Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Primary Election Post-Mortem

Now that the smoke has cleared from yesterday's primary election, I suppose it's time to offer a few comments about yesterday's results, which were reported in real-time last night on this board. My web stats software registered over 500 page-loads between the hours of 7-11:30 p.m. last night, so I know many of you were following closely. Weber County Forum was really hopping as the vote tally rolled in.

First, however, I'd like to thank all the candidates who participated in this race. It was heartening, to say the least, to have observed so many citizens step up to the plate, and involve themselves in the municipal election, the most basic level of grass-roots politics.

I'd also like to give special thanks to those council candidates who took the extra time and effort to submit candidate statements and questionaire responses to this forum. I've received many reader responses, thanking me for the information that you folks provided here. WCF has also been linked by other websites too, for this reason. I believe the voters of Ogden city went into this primary election with more available information than ever before, in no small part because of your willingness to put forth your information on Weber County Forum.

And of course I'd like to congratulate the candidates who made the final cut: Jesse Garcia, Dori Mosher, Doug Stephens, Steve Larsen, Bill Glasmann, Kent Jorgensen, Dorrene Jeske and Donna Burdett.

And once again, I'd like to offer my hearty thanks to Bill Glasmann, who did not hesitate at my late-afternoon request that he phone in the vote tally from the council chamber at regular intervals last night. It was a lot to ask of Bill, I thought, as he sat amidst the pandemonium of last night's vote-counting; but he perfomed admirably, demonstrating that he does indeed have the blood of a true newspaperman flowing through his arteries.

For a nutshell wrap-up of the primary election, you can read John Wright's excellent report here.

And I'll hold off on my own analysis for now, except to say that I believe yesterday's results did reflect the strong grass-roots anti-incumbent sentiment that I've been writing about on this blog.

Although incumbents led in the vote-count in each of the contested races, none of them managed even to approach 50% of the tallied votes. Here's the breakdown of incumbents by council seat. Even Councilman Garcia, who can by no means be characterized as a member of the "gang of six," failed to receive a majority of the cast votes:

Ward 1 - Garcia 45%
At Large A - Jorgensen 40%
At Large B - Burdett 38%

Interestingly, Steve Larsen, Councilman Filiaga's hand-picked Ward 3 successor, (also the administration's favorite 'gang of six" replacement,) garnered only 29% of the votes.

And last night's "Cinderella story" was Doug Stephens, who "came out of nowhere" in Ward 3, besting Steve Larsen, who's been campaigning for over a year, in the ward that Mr. Larsen believed he "owned." I spoke by phone with candidate Stephens late last night. It appears he's been working quietly "behind the scenes" in Ward 3, and has managed to muster significant grass-roots support. Doug Stephens has solid credentials, and now appears to be the candidate to beat -- for Filiaga's seat. Check out his candidate information in the right sidebar, if you'd like to learn more about this strong contender.

All-in-all, It's going to be an interesting race, as we now move into the final sprint. I'll have more commentary on the general election as the horses run down the stretch, so keep on checking back.

Does anybody else have any thoughts or observations on what yesterday's primary results mean?

It's your forum, people. So please don't hesitate to chime in.

Don't let the cat get your tongue.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

What I want to know is this. What is the deal with Jorgenson's lawn signs? It says this is what he's all about. Then there are pictures of two little white girls. I dont get it. Is this some kind of hidden redneck message or something?

You can tell Mr. Jorgenson we brown-skinned people arnt going after little white girls.

Is he from the KKK, or what.

Anonymous said...

Rudi,

I want to thank you and your readers for your support. Although the final results didn’t go my way, as a newcomer to city politics I've certainly learned a lot!

Best Regards

Anonymous said...

Steven Prisbrey, you got heart kid. I believe you're going to be a factor in future Ogden politics. Hope to see your name in the ring next time around.

Also was real sad to hear of the passing of your uncle and mentor. A double whammy for you this week.

There are brighter times ahead for you if you stick to your principles and keep your love for the common folks alive.

Anonymous said...

Yo Paco

the answer is no, Jorgenson is not in the KKK. He is not smart enough to pass the entrance exam. His voting record however would certainly indicate he is a racist and a major league numb skull.

Anonymous said...

