Anti-Mormon Bigotry Surfaces In The District 7 Hamilton County Commissioner's Race In Tennessee; LDS Candidate Phil Smartt Targeted

Phil Smartt, from Facebook

The race for the District 7 seat on the Hamilton County Commission in Tennessee, to be initially decided during a May 6th primary election, has become quite spirited, so much so that the campaign manager of one of the candidates couldn't resist the temptation to publish a cheap shot against Mormonism on his own Facebook page. And since one of the other candidates is Mormon, it blew back upon the head of the campaign manager's principal.

After what was characterized as a weak performance by candidate Sabrena Turner at a debate at East Hamilton High School on Thursday March 27th, 2014, Jonathan Mason, who is Turner's campaign manager, posted the following screed to his personal Facebook page:

“Something to think about. Joseph Smith claimed that God and Jesus appeared to him and advised that Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists were all wrong and their beliefs were an abomination. How does this align with what the Bible tells us?"

It also contained a link to a YouTube video titled, “Are Mormons Christian?”

Candidate Phil Smartt, a Republican who is Mormon, fired back. On March 28th, Smartt called the Chattanooga Times Free Press to condemn the post, suggesting that it was a Hail Mary tactic by a candidate who is losing. Others in the community publicly condemned the post, including Smartt's son-in-law James E. Ward, and a Baptist minister, Alan Johnston. Letter from both were published in The Chattanoogan. Rev. Johnston wrote, in part, "Phil Smartt and I share a strong belief around things like family, civic pride, the sanctity of life, a Biblical definition of marriage and much, much more. On the key issues in District 7 I have found Mr. Smartt to be on the right side of every issue, and those include education, economic development, limited government, low taxes, and an opposition to discretionary spending in county government".

Stung by the backlash, Sabrena Turner, who is a member of Morris Hill Baptist church, quickly disavowed her campaign manager's sentiments. Turner denied any involvement in the post or any implied intolerance for Mormonism, and noted that as soon as she learned of Mason's post and the community reaction against it, she called Mason and asked him to take it down, which he did. For his part, Mason defended his post, claiming James E. Ward misunderstood it, adding that he posts a lot about religion, among other topics, on his personal Facebook page. His objective is to learn more about his own Christian walk by exploring the other religions that are out there, and says he has no objection to Mormons seeking political office. He added that he supported Mitt Romney in 2012. But although Sabrena Turner has now distanced herself from anti-Mormon bigotry, her supporters have been characterized as being uncivil; at the East Hamilton High School forum, Turner supporters allegedly yelled “liar, false, that is false, lies” when Smartt attempted to expound upon a local annexation issue.

Those who are interested in the details behind the annexation issue can read this PDF, which was published by the Turner campaign. While written from her perspective, it also contains many facts.

A Hamilton County native and graduate of Chattanooga High School, Phil Smartt graduated from Brigham Young University and serves as an Elder and Sunday School teacher in his local LDS ward. He has owned a small business for more than 38 years and is a member of the Hamilton Place Rotary Club. A devoted family man, he and his wife of 48 years, Gloria, have raised six children and have 28 grandchildren. Smartt received a powerful endorsement from former major league baseball player Dale Murphy, who is also LDS; the two have personally known each other for years.

Mormons In Congress: Incoming 113th U.S. Congress Will Include 16 Latter-Day Saints; New Pew Survey Lists Only 15 Mormons

Update January 3rd, 2013: Post re-titled to reflect the fact that Kyrsten Sinema has been removed from the U.S. House list after confirmation that she's no longer a member of the Church.

Update November 19th: Post re-titled to reflect reference to new Pew Forum Congressional Religious Survey released on November 16th.

Now that the 2012 U.S. elections have been concluded, we know how many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be serving in the incoming 113th Congress, to officially take office on January 3rd, 2013. A total of 17 LDS members, the most ever, will be present. Hat tip to By Common Consent for some of the background information.

All incumbents who ran for re-election were returned to their posts. Rep. Jeff Flake switched successfully from the House to the Senate; he will continue serving in the House until seated as a senator on January 3rd. One LDS member, Wally Herger (R-CA), chose to retire. Three new LDS members were elected to various seats. On BCC, there was some dispute as to whether or not Tom Udall and Kyrsten Sinema should be on the list, but Udall indisputably identifies as Mormon, and Sinema's visiting teacher identified Sinema as a member of her ward in Arizona, at least back in August 2012. So both are included on my list below.

Since this post was published, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released their own survey, and they claim there are only 15 Mormons in Congress. The difference: Pew lists Kyrsten Sinema as having "None", and fail to include Eni Faleomavaeg on their list.

The lone member of the Community of Christ (formerly Reorganized LDS) serving in Congress, Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA), lost his bid for re-election. Names are directly linked to their official Congressional websites with the exception of Matt Salmon, Kyrsten Sinema, and Chris Stewart, who are linked to their official campaign websites until they are officially seated on January 3rd, 2013.

