Utah panel organized for Hillary

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton Thursday announced a Utah steering committee that includes community, political and union leaders from throughout the state.

The more than 30 members of the steering committee are expected to help the New York senator's campaign mobilize grass-roots support for Utah's Feb. 5 presidential primary election.

"I'm honored to have such strong support from across Utah," Clinton said in a statement. "These distinguished leaders will be critical to growing our grass-roots network throughout the state."

Among the members are former Utah Congresswoman Karen Shepard; Bruce Bastian, co-founder of WordPerfect and a gay-rights activist; Senate Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich, D-Price; Charles Henderson, former chairman of the Utah African American Caucus; and Phil Rodriquez, executive director of the National Association of Letter Carriers in Salt Lake City.

A Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll in October showed Clinton trailing Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards among Utah Democrats who said they planned to vote in the primary.

Obama, Clinton's chief rival for the Democratic nomination, recently opened a campaign office in Salt Lake City. Clinton's campaign has previously solicited help from Utah Democrats for the Jan. 19 presidential caucus in Nevada.

Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, raised some $350,000 for her campaign in Utah last month by appearing at a Park City fund-raiser and delivering a speech at the University of Utah.