This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Democrats fear they remain unprepared to battle President Trump's agenda. Romney, Huntsman appear to lose out on secretary of state job. Interior choice has environmentalists concerned.
Happy Monday. As Donald Trump's inauguration draws near, Democrats fear they remain woefully unprepared to fight the new president's agenda. The party loses its standard-bearer once President Barack Obama leaves office, and the Democratic National Committee won't get a permanent chairman and staff until March, two months into the presidency. That Democratic power vacuum has raised concerns about the party's ability to provide a united message — or even to stand up a centralized rapid response operation — for the president's first 100 days in office. [<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/democrats-donald-trump-232491">Politico</a>]
<strong>Topping the news: </strong>Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman's hopes might be dashed as the president-elect will reportedly pick ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4696687-155/trump-reportedly-will-pass-over-romney?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669025/Trump-to-name-Exxon-Mobil-CEO-as-secretary-of-state-NBC-News-reports.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>] [<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/rex-tillerson-exxon-mobile-expected-be-named-trump-s-secretary-n694371?cid=eml_nbn_20161210"; target="_blank">NBCNews</a>] [<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-expected-to-pick-exxonmobil-chief-executive-rex-tillerson-as-his-secretary-of-state/2016/12/10/6e018e90-bd9e-11e6-94ac-3d324840106c_story.html?utm_term=.dd42affc4068"; target="_blank">WaPost</a>]
-> President-elect Donald Trump's reported pick for secretary of the Interior — Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers — fills environmentalists with dread and gets Republicans excited for the next four years. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4694397-155/enviros-raise-concerns-gop-cheers-trumps"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Reps. Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz' Public Lands Initiative didn't get a vote in time, but President Obama's administration may be considering designating a scaled-back monument in southern Utah that follows the outline local leaders put into the PLI bill. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4689454-155/if-obama-declares-a-mini-bears?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Tom Harvey and Jennifer Dobner chronicle Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings' probe into the possibility of online gambling companies wanting to bribe Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and why the FBI refused to look into it. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4533272-155/a-2m-check-harry-reid-and"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
<strong>Tweets of the weekend: </strong>From @<a href="https://twitter.com/HeerJeet"; target="_blank">HeerJeet</a>: "Either the CIA is telling the truth, which is terrifying or the CIA is lying, which is also terrifying. We're in uncharted waters here."
From @<a href="https://twitter.com/KenJennings"; target="_blank">KenJennings</a>: "It's not cool that if you live in California your vote counts less than someone in Wyoming or North Dakota or the Kremlin."
From @<a href="https://twitter.com/UtMormonDemoGuy"; target="_blank">UtMormonDemoGuy</a>: "I'm old enough to remember when we all were worried that Hillary Clinton had too cozy a relationship with Wall Street."
