The Citizens' Candidate
April 20th, 2010
How grassroots support for an alternative to Jim Matheson has made a viable candidate out of Gender Studies professor Claudia Wright
by Richard Markosian
The story of Claudia Wright sounds like a great liberal Hollywood script: A "blue dog" Democrat elected to the Senate finds himself cozy in his Senate seat, appeasing Conservative Utahns by selling out his true "progressive liberal values" to corporate interests and broader Conservative appeal. An ad posted on Craigslist calling for a real "progressive alternative" to the conservative, sell-out, corporate friendly -- Senator Matheson -- attracts a group of grass roots activists that elect a 60-year-old Gender Studies professor -- who has taught politics and the political process most of her adult life. Delegates can see that Wright is the "Real McCoy" and elect her where she slashes away special interest power and corporate favoritism; enacts measures to save the world from global warming and helps to pass universal health care. Utahns benefit and convert to be Democrats, as our new Senate leader reforms Washington happily ever after. [fade to black, roll credits]
Fairy tale ending aside -- and whether you agree with the plot or the politics -- this is in fact the true story of Claudia Wright, whose blue eyes have the spark of conviction fueled by legitimate passion. As a teacher by profession, Wright doesn't have a repertoire of pat answers for every question. She appears anything but an inside the beltway Washington politico and fits the part well as the Citizens' Candidate and reformer.
Her warm persona, and much more progressive stance on issues such as health care and government regulation, are the reasons Wright has gained such wide appeal in the past few months in becoming Utah's first "Citizens' Candidate."
An Unlikely Start
The details of her story are even more interesting. Renowned (and now- notorious) prankster Tim DeChristopher posted an ad on Craigslist that read: "seeking a courageous congress person who wouldn't sell out to special interests."
DeChristopher is more widely know for his fraudulent oil and gas lease bids, and may be headed to prison for his more serious illegal pranks. But the outpouring of response to his legal Craigslist ad might have been the beginning of an ingenious method for finding a very viable alternative to blue-dog Democrat Jim Matheson.
At the end of January over 100 activists from District 2 showed up to the downtown Salt Lake City library to hold a primary election for their candidate. University of Utah Medical School Professor John Weiss was the initial chosen candidate -- elected after a very close election with Wright as the runner up. Weiss was quoted by the Deseret News saying he has as much chance of winning "as a Republican winning Massachusetts" -- in reference to Scott Brown's stunning Senate victory in the contest for Edward Kennedy's seat. Weiss dropped out just a few days later saying "he didn't expect to win."
While the initial group organized at the library challenged the notion of the group running as Democrats and choosing instead to run as Independents, Wright says she has been a lifelong Democrat and she believes she has a much better chance of challenging Matheson on her more progressive stance alone.
Beginning our interview, I was unsure to what degree Wright took herself and the series of events seriously. But it's clear that while she may be riding on a train with a wave of support, she believes the train will stop in Washington when she is elected to the Senate.
With an all-volunteer staff, Wright is visiting all the precincts for every county. She says, "I understand the system because I've taught it forever."
Wright believes with her momentum and her volunteers she can capture precincts even outside of Salt Lake, "What we discovered was even better than we had anticipated, which was most of the people in these meetings were looking for an alternative to Matheson. In my meeting I walked away with every vote from the Skyline High School cafeteria but two. I picked up all the Grant County delegates, all the San Juan County delegates. I'm working on Salt Lake, Iron County and Carbon County. We are working on support outside of Salt Lake. Our goal is to take away his nomination at the convention." Wright said.
If Wright takes the nomination away from Matheson at the convention, then she will, by default, be backed by the DNC (Democratic National Committee). Then it would be on to the general primary against a hungry pack of Republicans who would love to contend against her.
So why all the animosity against Matheson provoking so many Democrats looking for change? According to Wright, Matheson is even less supportive of health care legislation that Republican Senator Bob Bennett:
"When Bob Bennet [R] came forward with a health care bill that showed more compassion than a Democrat, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't understand why that could be the case for a Democrat. Then when we looked up his public voting record, it helped to explain -- this is the reason why."
Wright believes that Matheson is heavily influenced by the special interests that got him elected.
What is Liberal Progressivism?
Wright is a progressive Democrat. So what is a progressive? And how is this variety of Democrat better than the liberal? Or are progressives just Liberals 2.0 with a fancy new name? This is how Wright explains her progressivism:
The Liberal progressives started with Teddy Roosevelt. He believed that corporate America was exploiting workers. Roosevelt initiated many of today's U.S. regulatory agencies were created during these years, including the Interstate Commerce Division and the Food And Drug Administration.
Write believes strongly in campaign finance reform and essentially making it illegal for corporations to donate to political campaigns, "If you got rid of special interests you would actually make the officials accountable to the people, instead of the special interests that got them elected. Thus far Wright has only taken campaign contributions from individuals. While she says she will accept contribution from some businesses, she will not accept any from businesses that aren't already aligned with the practices she believes in.
How Can Average Citizens Make A Difference?
Wright and I met near the Sugar House Granite block. I pointed out how once many area residents became aware that the block had be rezoned and demolition was eminent, they rallied to protect the area to no avail. Write's suggestion in preventing future Granite Block's is to always listen up for zoning law changes. "It's always zoning changes that will have the most impact on your neighborhood or business district, so if you ever hear that they will be discussing a change, get involved and find out what is happening."
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