(1). U.S. Senate:
-- Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
-- Michael Crapo (R-ID)
-- Harry Reid (D-NV)
-- Dean Heller (R-NV)
-- Tom Udall (D-NM)
-- Mike Lee (R-UT)
-- Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

(2). U.S. House:
-- Matt Salmon (R-AZ)
-- Howard McKeon (R-CA)
-- Raul Labrador (R-ID)
-- Mike Simpson (R-ID)
-- Rob Bishop (R-UT)
-- Jason Chaffetz (R-UT)
-- Jim Matheson (D-UT)
-- Chris Stewart (R-UT)
-- Eni Faleomavaega (non-voting delegate from American Samoa)

**According to HuffPo, Sinema was raised Mormon and is bisexual. Sinema does not consider herself a nonbeliever, adding that she prefers a secular approach. Kyrsten believes the terms non-theist, atheist or nonbeliever are not befitting of her life's work or personal character. Initially, it appeared that Sinema was still officially on the membership rolls of the LDS Church, according to her visiting teacher, so I included her on the list. However, on January 3rd, the Ogden Standard-Examiner published confirmation that Sinema is no longer officially a member of the LDS Church. So I deleted her from this list.

Wally Herger (R-CA) continues to serve his district until the end of his term on January 3rd, 2013. He did not seek re-election.

The only member of the Community of Christ in Congress, Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA), was defeated in his re-election bid. He will leave the U.S. House on January 3rd, 2013 after 16 years of service.

Orthodox Jewish Rabbinical Alliance Of America Calls Mitt Romney A "Dangerous Homosexualist", Calls Upon LDS Church To "Sanction" Him

According to WorldNetDaily, the Rabbinical Alliance of America, an organization of 850 Orthodox Jewish rabbis who minister to some 500,000 religious Jews in the United States and Canada, has denounced Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney as a "dangerous homosexualist" and has called upon the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to examine Romney's record and join them in sanctioning him. YouTube video embedded below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVppk7yfDmM



Rabbi Yehuda Levin spoke for the Council, and here are the two most critical parts of his statement:

"While our organization does not make any endorsements of political candidates, in view of the disastrous national decline in morality, we are compelled to condemn Mitt Romney's support and promotion of the immoral homosexual lifestyle and agenda. While we sympathize with those challenged by homosexual urges, or a desire for minors or adultery, they all remain prohibited activities that debase the practitioners and demoralize society. Gov. Romney over a long political career has earned the title: 'Dangerous Homosexualist' – one who constantly advances the militant anti-religious, anti-society, immoral homosexual agenda to the detriment of family people."

{snip}

"We plead with other religious denominations, most particularly the Mormon Church which maintains a traditional view regarding the homosexual agenda, to examine Romney's record and join us in sanctioning him. The time has certainly come for other denominations to emulate the manifesto of the Central Rabbinical Congress of the U.S. and Canada which, in the early 80s, prohibited voting for, honoring or supporting pro-homosexual agenda politicians".

The Rabbinical Council of America takes a hard line against homosexuality, condemning both the sin and the sinner. According to a recently-issued "Declaration on the Torah Approach to Homosexuality", they believe that same-sex attractions can be modified and healed, and condemn the propaganda blitz that has been launched to persuade the public about the legitimacy of homosexuality. But is Mitt Romney truly a "dangerous homosexualist"?

The answer is No -- it is an exaggeration. Back on June 7th, 2011, Romney did tell CNN's Piers Morgan that he would advance efforts to eliminate discrimination against people who are gay. But he also reiterated his opposition to gay marriage, going so far as to subsequently sign a pledge in August sponsored by the National Organization for Marriage promising to support a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. In December, Romney had a heated exchange with a gay veteran about gay marriage. But Romney has earlier told CNN "I separate quite distinctly matters of personal faith from the leadership one has in a political sense. You don't begin to apply the doctrines of a religion to responsibility for guiding a nation or guiding a state."

Doesn't sound like a "dangerous homosexualist" to me. It's also unlikely the LDS Church will join in any effort to "sanction" Mitt Romney; the Church neither endorses, promotes or opposes political parties, candidates or platforms, nor does it attempt to direct or dictate to a government leader. But the Church does reserve the right as an institution to address, in a nonpartisan way, issues that it believes have significant community or moral consequences or that directly affect the interests of the Church.

Nevertheless, it is good to see an influential group of religious Jews take a firm stand against the promotion and statutory protection of homosexuality. Secular progressive Jews have been disproportionately predominant in the effort to promote homosexuality in the United States.

Mormon Vs. Mormon: Update On The Arizona LD18 Recall Race Between Russell Pearce And Jerry Lewis, Lewis Now Leads By Only Three Points

Update November 8th: Jerry Lewis defeats Russell Pearce; updated post HERE.

