Corroon v. Davis for Party Chair -- Why Peter Corroon will receive my vote tomorrow at The Utah State Democratic Party Nomination Convention. My name is Rob Miller and I have been the longest serving concurrent Utah State Democratic Executive Committee Member during this last decade. I was elected vice chair for two terms. I was elected by the county chairs to be Chair of Chairs for one term. And, I served an additional term as state treasurer. I also had the honor to serve as candidate recruitment chair in 2008 and 2012. Due to my long involvement in the Party I have had the opportunity to know the work and personalities of the two candidates who are running for chair to replace James Dabakis (Jim). Both candidates are skilled organizers and both candidates have proven themselves as Party leaders. Both could fill the position and find success, so this opinion wont be how one candidate is good and the other is bad. I wont bash Professor Davis because Im supporting Mayor Corroon, but I will be very frank, and sometimes being frank gets me into trouble but Id rather be open and upfront with my opinion -- an opinion so many of you have asked to hear. It would be easier to stay quiet. You make less enemies and people get over silence easier than a solid and steadfast viewpoint, but I havent been involved in the Party to get along. Im involved because Im a true believer and I want to see the Party grow and be successful. In the last year a rule was approved by the executive committee that takes away an executive committee members freewill to endorse a candidate. Although I understand why it was passed as a former officer I believe it makes it more difficult to recruit stellar candidates. Please, run for office, but I cant do anything for you if anyone else decides to run. Maybe it seems fair, but in my eyes it is weak. How do I ask someone to run for office and not have the ability to support that candidate? Fortunately, I am now a retied member and I have no restrictions, nor do I fear the probable retribution for saying what I believe. ANd as I stated before, I have found that most of the delegates I have represented have appreciated knowing my thoughts. Now that Ive made my statement on endorsements I will get to the issue at hand, why I will vote for Peter Corroon, tomorrow. Both candidates are true Party leaders. Richard Davis did a stellar job recruiting candidates for Utah County when he was chair. He also did a good job of linking into the state Partys fundraising mechanism to help fund Utah County during his time as chair. It was my hope that Richard would continue his work in Utah County but he decided to cut and run once he understood that Jim Dabakis would be elected as our chair. Instead of continueing to build his county Professor Davis left his post and instead reached out to some LDS state-wide candidates and offered himself up as an advisor -- an advisor who asked two of those candidates to fire staffers because he didnt like their viewpoints and because he felt that those staffers were not LDS, or LDS enough. Hell, I dont have a problem with people not liking campaign staffers, or firing them if a change needs to be made. In fact, I fired myself from two campaigns, but the mean spirited language that was used about those staffers, as well as other conversations I am privy to, has left me wondering, where is the love? I cannot condone his actions during those campaigns, even if those candidates, one a very beloved friend, can. As county chair he was very selective as to who he would engage with. Again, I understood his desire to achieve success, but his disrespect to a representative of delegates from all over the state told me he did not respect those delegates and that isnt cool. I can get over issues we had personally, but I cannot see how that style of leadership has any place in the state Party. When Jim resigned I became very concerned. We are right in the middle of this election cycle and we need a chair who can immediately step in and raise money. As our 2010 candidate for governor Peter Corroon raised over two million dollars. We have some great candidates on the ballot this year. All of our congressional candidates are better options than what we have in office now, and we once again have the best candidate for the office of Utah Attorney General (Charles A. Stormont), but to be frank, we always have the best AG candidates. We also have so many amazing candidates for the state legislature and it is my opinion that they deserve a chair who can raise money starting from day one. Peter Corroon has proved that he has the discipline to do just that and that is one of the reasons I decided to not run. I could see the benefit for our candidates by having Peter at the helm, and I also could see that Peter understood what I know, that this Party needs to be a true 29 county Party. Im also a big fan of Peters two terms as mayor. He stood up for the residents of Salt Lake County in regards to the ReaL stadium, and had he not been as successful as he was as county mayor would we have Mayor Ben McAdams, today? Peter has always returned my calls, even when the news wasnt what I wanted to hear, and I appreciate that he always handled himself professionally and I appreciate his kind countenance and his forthright and kind nature. Peter was also a big help to me and the candidate recruitment committee every cycle. He knows how to talk with potential candidates and I have no doubt that he has the talent, experience and expertise to find future great candidates as well as support them. I believe that both candidates can lead this Party, but I believe that Peter is the better choice and I hope you will join me tomorrow to elect Peter Corroon as our next chair. I have said my piece and made my peace -- take it or leave it. I will see you at convention, tomorrow. With every best wish, Your friend and Utah Democrat, Rob Miller
Posted on: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 19:24:14 +0000