Block the Vote | Hits & Misses | Salt Lake City Weekly
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News » Hits & Misses

Block the Vote

The Apprentice, Safe Spaces

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Block the Vote
Ask any Utahn why they don't vote and you'll see the power of one-party politics. What you hear most often is: "Why should I? My vote doesn't count." That may be the strategy for those looking to disenfranchise any non-Republican voters, but what's happening now is even more insidious. The state GOP is wrangling to squeeze out its own voters, although the idea may be just to sideline moderates and probably women—at least in a presidential preference vote. Gov. Spencer Cox says the party moving to an in-person presidential caucus won't impact turnout, but The Salt Lake Tribune's Andy Larsen dispelled that notion with ... facts! When Utah changed from caucuses to primaries, turnout jumped—at least among Democrats. The stats on who turns out for any vote were stunning: mostly white, older men with health insurance. "Instead of making it easy for all Utah Republicans to participate in the candidate selection process, the party is making it more difficult," said Republican and Deseret News writer LaVar Webb.

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The Apprentice
It's no big secret that Bryan Schott is not Sen. Mike Lee's favorite local reporter. Lee has ghosted and banned The Salt Lake Tribune's political reporter whenever he could, not making a dent in the reporting on the senior senator. Schott revealed Lee's @basedMikeLee X/Twitter account so people could keep up, and most recently told the world that Lee bought into one of Alex Jones' conspiracy theories—that President Biden was preparing to "impose" COVID-related lockdowns in the fall. Oh, there's so much more. Schott has been dogging Lee ever since the Jan. 6 committee found evidence that Lee participated in efforts to overturn the election. The Deseret News reports that Lee wishes Trump was still in office. Apparently, there are still Utah Republicans who do, too.

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Safe Spaces
When the Utah Pride Center suddenly closed, news spread and the Monday-morning quarterbacking began. The Deseret News called its future murky amid "massive financial struggles." Indeed, the center has had staffing problems and fundraising issues since the pandemic. But the loss of services is monumental. Some critics said the center earned its negative reputation. One commenter summed up their complaints: "Charging vendors 3X the money for booths and parade entries, alienating themselves from the actual SLC gay community, pushing away grassroots movements and groups like the AIDS Foundation, nonprofits, etc., CEO payments and high-end raises while lower staff gets little ..." Michael Aaron of QSalt Lake magazine stayed hopeful—"I'm going to ask people who jump on and bash the Utah Pride Center two things: What have you done in the last year to help them thrive? And say something nice about them." Many did, and Michael Repp of Club Verse responded to the closure by exploring ways to turn his bar into an all-ages safe space for the community.