As the recall race between incumbent Arizona Republican State Senator Russell Pearce and his Republican challenger Jerry Lewis heads into the home stretch for the November 8th showdown, the Arizona Capitol Times has released the results of a poll of 598 likely voters in Mesa’s District 18. The poll, in which 160 of the respondents identified themselves as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, shows Lewis with only a three-point lead, well within the margin of error, and less than the unofficial seven-point lead reported back on October 17th. The specifics:

-- Jerry Lewis: 46.0 percent
-- Russell Pearce: 43.0 percent
-- Olivia Cortes: 2.5 percent
-- Undecided: 8.5 percent

Crosstabs reveal no significant edge in support for either Lewis or Pearce by age, gender or religious affiliation. Lewis, Pearce, and Cortes are all LDS members; while Cortes has withdrawn from the race, her name will still appear on the ballot. Pearce holds the financial edge, having raised $230,000 as compared to Lewis’ $69,000 according to the latest campaign finance reports. KNXV Channel 15 video embedded below:



The Pearce campaign published a response, posted in part below:

First, it should come as no surprise that this survey shows a tight race. After all, it’s essentially a primary campaign where voters from all parties can vote.

Second, one could argue that the sample size for an automated survey was much too low to effectively gauge voter opinion. We would agree with that argument.

Third, the universe selected for this survey of likely voters does not match up with actual voter history in the district. For example, the actual number of independent or unaffiliated voters in that district that are defined as “likely” in this survey is actually much higher.

Finally, this wasn’t necessarily a blind ballot test among the electorate. The introductory statements leading up to the ballot test question could have potentially biased the survey in one way or another.

In conclusion, we know that in an unprecedented, historical election such as this one, I think all parties can agree that predicting a turnout model is difficult to say the least.

Bloggers Stephen Lemons and DeeDee Garcia continue to hack away at Pearce. Garcia has been trying to lure Pearce into showing up for a so-called "immigration fireside" hosted by the so-called "Somos Republicans", and featuring another prominent Mormon, Daryl Williams, who has spoken out against Arizona SB1070. But Pearce, perhaps sensing a possible setup, has wisely refused to respond to this invitation.

Lemons takes a few more whacks at Pearce HERE, saying that Pearce is falsely atrtributing the decline in Arizona's crime to the influence of SB1070. Lemons also claims that Pearce's assertion that the state budget is balanced is false, further claiming that the state's current debt is $8.5 billion. But this could be attributable to a difference of definitions of a balanced bduget; nearly every state has a so-called balanced-budget amendment requiring that their General Fund expenditures not exceed revenues, but that alone may not mean their budgets are truly balanced. Lemons is so desperate for Pearce to lose that he's even smeared Pearce's brother, Mesa Justice of the Peace Lester Pearce. And Lemons admits that skewering Pearce has been good for his brand and has been "a helluva lot of fun", which means his objectivity is thoroughly compromised.

Until now, Jerry Lewis has sought to wage an issue-oriented campaign, remaining above the muck of some of his supporters. But the MeetJerryLewis website reveals that Lewis has at least three skeletons in his closet:

-- First, he's accused of defrauding taxpayers of $1.9 million; his Sequoia academy was receiving tax dollars even though parents are paying tuition. Lewis owned up to it, stepped down as principal, and no charges were pressed. Sequoia ended up reimbursing the state for the funds.

-- Second, he's supposedly being sued by a former teacher, Diane Fernichio, who claims she was fired because she exposed the fact that Lewis misappropriated donated items. The Lewis campaign claims that that the items that were given away were of practically little value, and the teacher who got them ended up not selling them at a yard sale anyway. Furthermore, Lewis himself is not named in the suit; the Sequoia academy is the defendant.

-- Third, Lewis is being accused of glossing over a multi-level marketing bankruptcy scandal ("multi-level marketing" is just a euphemism for "pyramid scheme"). This seems to be a reach; it happened back in the mid-1990s and I'm not sure this is particularly pertinent to the campaign.

The race is still too close to call, but it appears Russell Pearce is slowly closing the gap on Lewis, and could overtake him on November 8th if he can swing the Undecideds to his favor. Jerry Lewis may indeed be qualified for the job, but not at Pearce's expense.

Mormon Vs. Mormon: Jerry Lewis Challenging Incumbent Russell Pearce For Senate Seat In Arizona LD18 Recall Election; Lewis Has Seven-Point Lead

Update November 8th: Jerry Lewis defeats Russell Pearce; updated post HERE.

Update November 4th: Jerry Lewis' lead shrinks to three percentage points; updated post HERE

Russell Pearce

Two members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are squaring off in a contentious recall election for Arizona's LD18, based primarily in Mesa. Senator Russell Pearce, who is President of the Arizona State Senate, has been successfully recalled and has been challenged by Jerry Lewis. The recall election will be held on November 8th. Pearce was recently re-elected to office in November 2010, earning 57 percent of the vote.

For a brief period of time, a third LDS member, Olivia Cortes, was in the race. However, she was relentlessly accused of being a stalking horse planted by the Pearce campaign to take votes from Jerry Lewis, and tiring of the pressure, withdrew on October 6th. But her name will still be on the November 8th ballot.