Ozboy,

I really appreciate the kind words. They mean a lot. It was certainly a pleasure meeting you and Rudi. I know that you genuinely want the best for the people, and you are a true patriot for individual rights. If some of these posters who attack you could meet and talk with the Ozboy, they would definitely have their eyes open and be better off for it.

Anonymous said...

Ozboy, you the man!

Anonymous said...

And just in case ya want some reading to do in your spare time, I did a little research and found....BAM....you guessed it! Dori Mosher's post: take a look below....

It begins:

No, I'm not dillusional.

And I did not base my idea about the trib on one article, I based it on the fact that I get a call at least once a week from them trying to sell me a subscription, and actually having them say to me they are trying to expand northward.

Don't tell me how Jesse has voted, tell me what he has done. Does he read his info packets before his meetings? Then why is he always asking questions that are answered in them. Has he ever presented an alternate view with clarity and with opposing research that he actually bothered to do? I will. I sat on the Marshall White Advisory Committee for over a year with Butch Sawyer as we watched the budget get cut. Jesse did not fight for it. I will. He has not even done the simple task of fighting for neighborhoods' entitled rights to a street light every mid-block. I will. He has not contacted UTA to acquire noise barrier walls to divide the freeway from the citizens of west Ogden. I will.

For the past eight years I have devoted hundreds of hours of volunteer service to my community. I have volunteered countless hours assisting children with reading and math. I have done neighborhood clean-ups. I created and ran an after-school science program for at-risk children in the Ogden City School District, and many, many other things.

Now tell me again what Jesse has done for my community.
August 29, 2005 10:45 PM

I've seen the little yellow scum card that these viralent weasels have mailed. Reads suspiciously like this, just like Jesse told the Standard it did. There is no place for this kind of trashing, especially from some naive newcomer who knows of Jesse's prowess and the love his community gives him.

Remember D-Mo, you cut and ran last time and this time will be no different. What goes around comes around....big time!

Anonymous said...

ec, a favor? Could you go back to where you found Dori Mosher's post? On the same thread is a refutation of it by Jesse Garcia. I think we should have it on this thread too, since the other one is there.

What a shame this is. I really hope it is found and disclosed who was responsible for the flier. Since it was mailed out too late to give Jesse time to publicly refute it, I think we could post that earlier refutation here.

Do you agree?

ARCritic said...

The flyer got this forum mentioned in the Std. Ex. today.

It implied someone here might also have been responsible. I guess being anonymous has it's benefits.

Anonymous said...

Rudi,

do you think it possible that you can obtain one of these formentioned fliers for your gentle readers?

Anonymous said...

Hey, this seems like discrimination to me! What about us not so gentle readers?

And also I'm not so sure it is a good idea to be feeding OzBoy's ego like this folks! Just remember numb skulls can sometime be clever also. Nothing he/she pradles on about is of real import, ya know.

Go Yorgenson,Burdett , Larsen, Mosher and Goebels.

Anonymous said...

Looks like somebody left the door to the playpen open and Mr. R. Nixon, same guy-many names, got loose again.

Yawn....

Anonymous said...

Condolences, Steve. Really sorry about your Uncle Scott. He was a good man and will be missed.

EC, Dori is NOT NAIVE! She is a devious, scheming liar. She's been caught in more than one lie and deceitful action during this campaign, as has Godfrey's other patsy, Steve Larsen.

Anonymous said...

You're correct....D-Mo is NOT naive. Don't know what I was thinking. Glad you set me straight.

Heed this warnign, Jesse....you got a tigeress by the tail, but you got a good hold, nevertheless.

Anonymous said...

Vile red-headed trollup? Devious scheming liar? Tigress? These comments seem more appropriate in the dungeon of this site rather than the main thread.

Dori was NOT responsible for the flyer and it is unfortunate that Jesse and his supporters are using this incident as a smear against her while professing to NOT be running a smear campaign. Like her slogan - Your Voice, Loud and Clear - anyone who knows her realizes she is very clear with how she stands and does not need to resort to anonymous mischief such as this flyer.

Villify her if you must, it is definitely easier than addressing the real issues. I would challenge you to stick to the issues and refrain from the juvenile name-calling, it does not become you, this site, or this race.

**A moment of reflection for Scott Sneddon - a great man and a great friend**

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