We find a couple of items of interest in this morning's Standard-Examiner, each of which relates in one way or another to Emerald City's September 11 primary, which looms a few hours shy of three weeks from today.
The first of these is a letter to the editor by one Thomas Moore, Sr., sternly lecturing we lumpentownsfolk about the vast importance of electing scammers and schemers like Boss Godfrey, to prey upon the citizens of Ogden city for yet another four years.
Emerald City isn't really a city, Mr. Moore suggests. It's actually a giant real estate development company, which can only be properly managed by fine intellects like Boss Godfrey, Royal Eccles, Kent Petersen, etc. -- Lift Ogden hustlers and gondolist airheads -- in other words. Never mind the rampant corruption, graft and cronyism. People like Boss Godfrey and his ilk still have serious fish to fry. They're not done screwing us over yet.
Mr. Moore, a trusted initiate of Boss Godfrey's personal Ordnertruppen, asks a rhetorical question of those lumpencitizens who will undoubtedly kick the corrupt little twerp's arse to the curb in November (if not September):
"If we individually owned a powerful corporation, whom would we ask to lead it?"
NOT Boss Godfrey, nor his lackey council candidate shills and suck-ups, Mr. Moore, we ever so gently suggest.
Wait and see, Mr. Moore. Everyone in town knows Boss Godfrey doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of ever being elected to any public office in Emerald City again, regardless of the size of his re-election war-chest. The Emerald City citizens are simply too fed up.
As much as we'd like to rant on about Mr. Moore's letter, we now turn the topic to another curious news item. On the eve of the primary election, Boss Godfrey is suddenly talking about cooperating with the council, in identifying a preferred transit corridor, according to this morning's Std-Ex story:
OGDEN — Mayor Matthew Godfrey says he will develop a mass transit corridor priority plan in cooperation with the city council.Cooperation with the council? Boss Godfrey getting cozy with the "lesser branch" of city government? If THAT isn't a man bites dog story, we don't know what is. There's a first time for everything though, we guess.
“We (the city’s administration and city council) agree that there needs to be a plan that everyone feels good about,” he said.
Take it away, gentle readers. It's Monday morning -- time to blow out the weekend cobwebs.
35 comments:
Oh, good mornin' you who are "vomiting in online forums".
hahahahahahahah.....I had to stop reading aloud and laff at this: "I suggest the writer contact the mayor's office for answers to questions which disturb...."
Good advice for the just landed from one of the nether worlds. In the meantime, Mr. Thomas Moore, Sr....you, Godfreyites, Geigers and the rest of your uncreative writing club keep those letters come to the SE, ya heah?
I'll bet they even had a good chuckle at your naivete...or is that just loyalty touched with a pinch of umbrage?
For the rest of us "vomiters"....I have a swell idea, gang. Let's all call the mayor and ask him about some of those shady deals we've heard whispered about?
I just betcha we'll get some very creative answers...but, answers they will be!
I am saddened to see someone of Tom Moore's eloquence and intelligence warbling (vomiting?)from the Godfrey hymnsheet. It would be hard to find another individual whose commitment to Ogden's revival exceeds Moore's; he is almost single-handedly responsible for the restoration of the 2500 block of Van Buren. (Aside: likewise has Cameron Greener performed yeoman's service in the 2500 block of Jackson. Is there a scheme among them all for daily harangues in the S-E?) We all want Ogden to be a great city. It's too bad that some who are otherwise great assets to the community have been beguiled by the Godfrey cult of personality. Whatever wisdom the mayor may possess is invisible to me.
Excellent point, Elder McConkie.
Just how much corruption, graft and cronyism are these fine, upstanding citizens willing to tolerate, and yet continue to look themselves in the mirror?
Sad, very sad.
IN re: Mr. Moore's letter. I'd just like to note that all those professionals he thinks so much of were the ones who tried to use BDO money to finance the Junction, which the Army sternly reminded the city was not a permitted use of BDO funds, and the city had to put the money back.
And let me note that UTA in the recently uncovered [by GRAMA process] says it has had for some time now problems with irregularities in how Ogden handles grant funds... something about not meeting the necessary state and federal guidelines. Got so bad, UTA managers cautioned UTA people to be particularly careful in dealing with those professional managers Moore thinks so well of.