Jerry Lewis

According to the Tucson Citizen, a recent poll shows Lewis leading Pearce by seven percentage points. However, both the poll and the source are suspect -- it's being reported by DeeDee Garcia, a notorious anti-Pearce activist. Still, there is evidence that Russell Pearce's re-election is by no means assured, and it will be close.

Russell Pearce is one of 31 Arizona lawmakers to come under fire for involvement in a Fiesta Bowl scandal. For his part, Pearce stayed at luxury hotels and took family members with him on bowl-sponsored trips from 2002 to 2009. In total, the bowl said it spent more on Pearce than any other individual lawmaker: $39,347. Pearce has since repaid some of the money. But the big Kahuna is Pearce's immigration legislation. Not only was he the primary force behind SB 1070, the toughest immigration law in the nation at the time, but he also unsuccessfully pushed several additional immigration measures this year, including a bill to change how children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants are granted citizenship. This attracted the ire of Hispanic activists and their leftist allies, most notably Phoenix New Times blogger Stephen Lemons, who's been relentlessly stalking him in the journalistic sense.

Then on July 27th, 2011, Jerry Lewis entered the race, and the Hispanic activists and their leftist allies found Their Great Hero. Actually, Lewis is a standup guy who's well-qualified to serve in the state legislature. He is an assistant superintendent for Sequoia Schools, a Mesa-based charter school chain with 13 Arizona locations. He is also a former certified public accountant and has been a vice president with the Grand Canyon Council of the Boy Scouts. Lewis also served as president of the Maricopa Arizona LDS Stake until released on February 27th, 2011. Like Pearce, Lewis believes in closing the border and working with federal officials to improve border security, but he does not support SB 1070. Lewis is supported by SOMOS Republicans, the largest group of Hispanic Republicans in the state. Mesa City Councilman Dave Richins is one of many who have endorsed Lewis, but not over the SB 1070 issue.

LDS Candidate Treg Taylor Running For Seat D Of The Anchorage, Alaska School Board In The Anchorage 2011 Municipal Election

Update April 6th: Treg Taylor finished a strong second behind Gretchen Guess in this race; the results of the April 5th election are available HERE.

One of the candidates for Seat D of the Anchorage School Board in the upcoming April 5th municipal election in Anchorage, Alaska is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. According to his Facebook page, Treg Taylor identifies as a Mormon. Taylor's official campaign website is available HERE.

Two more media links specific to this race now available:

-- "Seven jockey for two School Board seats", Anchorage Daily News, March 26th 2011
-- "School Board Seat D candidates answer questions", Anchorage Daily News, March 25th 2011

Taylor is one of four candidates in the Seat D race. He is 34 years old, married, and identifies as a conservative Republican. Taylor grew up in Utah, graduating from Alta High School and obtaining his juris doctorate from Brigham Young University. He was also educated in political science and psychology at BYU, and engineering at the Air Force Academy. He is currently employed as an attorney by McKinley Capital Management. Unlike Assembly seats, School Board seats are city-wide.

Treg Taylor's three major priorities will be to focus on the basics, live within a budget, and promote personal responsibility. Taylor is also concerned about the fact that the Anchorage School District has added over 1,000 support staff during the past 10 years despite a relatively static student population. While the mandates of No Child Left Behind may have necessitated some increase, it certainly didn't require 1,000 additional staffers merely to administer the program. In addition, Taylor also questions why the school district’s budget has doubled during the past ten years even though academic performance has remained flat and only recently have graduation rates begun to rise. And finally, he's concerned about construction cost inflation; Taylor notes that Clark Middle School cost the School District $65.4 million to build even though Reed Construction Data estimated the cost of building the school at $18-20 million using union labor; that’s a $45 million difference.

Here's the full list of candidates in the Seat D race, from the Official Election Notice and also from Alaska Pride 2.0, with links to the campaign websites where applicable:

School Board, Seat D
(1). Gretchen Guess (former state legislator)
------ Official campaign website HERE
------ Facebook page HERE
(2). Roman Romanovski
------ Facebook page reference to him HERE.
(3). David Nees
------ Facebook page HERE
------ Holdover ADN Candidate Profile from 2010 HERE
------ Holdover response to AEA 2010 Candidate Survey HERE
(4). Treg Taylor
------ Official campaign website HERE (under construction)
------ Facebook page HERE

Analysis: Gretchen Guess is undoubtedly the favorite in this race, primarily because of her past service in both houses of the Alaska State Legislature. She understands how to campaign, and tends to be a moderate Democrat. David Nees ran unsuccessfully for a school board seat during the April 2010 municipal election, finishing fourth in a field of four with only 7.88 percent of the vote. As for Roman Romanovski, his only visible campaign activity so far is involvement in Spenardians Against Fluoridation; that issue is unlikely to catapult him to victory.

