Truth-telling Prohibited in Brave New MattGodfreyWorld - Updated Links

By Curmudgeon

The Salt Lake Trib picks up the Standard Examiner Story on Godfrey/Smart Growth Ogden.

Mayor Godfrey has decided, apparently, to change tactics and to try to intimidate his critics into silence. Scott Schwebke broke the story yesterday on the front page of the Standard Examiner and the Salt Lake Tribune has picked it up this morning and added more detail. Story by Kristen Moulton, available here:

Ogden mayor combats gondola critics

The story quotes Mayor Godfrey as saying a map included in a recent SmartGrowthOgden leaflet is "false, misleading and deceptive" and he has warned the organization to "cease and desist" from disseminating it.

The rest of the story explains that the Mayor is flatly refusing to answer questions from SGO and other critics about the basis for claims supporters of the gondola and Peterson real estate speculation have made about it. For example, the story reports, when Godfrey was asked to explain the basis for claiming that the gondola/Peterson project will create 1200 jobs, the Mayor said he would not. When he was asked, the story said, to explain the basis for claiming the projects will bring 1000 extra students a year to WSU, the Mayor said he would not explain. When asked to explain the basis for claiming that the projects will add $10 million a year to Ogden's tax revenues, the Mayor said he would not explain. [Note: the SLTrib story says $5 million, but at one of the Mayor's recent Tuesday night Lift Ogden Cheerleading sessions, he told a constituent "we've raised that estimate to $10 million a year."]

Let me make sure I've got this straight: the Mayor of Ogden City is telling people of his city that a real estate speculation involving city park lands that he favors, and its associated projects, will increase city tax revenues by $10 million dollars a year [or $5 million in the SLT story]. But when asked to explain the basis for that estimate he refuses?

We are all to believe these pie-in-the-sky predictions without any supporting evidence or explanation of how they were reached? And the mayor of Ogden is proposing to sell off 28% of the city's parklands to a real estate speculator to increase tax revenues and he won't tell the voters on what he bases his claims about increased tax revenues?"

I'd be hard put to think of anything that better illustrates the contemptuous approach of the Godfrey administration toward the citizens who put it in office, and who pay its salaries by their taxes than that.

His reason for refusing to answer these questions is that opponents of his gondola scheme "take our information and twist it." The reply to that of course is that good and solid evidence in support of his claims should be able to stand up to questioning in what in well run cities is sometimes called "the market place of ideas." That the Mayor thinks his supporting evidence for his claims can not stand up to public scrutiny is telling.

One more thing: If anyone doubted the Mayor and his Lift Ogden Amen Choir were getting desperate as the public learns more and more about what the Peterson/Godfrey gondola/resort scheme will actually mean, and about how unlikely it is to succeed, how much of Ogden's future they want to mortgage to a wild speculation and about just how much hot air is involved in its promotion, the Mayor's attempt to silence critics by intimidation should make it plain.

It seems more and more of what Mr. Bob Geiger told the Standard Examiner the Lift Ogden folks were keeping secret out of concern that if it came out public opposition to the plan would rise has been coming out. And public opposition has been rising. And so the Mayor and Lift Ogden Amen Chorus are worried.

They have reason to be.