These are classic discussions published back in July 2008
Transparency and Performance
When I entered the Legislature 8 years ago, information was hidden from voters. Though the Legislature had an advanced website, the decision was purposely made to not make Legislators’ votes readily accessible on the site. Why not? With straight faces, legislative leaders would say, because such information, taken out of context, could confuse voters.
Fortunately, we quickly changed our tune, and offered the public access to lots of information. Everything I have available – in terms of access to bills, voting records, floor and committee speeches – the public also has. I am not aware of any state doing better in terms of access, and I am aware of most states doing worse.
I believe a correlation exists between this transparency and the fact that Utah is widely recognized as the best-managed state in the Nation. Giving people direct access to information has 3 consequences. One, officials pay closer attention to their actions. Two, people can more readily hold officials accountable... (read more)
Kory’s New Blog
Rep. Kory Holdaway has started a blog!
I think I’ve been blogging longer than any elected official in the U.S. — “currently-serving elected official”, I should say, since Ray Cox started blogging very early. (I’d love someone to fact check that claim). And, it is always exciting for me, when an elected official is willing to expose his thinking to public scrutiny and criticism (meaning comments enabled and unmoderated). I solidly believe that such openness will produce good results.
Kory will be an excellent addition to the blogosphere. He is courageous, thoughtful, and responsible, in advocating his positions. Kory and I both have strong passions for public education, and, often, we find ourselves approaching issues from different perspectives (and with significantly different constituencies), but I have learned much from him and, invariably, I enjoy working with him.
Performance Pay Update
Districts and Charter Schools have turned in their plans to implement performance pay measures. Those proposals can be viewed here. They are all over the map – and that is a great thing! Utahns don’t lack ideas to improve public education (or passion about those various ideas), and this initiative provides a great opportunity to experiment with some of those ideas.
After the voucher vote, I’ve had many people tell me how happy or sad they were that vouchers failed. But, regardless of their position on vouchers, they often express a strong desire to figure out a way to pay the best teachers more money. Matching that desire with an appropriate and fair way to actually to do it is a huge and complex task.
Rather than have one group come up a plan, Utah will now run more than 87 separate experiments. WOW! The appropriation for performance pay measures was fairly small ($19,000,000) and very loose, intentionally providing local education... (read more)
Well, Well, Paul Rolly
Just when I dish on the fluffiness of the Media, Paul Rolly writes a very substantive analysis of the Treasurer’s race. The first substantive analysis I’ve seen, as a matter of fact.
I’ll disagree with a few of Mr. Rolly’s points: The scandal played a big role in the outcome (and I still haven’t seen a hint in the Media yet about the fact that the source of the allegations is a key backer for Ellis and that he stands to make millions for his employer/self(?) based on decisions made by the Treasurer or even an acknowledgement that any questionable conduct arose out of a CONVERSATION, NOT A SOLILOQUY, involving both candidates and the witness/kingmaker) . Qualifications also played a role in the outcome; Ellis’s background experience looked better to voters. The UEA was in the thing more for voucher payback than concerns over retirement benefits. And, from my perspective, the defined benefit (DB)/defined contribution (DC) issue doesn’t have enough legs... (read more)
Media Bias? Nah!
“I’m not 100% sure that” the media is wildly biased in what it decides to investigate and report or how it determines when allegations are to be reported as fact or be shrugged off as politically motivated. (Hand it to David Irvine; to get quoted on that canard is dandy legal work. I’m not 100% sure that it’s repugnant to trot out such an allegation in that manner, but I am 100% sure that it’s a biased reporter who gets hooked by such a sham lure).
So, let’s do a little research. I reviewed the, um, reporting of Glen Warchol and Rebecca Walsh, until I felt I had lost 40 IQ points (yes, yes, like all neanderthal conservatives, that would mean that I dropped below zero), and — among mountains of political displeasures — I found narry a discordant chirp about any political figure anywhere left of conservative.
Now, hold on! Surely, professional journalists, like Warchol and Walsh, couldn’t really operate from... (read more)
Utah’s Budget