So this means there's a good opportunity for Treg Taylor to become the primary challenger to Gretchen Guess. Taylor provides a clear cut conservative alternative, similar to that provided in the Seat C race by Bob Griffin. Since the rest of the field has not identified as conservative, Taylor will likely have all the conservative vote to himself. On the other hand, neither Nees nor Romanovski are likely to pull significant votes from Guess, so Guess remains the favorite. But Taylor brings some powerful mainstream academic credentials to the table; had he gotten his campaign off to an earlier start, he could have taken down Guess. Still, the election is by no means over yet.

But if voters want a genuinely conservative alternative to the statists currently sitting on the Anchorage School Board, Treg Taylor's the man.

Congressman Don Young Thumps LDS Challenger Sheldon Fisher In Alaska 2010 Republican Primary Election

Former telecommunications executive Sheldon Fisher, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was considered a promising challenger to incumbent Republican Congressman Don Young, who has served faithfully as Alaska's lone U.S. House member for 37 years. Not only was Fisher well-prepared financially, but was as clean as a hound's tooth. No skeletons in his closet. I previously discussed his candidacy on January 22nd, 2010 and on July 20th.

Meanwhile, Congressman Young had become the center of controversy over an earmark for Coconut Road in Florida which he supported. This led to a year-long Federal investigation which only recently was abandoned by the Department of Justice without action or explanation. In addition, Congressman Young had been removed as the ranking minority member of several House committees by the Republican leadership because he chose to defy a moratorium on earmarks proclaimed by House Republicans. The possibility of a changing of the guard never looked better.

Until August 24th, 2010. In Alaska's Republican primary, voters looked at Young's seniority and decided that his indiscretions could be forgiven. With 339 of 438 precincts counted as of this post, here are the numbers:

U.S. Representative (R)
-- Don Young (R) 58,031 votes, 70.02%
-- Sheldon Fisher (R) 19,869 votes, 23.97%
-- John R. Cox (R) 4,983 votes, 6.01%

I doubt that Fisher was completely surprised by the outcome. A Hellenthal poll conducted July 22-25 indicated at that time that Don Young had 61.8 percent, while Fisher had only 33.8 percent. A 28-point deficit would have been a lot to make up in just one month. And unlike Senate candidate Joe Miller, who may be on the verge of upsetting Lisa Murkowski, Fisher did not have a Sarah Palin endorsement or Tea Party Express help in his campaign to provide a tailwind, although he did land the endorsement of the Wasilla-based Conservative Patriots Group.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, exit polling indicated that many voters did not want to sacrifice Don Young's seniority. Most notably, many said they were not familiar with Sheldon Fisher despite the fact that Internet service is widely available. So the inability to seriously break into the public eye may have hampered Fisher's campaign from the very beginning. In addition, Fisher's campaign was drama-free, which means the media lacked an incentive to provide much coverage. Contrast that to Joe Miller's campaign, which was studded by drama. Further hindering the campaign was Don Young's reluctance to debate Sheldon Fisher; Fisher challenged him to a series of six debates. The challenge was rebuffed.

On his Facebook page, Fisher posted this gracious concession:

Thank you all for your incredible support! This campaign has been quite an experience - the part I most appreciated was engaging in dialogue Alaskans all across the state. Thank you again for your generous support. It is important that we restore Conservative control of the US House so I will stand behind Don Young; I ...encourage you to do so as well. Again, I cannot express enough thanks for your love and support!

Endorsements Of Wyoming LDS Republican Candidate Ron Micheli Pouring In From People Who Actually Live In Wyoming; Micheli Surging In Polls

Update August 18th: Ron Micheli finishes third with 26 percent of the vote. Matt Mead wins with 29 percent, while Rita Meyer finishes second with 28 percent. Full election results now available HERE.

Just one day before the August 17th primary election in Wyoming, residents of the Cowboy State are taking sides and promoting their choices in greater numbers as the Republican gubernatorial race reaches a fever pitch. But while Rita Meyer secured a high-profile endorsement from Sarah Palin and Colin Simpson snagged a green light from former President George W. Bush, Ron Micheli is getting a flurry of endorsements from even more knowledgeable people; namely, ordinary citizens who actually live in Wyoming.

But first, a newer poll of 600 likely voters by Aspen Media & Market Research, reported by the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle on August 8th 2010, shows a surge of support for Ron Micheli. Palin protege Rita Meyer still leads with 23 percent, but Micheli has now moved into second with 20 percent. Bringing up the rear is Matt Mead with 18 percent, and Colin Simpson with 10 percent. Nevertheless, 25 percent remain undecided.

Here are links to just a few of the LTEs pouring in to media outlets:

-- "Micheli has high principles", Casper Star-Tribune, August 14th 2010: Dennis and Dianne Tippets of Riverton say they have known Ron for over 20 years and have always found him to be a person with high principles and integrity. They believe he definitely has the knowledge, skills, abilities and experience to be a successful governor for our state.

Has Sarah Palin known Rita Meyer for 20 years?

