Godfrey vs. The Townsfolk

For an excellent illustration of the paternalistic and anti-democratic attitude that seems to still prevail within the now-publicly-repudiated Gang of Six, our gentle readers need look no further than this morning's John Wright story. The three outgoing council lame ducks still express no real desire to listen to the voice of the people. They announce they'll do damn well whatever they please with respect to the Rec Center project, although they'll do it under varying rationales.

Donna Burdett says she'll weigh "competing" interests:

Burdett, who was defeated by Dorrene Jeske, said she is unsure how she will vote. She said she feels the rec center is crucial to redevelopment of the vacant mall site. But, she said, she must balance what she thinks is best for the city with what the people want.

"I think that if this was a referendum on the mayor, that would certainly include the rec center, and if people truly don't want it ... then there's no reason to vote for it," Burdett said. "I certainly don't want to ram anything down somebody's throat at the last minute."

That's right, folks. She still hasn't decided whether Tuesday's vote was an actual referendum. She'll weigh the subjective best interests of "the city" (translation: the mayoral administration) against "what the people want," just as she's always done, since her appointment to the city council. It's a choice between the Mayor and The People. That's what she's telling us.

Even the ever-clueless Kent Jorgenson seems to recognize the direct conflict between the will of the grand schemers in Mayor Godfrey's office, and the public will, as it was clearly expressed through Tuesday's general election "referendum" vote:

"The citizens communicated with their vote that they're not excited about the direction the city's taking, and if that's applied to the rec center, you have to take a hard look at the whole decision," he said.

Of course we've heard Councilman Jorgenson sing the same song many times before. He's always going to take a "hard look." "My mind is not yet made up," Comrade Jorgenson always solemnly reminds us, minutes prior to lodging his each and every pro-vision rubber stamp vote.

For an expression of flat-out anti-democratic audacity, however we get this from the council "elder statesman, the "go-to guy" in the Gang-of-Six brain trust:

Filiaga, who did not seek re-election, said the election will not affect his vote because he thinks the majority of people support the rec center, whereas only 20 percent of registered voters cast ballots Tuesday.

That's right, folks. Rather than heed the voice of the Ogden townsfolk who actually showed up to exercise their voting franchise, Filiaga will apply the "unexpressed will" of some vague and imaginary "majority" who didn't even bother going to the polls.

And of course we get this entirely predictable anti-democratic gem from Dear Leader up on the ninth floor:

Godfrey said: "We're not making decisions based on sticking our finger in the wind. We're making decisions based on what we think is in the best interests of the community."

"Sticking our finger in the wind?" For sheer hubris, that one takes the cake. Of course we already knew that Mayor Godfrey doesn't give a damn what the unwashed townsfolk think. "Screw the people; Ogden is a republic - like the old Roman Republic," Matt Godfrey constantly reminds us.

Ace reporter Wright sums it up pretty well in his final two paragraphs, which include a pithy Bill Glasmann quote:

Those elected Tuesday said they hope the current council ensures the rec center makes financial sense for the city before approving it. Glasmann, Jeske and Doug Stephens, who was elected to Filiaga's seat, ran on anti-rec center platforms.

"I hope they don't tie our hands and get us into some mess that we can't unravel," Glasmann said. "The future of our town is dependent on this thing working, and that's a big gamble, that's a huge gamble, and they've got to be very careful with that," Glasmann said.

And what say our gentle readers? Will the outgoing Gang of Six finally take the moral high-road, and obey the will of the people as their final important legislative act? Or will they depart their offices in public disgrace, having once again succumbed to the will of their politically-wounded Dear Leader of the Gang of Six?