<strong>Opinion section: </strong>Lara Haynes, Niesha Nelson and Carlos Eduardo Bonilla, all University of Utah nursing students, propose more funding for nursing programs to increase class sizes so that qualified students, instead of getting rejected, can go on to take care of a growing and increasingly elderly state population. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4650048-155/op-ed-utah-has-a-nursing-shortage"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Denni Cawley, executive director of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, translates Donald Trump and his Cabinet's ominous environmental agenda into Utah-specific terms: a destroyed and hot landscape, spiked health problems and stunted rural economic growth. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4685431-155/op-ed-we-cannot-turn-from-our"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Sheryl Allen, a former Republican state legislator, and Cheryll May, a former political science professor, call for an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission to straighten out the gerrymandering that gives Utah's dominant GOP a disproportionate election advantage. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4684451-155/op-ed-to-optimize-our-democracy-bury"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Eileen "Bunnie" Keen, a new Salt Lake area activist, says that if enough states join a compact to award all their electoral votes to the national popular vote winner, all states and all votes will truly matter again, just like the establishers of the Electoral College intended. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4680242-155/op-ed-heres-the-way-to-make"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Rev. Scott Dalgarno, pastor of the Wasatch Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City, wonders if the divide between young evangelical Christians, whose consciences wouldn't justify a vote for Trump, and older church members, who could vote for him comfortably, will amount to the next reformation. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4680205-155/op-ed-election-has-exposed-age-related-fissure"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Susan Nedell, the Rocky Mountains advocate for Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), says if the Utah Legislature passes a 2017 electric vehicles bill, it will clear up pollution, leave more money in Utahns' pockets and send the message that Utah is friendly to clean innovations. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4680196-155/op-ed-pass-tax-credit-bill-to-keep"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Scott Ulbrich, Bill Crim and Maribel Rodriguez of United Way of Salt Lake ask individuals to go beyond mere tolerance and do their part to courageously and assertively heal a racially divided and bigotry high post-election society. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4685723-155/op-ed-we-each-have-role-in"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Tribune editorial writer George Pyle breaks down the tactics in last weekend's competing op-eds on charter school funding, noting how pitting readers against the government — not as voluntary overcontributors to it — works. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4690320-155/george-pyle-playing-the-public-against?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Paul Rolly pitches the theory: what if Sen. Orrin Hatch, who has deterred potential contenders for his seat in the past, asked the president-elect to add Jon Huntsman to his secretary of state list so that Huntsman would ditch his plans of a 2018 Senate run? [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4690257-155/paul-rolly-could-hatch-have-put?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] Then, he tells the stories of three Salt Lake City restaurants that were either tanked, let slip or saved by bureaucrats. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4693187-155/rolly-lambs-dodges-cinegrills-fate-while"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Fraser Bullock, a co-founder and senior adviser at Sorenson Capital, thinks that last year's compromise in the state legislature on non-compete regulations needs data on how it's working, not a partnership with Obama's White House to take it further. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4660744-155/op-ed-utah-doesnt-need-more-non-compete"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> A. Scott Anderson, president and CEO of Zion's Bank, praises Utah pollster Dan Jones for a long career of constantly correct election predictions, punctual hard work and cutting-edge data collection. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4689785-155/op-ed-after-more-than-half-a"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Pat Bagley weighs in on the likelihood of Donald Trump's Cabinet picks to destroy each department from the inside out. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4694759-155/bagley-cartoon-fighting-big-government"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Terry Jarrett, an energy attorney and consultant and former Missouri Public Service Commissioner, argues against dismissing coal altogether — cleaner coal technology could achieve environmental goals and keep and add jobs in the coal industry. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865668910/My-view-A-fair-chance-to-make-coal-cleaner.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> H. Sterling Burnett, a research fellow on energy and the environment at The Heartland Institute, says that ballot measures passed in several states on Election Day largely handed the environment big, sensible victories. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669043/My-view-Common-sense-and-the-environment-won-mostly-on-Election-Day.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> Frank Pignanelli and LaVarr Webb go over which Utah politicians could get their Christmas wishes — a position in Donald Trump's Cabinet or Utah Legislature leadership. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669037/Who-will-be-granted-their-Christmas-wishes.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> Patricia Jones, CEO of the Women's Leadership Institute and a former Utah politician, says as the winter season approaches and the state will see a spike in suicides and mental health crises, standing up to bullying is a great way to make a change. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669040/My-view-Addressing-the-issue-of-mental-health-on-college-campuses.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> Hal Boyd, opinion editor at the Deseret News, explains why the Book of Mormon was honored at the Library of Congress as one of America's most influential books: because a mix of individualism and sociality define American culture. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669036/Why-the-Book-of-Mormon-can-tell-us-more-about-America-than-Ayn-Rand7s-The-Fountainhead.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> Retired Gen. Robert C. Oaks praises Sen. Hatch for his useful Senate position as America heads into a Republican-controlled term, efficiency as a lawmaker, defense of Utah values and private propensity to serve. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669044/My-view-Utah-needs-Sen-Hatch.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> Janet Trautwein, chief executive officer of the National Association of Health Underwriters, puts her support behind Congress' consideration of restoring Medicare Advantage plan flexibility for seniors. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865668993/My-view-Congress-should-be-open-to-Medicare-enrollees-needs.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> Sen. Larry Pressler calls recently retired Sen. Harry Reid the United States' greatest senator of all time, and a privately passionate missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to boot. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865668953/Larry-Pressler-Farewell-to-my-LDS-missionary-friend-and-colleague-Sen-Harry-Reid.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
<strong>Weekend in review: </strong>Mormon-run FamilySearch International presents the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture with an indexed database of Freedmen's Bureau records, opening the door to tracing African American family lines past the 1870 mark. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/lifestyle/faith/4693555-155/mormon-gift-opens-up-a-vast?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> The BLM temporarily pulls two gas and oil leases in Utah's Nine Mile Canyon from its Tuesday online auction to reconsider the impact on the canyon's archeological value, including ancient Native American rock art. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4693428-155/blm-pulls-leases-in-utahs-nine"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669047/BLM-withdraws-controversial-Nine-Mile-Canyon-leases.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> Lee Davidson dives into how accurately the Utah Legislature's GOP supermajority represents the state and what kind of influence the LDS Church really has on lawmakers. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4663941-155/with-utah-legislatures-mormon-supermajority-is"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> State Rep. Craig Hall will sponsor 2017 legislation to take Utah back to its old voting system — in-person polling places as the default and by-mail ballots available upon request — after four-hour Election Day lines made a mess in Utah. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4690723-155/after-long-election-lines-lawmaker-looking?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Democrat Suzanne Harrison concedes the Utah House District 32 race to Rep. LaVar Christensen after a recount only increased his margin of victory from three votes to five. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4694606-155/democrat-harrison-concedes-sealing-rep-lavar"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865668981/Democratic-challenger-concedes-race-to-GOP-Rep-LaVar-Christensen.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> The state school board passed a measure Friday that forces the Utah High School Activity Association to make it easier for varsity athletes to transfer schools. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4693932-155/utah-school-board-votes-to-require"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865668999/State-School-Board-approves-new-athlete-transfer-rule.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> Former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson staged a demonstration outside current Mayor Jackie Biskupski's office Friday to make it clear that any subsequent homeless people that die from the cold would be Biskupski's fault for not having a better overflow plan, but some homeless say the streets are better than the bursting shelters. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4694488-155/former-mayor-says-biskupski-to-blame?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669012/SL-mayor-says-more-funding-available-to-shelter-homeless-from-the-cold.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>] [<a href="http://fox13now.com/2016/12/09/activists-call-for-creation-of-overflow-homeless-shelter-but-slc-mayor-says-current-resources-going-unused/"; target="_blank">Fox13</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/protestors-mayor-share-different-sides-of-homeless-problem"; target="_blank">KUTV</a>]