-- "Micheli stands by friends", Casper Star-Tribune, August 14th 2010: Pat Cullen of Wheatland writes, "With modest financial resources, Ron, his wife Patti and family and friends are running a campaign to fit that description by trying to see and talk to "everyone in town." Ron has strong conservative views and will tell you these views regardless of political correctness, all the while hoping voters will agree with these views. Ron and Patti are the kind of people who will stand by friends and try to comfort them in their loss even if politically dangerous."

Those "strong conservative views" ought to play well in Wheatland, where there was a controversy in February 2010 over the Platte County School District #1 rejecting a "No Place For Hate" designation for a couple of their schools by the Anti-Defamation League. The District's trustees found that the ADL actively promoted pro-gay propaganda to students.

-- "Micheli driven by values", Casper Star-Tribune, August 14th 2010: Kaiser Mock of Gillette says that although Micheli is a strong fiscal conservative and a man who will stand up for Wyoming's rights as a state, he supports Ron for a much greater reason: he has earned respect. Micheli's conduct during the campaign has shown that he is driven by his convictions and values first and foremost.

-- "Micheli won't attack rivals", Casper Star-Tribune, August 15th 2010: Nola Bluemel of Lyman is impressed by the fact that although Ron Micheli has been targeted by robocalls distorting and misrepresenting Micheli's message, Micheli not only refused to respond in kind, but made it quite clear to his campaign workers that he would tolerate no attacks on the integrity or morality of his opponents in this campaign.

-- "A candidate we can trust", Casper Star-Tribune, August 7th 2010: Paul and Connie Galovich of Thermopolis praises Micheli for standing strong on values and principles without equivocation, even when political whims might challenge them. They also laud his stand for strong states rights, zero-based budgeting, supporting the traditional industries of our state, and family values.

This is just a small sampling of supportive letters. It seems the common denominators are trust, respect, and values. One cannot measure them objectively. While all four leading Republicans would govern the state well, it is Micheli who has attracted special notice for the intangibles.

So, will Wyoming Republicans allow their governor to be chosen by Sarah Palin or George W. Bush on August 17th, or will they do the job themselves, based upon their own five senses? Both Palin and Bush are honorable people, but it's the people of Wyoming who will have to live with the choice.

LDS Alaska U.S. House Candidate Sheldon Fisher Profiled By Alaska Dispatch

Note: All posts on Sheldon Fisher's candidacy can be viewed HERE, with the most recent post displayed first.

Sheldon Fisher, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who is running against incumbent Republican Congressman Don Young to become the one and only Congressman for all Alaskans, is the subject of a video profile by Alaska Dispatch. This is part of their 49th Estate series in which the Dispatch takes the public inside the homes of prominent and not-so-prominent Alaskans:



Fisher, a former executive for Alaska Communications Systems, lives in Anchorage with his wife, Christine, and seven children. A man who describes himself as a believer in family values, Fisher hosts his children's friends for pizza parties using the home's brick pizza oven, which Fisher built himself.

Unlike the case of Mitt Romney, Sheldon Fisher's religion has been barely a footnote in public coverage in Alaska. When controversy raged about Proposition 8 in other parts of the country, there was very little of it felt in Alaska. LDS missionaries with whom I spoke said virtually no one gave them any grief over it.

Since I last posted about Sheldon Fisher on January 22nd, he's published a proposed 10-point "Contract With Alaska" which is designed to respect the Constitution to protect our freedoms, restore fiscal discipline to ensure future prosperity, and promote real economic growth to provide for our families today. Fisher also picked up an endorsement from the Alaska-based Conservative Patriots Group, which is a nonpartisan, grass roots independent advocacy organization committed to electing conservative candidates, advancing conservative ideas, promoting traditional American values, advocating responsible resource development and supporting a strong military.

There's been no official polling of this race yet, but at the moment, Congressman Don Young most likely still has a lead, primarily because of his 37 years seniority and because he is also conservative. But Congressman Young has alienated some of the U.S. House Republican leadership by refusing to join in their moratorium on earmarks, and so he's been stripped of ranking minority status on some committees. This makes him vulnerable to Fisher's challenge. There's also a third Republican in the race, John Cox of Homer, who's also conservative, but he's been running a low-profile campaign, and is likely to finish with a single-digit percentage.

LDS Republican Candidate Andy Goss Running For Arizona's U.S. House District 8 Seat, Wants To Send Democrat Gabrielle Giffords Packing

Update August 24th: Effective July 8th, 2010, Andy Goss withdrew from the Arizona CD8 race against Gabrielle Giffords. He endorsed fellow conservative Jesse Kelly, saying that Kelly represents the best chance to defeat Giffords and he encouraged all of his supporters to follow suit.


Andy Goss is one of four Republican candidates seeking the honor of displacing Democratic incumbent Gabrielle Giffords from her seat as the Representative from U.S. House District 8 in Arizona, and he is identified as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in this profile published May 19th, 2010 in the Tucson Citizen.

