Demos to pick leader for next 2 years

The Utah Democratic Party is prepped to select its chairman for the next two years.

Party delegates will decide Saturday whether to keep current chairman Wayne Holland, or usher in a new regime under his opponent Jeff Bell. The annual convention will be held at Murray High School and is open to the public. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.

Each of the candidates will come armed with a selling point: Holland his record and local support; Bell a promise to more aggressively promote the party's message.

Whoever wins is tasked with fundraising. Holland is poised to capitalize on the party's success under his purview. In 2006, fewer than 100 donated to the party. In 2008, more than 1,300 donors stepped up.

Holland has already received a large number of endorsements, including Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, 30 national delegates and 27 of the Utah Legislature's lawmakers.

"Wayne Holland is a proven leader with the experience and tenacity to challenge and change the political landscape in Utah," said Mark Hymas, president of Young Democrats of Utah, in his official endorsement.

But Bell doesn't see it that way. In a statement he issued Friday, Bell contends that Holland doesn't have the motivation or ability to aggressively spread the Democratic Partry's message. He also accused Holland's office of failing to change its attitude about the party as the Democrats swept last year's national elections.

"The unique opportunity of the Obama campaign was no time for timidity," he said in a statement. Bell cites the defeat of the Common Cause initiatives during the Utah Legislature's last general session as just one example of lost opportunities to share party ideals with Utahns.

In April, Holland responded to Bell's candidacy by telling the Salt Lake Tribune that he expects his opponent "to do bizarre things." While Holland stated that he has no problem with Bell running, "his not being truthful, that's a whole other matter."

Bell took his opponent's comment and ran with it by launching "Jeff's Bizarre Behavior Photoshop Content" on his blog, inviting people to digitally edit his image into doing something bizarre. Whether the response was prophecy fulfilled is debatable.

E-MAIL: mmcfall@desnews.com