-> Utah's Public Service Commission steps in at the eleventh hour to halt Rocky Mountain Power's new rate schedule for solar customers and let the company and the solar industry negotiate a better solution. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4694697-155/rocky-mountain-power-suspends-request-for?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865668996/New-deadline-for-solar-customers-axed-by-Public-Service-Commission.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> Utah ex-Attorney General John Swallow's lawyer hints at dropping the public corruption case against Swallow because the federal government has blocked his efforts to use witnesses that also investigated Swallow's predecessor, Mark Shurtleff, whose charges were dropped. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4693003-155/swallow-case-bumping-into-barriers-that?page=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865668982/Judge-weighing-whether-to-toss-charges-against-ex-AG-John-Swallow.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/feds-accused-of-obstruction-in-swallow-case"; target="_blank">KUTV</a>]
-> The Utah Board of Education votes in a new leadership team and adds another leadership position. New Chair Mark Huntsman's first priority will be improving communication with the public. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4694659-155/utah-school-board-picks-mark-huntsman"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865669000/Mark-Huntsman-elected-chairman-of-State-School-Board.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]
-> The federal Department of Justice says in closing arguments that the police force 0ver twin FLDS towns Hilldale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona needs to be disbanded and overhauled. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4693478-155/feds-disband-police-overhaul-services-in"; target="_blank">APviaTrib</a>] [<a href="http://fox13now.com/2016/12/10/justice-department-urges-judge-to-dismantle-flds-towns-police-force/"; target="_blank">Fox13</a>]
-> The Utah Legislature's budget director Jonathan Ball received a national award in Washington on Thursday. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4693855-155/utah-legislatures-budget-czar-honored"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Pacificorp wants to pipeline its now closed Deer Creek coal mine wastewater to a pond, but environmentalists say the company's failure to specify what would happen after the water reaches the pond makes the plan haphazard. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4584404-155/utah-environmentalists-decry-haphazard-plan-to"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> Salt Lake City's Human Rights Day celebration on Saturday zeroed in on indigenous groups and multicultural unity. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4690919-155/salt-lake-city-champions-human-rights"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/utahns-celebrate-diversity-at-annual-human-rights-day"; target="_blank">KUTV</a>]
-> A former drug addict starts Utah's first two coalitions to enroll in the state's needle exchange program and personally hands out supplies on Salt Lake City streets. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4689031-155/former-drug-addict-starts-coalition-to"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
-> The Bureau of Land Management will round up a few hundred of Utah's wild horses in February and spread them out to control herd growth. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4693334-155/blm-approves-february-western-utah-wild"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]
<strong>Nationally: </strong>The CIA found that Russian hackers intervened in the U.S. election not just to mess with it but to help Donald Trump win the presidency; Trump's team cast doubt on the agency's credibility, but President Obama ordered a review. [<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-cia-on-collision-course-over-russias-role-in-us-election/2016/12/10/ad01556c-bf01-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe_story.html?utm_term=.79baae9f8af0"; target="_blank">WaPost</a>] [<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/09/politics/obama-orders-review-into-russian-hacking-of-2016-election/index.html"; target="_blank">CNN</a>]
-> Trump stokes the international relations fire by saying in a Fox News interview Sunday that the United States should not be bound by a One China policy. [<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/chinese-paper-calls-trump-as-ignorant-as-a-childafter-taiwan-comment/2016/12/12/d91fbaea-c02c-11e6-b20d-3075b273feeb_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_taiwan215am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.f3a247b16ddb" target="_blank">WaPost</a>] [<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/11/politics/donald-trump-china-taiwan/index.html"; target="_blank">CNN</a>]
-> Trump is expected to add another Goldman Sachs exec to his team: Gary D. Cohn as director of the National Economic Council. [<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/09/business/dealbook/goldman-sachs-no-2-seen-as-a-top-economic-adviser-to-trump.html?_r=0"; target="_blank">NYTimes</a>] [<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-gary-cohn-goldman-sachs-national-economic-council/"; target="_blank">CBSNews</a>]
<strong>Where are they?</strong>
<ul>
<li>Gov. Gary <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/GovHerbert"; target="_blank">Herbert</a></strong> films public service announcements and heads to San Diego, California for Western Governors' Association meetings.</li>
<li>State Auditor John <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/FrugalDougall"; target="_blank">Dougall</a> </strong>stops by KSL, sits down for a planning meeting with senior office management and reviews draft audit reports.</li>
<li>President Barack <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama"; target="_blank">Obama</a> </strong>gets his daily briefing and attends meetings at the White House.</li>
</ul>
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— Thomas Burr and Zoe Woolf McGinn<a title="Thomas Burr" href="https://twitter.com/thomaswburr"; target="_blank">Twitter.com/thomaswburr</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/zoewmcginn"; target="_blank">Twitter.com/zoewmcginn</a>