Goss doesn't spend much time discussing his LDS affiliation, except to say that his moral compass is calibrated by his faith. He also pays tribute to his wife, saying “She is so much a better person than I, she really keeps me grounded. It would make me physically ill if I ever failed her or my children.”

He does spend much more time addressing why is he running for Congress, billing himself as "the guy who will break things". In a nutshell, he believes in limited government, low taxes, and the free market system. He believes in personal liberty and with that personal responsibility and accountability. Specific interests:

-- Flat tax, not a Fair Tax. Start at 15% and adjust down every year for ten years.
-- Cut corporate taxes to 15% to reduce offshoring.
-- Let states define marriage.
-- Extend the Castle Doctrine in Arizona to include property and livestock.
-- Build more nuclear power plants and increase refinery capacity.
-- Militarize our border; place an active combat brigade at the border with Special Kill Teams also known as SKTs (Goss was a U.S. Army sergeant in Iraq).

Find out more about Goss' platform at Gossforcongress.com. Goss also sums up his Republican opponents briefly:

-- Jonathan Paton: Accomplished and a veteran, but his weakness is his associations; he can be perceived as elitist.
-- Jesse Kelly: A decent guy, but his youth is his weakness.
-- Brian Miller: Not really a conservative as Goss would define conservatism, more Libertarian than Republican; he is a Fair Tax guy. Goss also disagrees with Miller's characterization of our Afghanistan involvement as "nation-building".

In the final analysis, Goss says that all four are good candidates and asserts he can beat Gabrielle Giffords. It sounds like Jonathan Paton may be the favorite among the Republicans at this point. They will settle the issue in the August 24th primary election; see complete list of all officially-filed Arizona candidates HERE.

LDS Conservative MP Candidate David Rutley Elected To Represent Macclesfield In British Parliament

Mormon Times blogmistress Emily W. Jensen has revealed that one of the newest members of Parliament in the United Kingdom is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. David Rutley has been elected as a Conservative to represent the Macclesfield constituency in the House of Commons, which is the lower house (the House of Lords is the higher house). Macclesfield is in the Midlands, just south of the Labour stronghold of Manchester.

According to the official numbers published by the BBC, Rutley won his election rather handily:

-- David Rutley (Conservative): 23,503 votes, 47.0 percent
-- Roger Barlow (Liberal Democrat): 11,544 votes, 23.1 percent
-- Adrian Heald (Labour): 10,164 votes, 20.3 percent
-- Brendan Murphy (Macclesfield Independent): 2,590 votes, 5.2 percent
-- Jacqueline Smith (UK Independence Party): 1,418 votes, 2.8 percent
-- John Knight (Green): 840 votes, 1.7 percent

Nationally, the Conservatives picked up the greatest number of seats, but their total of 306 is 20 short of the 326 necessary for the Conservatives to govern outright and for their leader, David Cameron, to immediately become Prime Minister. So the Conservatives at present are attempting to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. If interested, you can view a political history of the House of Commons since 1885 HERE.

David Rutley is an experienced businessman, with an active family life. His wife, Rachel, is a physiotherapist and they have four young children - two boys and two girls. He believes that Parliament needs more people with “real world” experience. He has spent most of his career in business and has been a senior executive in companies like Asda (where he ran the Home Shopping and E-commerce business) and PepsiCo International, and, in recent years, Halifax General Insurance and Barclays. Matthew Brown provides some local commentary on Rutley HERE.

Rutley has also worked as a Special Adviser in the last Conservative Government at the Treasury, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Agriculture. During this time, David helped shape the Budget and initiated the first ever White Paper for rural England. He was also a Parliamentary Candidate in St Albans. David is committed to using this experience to fight for local businesses, to revitalise Macclesfield’s town centre, to tackle traffic congestion in areas like Poynton and Disley, and to keep health care local at Macclesfield Hospital. While he dows not discuss his religion on his website, on October 28th, 2009, Rutley told the Macclesfield Express "It is important people have values in public life and my priority is going to be representing people of Macclesfield regardless of their religious views."

As of the close of 2009, the LDS Church had 186,082 members scattered amongst 336 congregations in the United Kingdom. The U.K. has two temples, in London and Preston. The LDS Church also runs a dedicated U.K. Newsroom website HERE.

Alaska May Send A Mormon To Congress In November 2010; Conservative Sheldon Fisher Challenging Republican Incumbent Don Young

Note: All posts on Sheldon Fisher's candidacy can be viewed HERE, with the most recent post displayed first.


The unofficial "Mormon Caucus" in Congress, currently numbered at 14 as of this post, may include an Alaskan after the November 2010 elections. Sheldon Fisher, a local telecommunications executive, has announced his intent to challenge career incumbent Don Young for the Republican nomination in the August 24th, 2010 primary. Main media story published in the Anchorage Daily News.

