Well-informed and intellectually organized, thoughtful and direct, gutsy and statesman-like.

---The state is indebted to her for the key role she played in leading the public to referendum victory over an egregious School Voucher bill that the legislature and Attorney General attempted to force upon an unsupportive public.

---When I asked her for some background on the Voucher bill, she quickly provided me with a wealth of information.

***UPDATE: Lisa currently has an account balance just shy of her opponent's, but he's a well-established real estate developer.***

***UPDATE: Lisa;s opponent is currently the subject of hearings involving a $50K bribe he offered another Republican for her vote on an unpopular school voucher program; his fate hangs on whether the 4 R's on the committee vote on the block to protect him. This scandal, which would probably put any D up over the top elsewhere, has definitely closed the margin between these two.***

http://www.electlisa.org/

Carole Peterson

UT-HD-16

OPPONENT: Incumbent Kevin S. Garn

***UPDATE: Carole Peterson is making a serious challenge and could break important ground in Davis County, just north of Salt Lake. She has raised nearly as much as her opponent, but still needs significant support to succeed.***

A retired business school professor who has worked for the Utah legislature for thirty years. She is well-known and well-regarded, both in the legislature and in her district.

Ms. Peterson's priorities are restoring representative, balanced government; providing a world class education; creating of a bipartisan redistricting commission; paring back on 68 different tax exemptions for business in order to move Utah out of last place in per pupil funding.

She knows Utah's legislative process, rules and Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedures. She is more than qualified for this position.

http://www.utahpriorities.net/2008profiles/house16_carolepeterson.html

Dave Hogue

UT-HD-52

OPPONENT: Incumbent Carl Wimmer

***UPDATE: Mr. Hogue has been outraised $9K to $29K but is still considered a strong contender for this important Salt Lake County seat.***

--An ex-Republican representative who has come over from the dark side to challenge an opponent with no chance of redemption. Hogue is running well behind in fund-raising, by the Dem Party is still focused on this as one of the top legislative races in Salt Lake County.

http://www.rep52.com/Home.html

Mark Sage

UT-HD-12

OPPONENT: Incumbent appointee Richard Greenwood

***UPDATE: Sage is out-raising and outspending his opponent and currently has a higher account balance, despite the fact Greenwood entered the race with funds on hand. But we are talking small amounts of money, and Sage will need more to seal the deal.***

--Mark Sage is "an internationally certified Project Management Professional (PMP), member of the Project Management Institute. He has over 33 years federal service with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Navy (enlisted), and United States Air Force (civilian). He was responsible for planning, budgeting and maintaining multiple government contracts worth millions of taxpayers’ dollars for the radar systems that safeguard the United States along the artic, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. He is the co-owner and founder of Generation Next Media LLC a film production company and the project manager for The Living Museum of Native American Culture. Mr. Sage is also a licensed (California) Private Investigator."

--"Mr. Sage was a member of the American Federated Government Employees Local 592 prior to his retirement from civil service. He comes from a labor union family. Both his father (Teamster) and brother (Electrician) have been life long union members."

--"active in civic organizations, currently serving as the Youth Activity Director for the Hill AFB Archery Club, Local Field Director for the United Sates Sportsmen’s Alliance – Trailblazer Program, volunteer for Peery’s Egyptian Theater, Sundance Film Festival and Foursite Film Festival. He has also used his puppetry to help develop Drug Awareness and Stay-In –School programs."

http://votemarksage.com/

Suzanne Marychild

UT-HD-05

OPPONENT: Incumbent appointee Curt Webb

***UPDATE: Marychild has outraised and outspent Webb and still has a slightly higher account balance, but it will take more to take this seat back from the Republicans.***

--The Cache Democratic Party County Chairwoman has stepped up to challenge for this seat in northern Utah.

--Suzanne is a practicing attorney in Logan.

--She and her husband David Bigelow live on a dairy goat farm in Paradise. She is active in her profession and her community.

--Her platform: Provide needed resources to public education, Increase minimum wage rate, Guarantee effective health care for all Utahns, Preserve farmland and open space to maintain balance in our communities, Focus on long term solutions

http://votemarychild.org/