l Attention political junkies: Get your daily fix from The Tribune's "Out of Context" political blog at http://blogs.sltrib .com/utahpolitics.

Call it a bad day for the challenger.

In her bid to upset longtime Democratic Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen, Republican candidate Carrie Dickson had a forgettable day Thursday.

Speaking at Salt Lake City's Westside Senior Citizen Center, 888 W. 900 South, on the meet-the-candidate circuit, Dickson attacked Swensen's office for a lack of service. Playing to her crowd, she suggested the clerk ought to include senior centers as polling locations to make voting easier.

"What a novel thought," Dickson said.

The only problem - other than labeling the seniors "one of our most precious commodities" - is the accuracy.

After Dickson's speech, the moderator stepped in to offer a correction.

The center is indeed a current polling location.

Train wreck

Could the behemoth public-money request by Utah Transit Authority for four new TRAX lines bowl over the November ballot's other potential bond items?

Salt Lake County Councilman Michael Jensen thinks so.

"I'll be blunt," he told a packed room of county leaders for a midyear budget hearing. "When UTA comes in asking for $900 million, it kills everything else on the ballot."

For effect, Jensen hoisted a piece of paper then riddled it with a pen.

"Voters will say nope, nope, nope, nope, nope," he said.

If Jensen proves prophetic, the Living Planet Aquarium, acres of open space, new fire stations and any other bond item will get derailed by mass transit.

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Have a tip for Off the Agenda? E-mail or call Derek P. Jensen at djensen@sltrib.com, 257-8785; Heather May at hmay@sltrib.com, 257-8723; or Jacob Santini at jsantini@sltrib.com, 257-8756.