The 47-year-old Fisher, who's married with seven children, recently resigned from an estimated $1,000,000 per year position as a senior vice president in sales and service for Alaska Communications Systems (ACS) to launch his campaign. Before his ACS stint, Fisher worked for Sprint's wireless broadband business. Fisher graduated with a law degree from Yale Law School and holds an economics degree from Brigham Young University. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but has reassured the public that he respects the separation of church and state and would not let his religious values dictate his political decisions. He has neither voiced a public opinion about California Proposition 8, nor was he known to be publicly involved in the successful campaign to stop the adoption of a proposed gay nondiscrimination ordinance in Anchorage in 2009. His campaign website is at the following link:

http://www.sheldonfisher.com/

Fisher is a fiscal conservative who wants to cut government spending to control the national deficit, create jobs and strengthen support for families and children. He wants to break the gridlock between those who want Alaska to be little more than a glorified national park vs. those who want Alaska to have a strong, diverse economy capable of better supporting its population without so much Federal pork. Local conservative talk show host Dan Fagan interviewed Fisher on KFQD 750 AM on January 21st; the audio clip is embedded below:



Sheldon Fisher appears to be a competitive candidate with a real chance to win the August 24th Republican primary. His two Republican competitors have vulnerabilities; Don Young is the subject of a Federal investigation over alleged improper campaign contributions, and Andrew Halcro is pro-choice and alienated many Sarah Palin supporters by his pursuit of her on his blog, even though Halcro is also a fiscal conservative. So Fisher has a chance to corral both the "values voters" and many "Palinistas". And with enough fiscal conservatives, that could be a winning combination for him.

LDS Independent Candidate Rex Rammell Running For Governor Of Idaho, Stands Tall For God And Country

A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is running as an independent to become the next Governor of Idaho. Rex Rammell, who is a free-market constitutionalist, came to my notice through an article published in the Rexburg Standard-Journal about a series of upcoming meetings slated for LDS elders only. In January, Rammell will kick off a series of special meetings targeted specifically at "faithful priesthood-holders of the LDS Church" to discuss the White Horse prophecy. KIDK Channel 3 also filed a report.

Rammell says the LDS Church isn't sponsoring the event. The church had no comment on Rammell's meetings, except to remind the public of its official political neutrality regarding political parties, candidates or platforms. In addition, the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) questions the legitimacy of the White Horse prophecy. "The only accounts of the alleged White Horse prophecy were provided second hand, years after Joseph Smith died and can't be corroborated with other sources," said Scott Gordon, the president of FAIR. "For many people it is a faith-promoting rumor that been around for a long time -- it's a rumor that never dies."

Rex Rammell's official campaign website is HERE. He actually announced his candidacy back on May 13th, 2009. The core of his Ten Principles revolves around God and the constitution. Government's proper role is to protect our rights to life, liberty, and property. His state platform:

1. Taxes must be cut across the board to stimulate the economy. Idaho currently ranks 13th highest in state and local tax burden and 29th best business tax climate.
2. The size and scope of government must be drastically curtailed to decrease business costs and regulatory burdens. All departments need audited retaining only the most essential programs and personnel. Private contracts must replace government bureaucracy.
3. Major reforms in government welfare are required to shift the responsibility from government to families, churches, and charitable organizations. Currently one out of every four Idahoans is receiving some form of welfare benefit.
4. Health insurance reform must move towards private Health Savings Accounts in order to lower premiums and shift responsibility to individuals and doctors.
5. Eliminate the Federal education program “No Child Left Behind.” This burdensome and unnecessary mandate usurps the parent’s and state’s responsibility to educate our children.
6. Deport all illegal immigrants. The high cost of their cheap labor is costing Idahoan’s more than it is worth. The social-welfare burden imposed by the illegal immigrants on our hospitals, schools, prisons, and welfare system must be eliminated. Those who wish to stay and work legally can do so through a state guest worker program. However, they must pay for their own health insurance, pay to use our public school system, and stay out of our welfare lines.
7. Make English Idaho’s official language. All services provided by the Idaho government must be in English. This will decrease the expense associated with administering Idaho’s laws. Immigrants who want to be Americans must learn our language.
8. Build nuclear power plants. Idaho can be America’s leader in nuclear power, creating new jobs and providing cheap clean energy for Idaho and the surrounding states.
9. Remove all Canadian wolves from Idaho. The wolves continue to slaughter Idaho’s big game herds, kill and maim livestock and pets, and are dangerous to Idahoans. If Idaho's mountains are to be safe for people and if our big game herds are to be the envy of the world, the wolves can not stay.
10. Assert Idaho’s state rights. Challenge the authority of any federal mandate which violates Idaho’s sovereign rights over water, air, natural resources, education, welfare or any other infringement. Idaho must become independent of our failing federal government.

In 2008, Rammell ran unsuccessfully as an independent against Jim Risch, who succeeded the embattled Larry Craig in the U.S. Senate. In August 2009, Rammell was criticized for telling an Obama joke related to the state's wolf hunt at a local Republican group meeting. The discussion was about "wolf tags". When an audience member shouted out a question about "Obama tags", Rammell replied, "Obama tags? We'd buy some of those". Rammell refused to apologize for the crack, saying he was just joking.