The Utah Forward Party is hosting its 2025 annual convention at Salt Lake Community College on April 26. The party also announced this week that it is accepting member-submitted priorities ahead of the convention, which will shape its policy focus for the coming year.
According to details published by the Utah Forward Party this month, the convention will be held at the Dr. Deneece G. Huftalin Student Center on the college’s Taylorsville campus. The event will feature speeches from party leaders, including Utah State Senator Daniel Thatcher—who left the Republican Party on the final day of Utah’s legislative session this month to join the Forward Party—and former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, a founding co-chair of the national Forward Party.
The party is also soliciting member-submitted priorities to help guide its policy agenda for the next year. According to information shared by the party Wednesday, members are encouraged to submit local and state-specific topics for consideration. These submissions will be voted on during the convention, and those receiving majority support will become official party priorities through 2026.
“The key is to focus on a broad objective that we should be focus attention on, rather than a specific proposed solution,” the submission form reads. “You may choose to reference examples of solutions to give context, as long as a specific policy is not clearly articulated as if it’s the ‘obvious solution.'”
The convention is open to the public, and guests are encouraged to attend. The party has stressed that much of this year’s programming is designed to “appeal equally to a non-voting audience.” However, only registered Utah Forward Party members will be eligible to vote in formal party proceedings, including elections for the party’s next chair, vice chair, secretary, and treasurer. Additionally, any prospective candidates for leadership roles must submit their intent to run by April 19.
Less Danny Thatcher. More Maggie Thatcher. M’kay?