The Utah Democratic Party will have a new executive director starting Monday. Lauren Littlefield will replace Matt Lyon, who is stepping down after four years in the position.
Littlefield said she has her eyes set on getting more Democrats elected in 2016.
“Voter participation in the state is dismal and pathetic at best, and that’s something that I hope to increase, especially on the Democratic side,” Littlefield said. “Something that we want to do is get more people registered to vote by mail. It’s such a great program that most counties in the state are offering now, and it’s something that people should be taking advantage of.”
Littlefield, a Utah native, got her start in Utah politics in 2004 as a field organizer. She has since worked on city council, Senate and House campaigns, and spent three years with Equality Utah.
Littlefield said she’d like to see some Democrats of campaigns past run again.
“[I’m] hoping to get Doug Owens to run for Congress again, because I think that’s a race that would be exciting and fun to run again and win this time,” Littlefield said. “I think that if we could get a great candidate to run for state senate, maybe a Jim Matheson, that would be a wonderful campaign to work on.”
Lyon, who will be working as a senior advisor to Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, says Littlefield’s ability to bring people together will serve his party well.