Many entities on Hill trying to influence legislators

Pignanelli: The Utah Education Association and Eagle Forum are well-known political entities. Yet, there are other organizations with extraordinary influence in the corridors of power.

Until the 1990s, the Utah Taxpayers Association (UTA) was viewed as Neanderthal lackeys of corporate sponsors who grunted "no taxes" whenever possible. Then the UTA crawled out of its cave and evolved into a significant player. For example, Initiative 1 was a well-funded, popular effort (to purchase open space with additional sales taxes) predicted to win in 2004. With limited resources, the UTA built a coalition of opponents and grabbed enough media attention with its attacks to defeat the proposal. Further, the UTA enjoys yearly success in defeating a number of local bond referendums.

The UTA does not make campaign contributions or treat officials to meals. Yet state policy is rarely developed without its input. The UTA president (and state senator) Howard Stephenson and vice president Mike Jerman have mastered the art of building strong coalitions (oftentimes with former opponents) through an ideological focus. The UTA is prompting debate over redevelopment agencies, private school vouchers and economic development incentives. Consequently, the UTA is now the most powerful business association in Utah.

Under the leadership of Ken Bullock, the Utah League of Cities and Towns has fashioned its 237 member municipalities into an army of zealots that actively participate in political discussions on transportation, tax and development issues. Policymakers rely upon the insightful analysis the league provides (especially from former Tax Commissioner Roger Tew). The league's influence has been bolstered by a continued stream of well-connected city officials who served as president, including mayors Tom Dolan (Sandy) and Bob Linnell (Bountiful). Using a feel-good message of enhancing communities, Bullock and his team are participants in any high-level deliberations regarding future growth in the state. Any doubt regarding the league's preeminence was quashed in 1998. In the midst of the Olympic bribery scandal, the Legislature wanted a representative of the "general public" placed on the Olympic Executive Committee to alleviate constituents' complaints. The lawmakers overwhelmingly chose the executive director of the league.