And let me note that all those professional managers Moore thinks so much of, including most obviously the Mayor, spent over two years loudly insisting that the gondola/gondola Peterson Proposal was a rock-solid can't-lose scheme only naysayers opposed... only now to have the mayor say "Oooops! Sorry! It was never a viable plan after all."
That's the kind of "professional management" that brought on the sub-prime mortgage loan crisis. That's the kind of "professional management" that has more than tripled the City's debt load since Mayor Godfrey took office. We do not need more of it in Ogden City.
Finally, Mr. Moore, let me remind you that there is little point simply calling the Mayor's office for information. Councilwoman Wicks tried that, asking over a year ago for a simple accounting of how much the city had spent pitching the now-defunct and admittedly "not feasible" gondola/gondola Peterson proposal pan, and she never, to this day, got a full answer. And the Council as RDA asked the Mayor who he wanted to sell the Bootjack property to, and the Administration told the Council it had no reason to know, and refused to answer.
So the notion that simply calling up the Mayor's office and asking would clear up any questions is patent nonsense.
I don't know Mr. Moore, but I gather by comments above that he is a man of some substance and influence in Ogden, and has in the past done good work for the city. I am glad to hear that, and hope that his record in the future is as beneficial to the city. But if I may be so presumptuous, permit me to caution him that that reputation may be at some risk if he places it blindly in the service of the Godfrey administration's latest silver-bullet cure for Ogden's imagined ills. Smart Growth Ogden has adopted on its latest yard signs for its supporters this advice: "Ask questions!" It's good advice for you too, Mr. Moore.
The Godfrey administration's difficulty being truthful with the public and the Council, its questionable judgment and history of violating federal and state requirements for handling grants funds, and its nearly pathological opposition to open and accountable government and preference for secrecy in government [again, see the recently revealed GRAMAed emails] all raise serious questions about the advisability of continuing it in office for a third term, Mr. Moore. And those questions are being asked, it seems, fairly broadly across the community among a wide range of reasonable people. Maybe, Mr. Moore, it's time for you to join them.
Well, finally, a pro-Godfrey letter to the editor that I agree with.
Yes, Ogden City needs professional and competent leadership.
It's NOT Matthew Godfrey, but Mr. Moore never said it was.
Hey I have an idea lets take the 5,000,000.00 dollar lawsuit that the mayor paid to Woodbury and give it to the citizens, this only equates to 60 bucks for every man, woman, and child in the city. then we will see how mr. Moore feels about the mayor and his give away programs.
Interesting that Mr. Tom Moore thinks Mayor Godfrey is so upstanding.
But then Mr. Moore's ethics are quite questionable, too.
For several years he gave the Ogden Community Arts Center the right to auction off a flat in London at their annual fund raiser.
One year I bid on and got the use of the flat for a donation of $2500.00 to the Eccles Art Center.
I arrived in London with my two guests for our two weeks of fabulous fun and found to my dismay that Mr. Moore was not the owner of the flat we planned to stay in. We were literally out on the street.
It was a real rip off for the Art Center because they had shared the $2500.00 with Mr. Moore.
I guess it takes one to know one.
This Thomas Moore sounds like one more brainless and clueless Godfree lemming for sure.
If the London scam above is correct, he apparently also shares the midget's ethical delimma.
The funny part about his idiotic ramble is that it is a classic non sequitur of the first order.
Yes, Ogden, Inc. does in fact desperately need competent management to bail it out of the colossal hundred million dollar mess the the idiot dwarf and his circle of incompetents have created, but Godfree and this circle of empty suits are the last people on earth that have the ability, intelligence and integrity to do it! They are the ones that have created the mess for hell's sake!
Moore's recommendation would be like being in the deciding game of the world series with a pitcher that has performed poorly and got your team a few runs down by the ninth inning and then having the same guy come in as the relief pitcher to try and pull it out!
The bottom line with Godfree and his entire circle is that none of them could hold an entry level manager job at McDonalds let alone manage a hundred million dollar in the hole enterprise that they have created in Ogden.
Thomas Moore seems to me to be a huge let down from other greats from the past that shared his name.
Do you suppose he can spell sycophant?
I'm with Tom Moore on this.
Aside from Matthew Godfrey's legislatively thwarted attempt to bring in Walmart by the use of eminent domain against 19 downtown property owners, the bait and switch financing of the rec center, the pledge of BDO revenue to secure against lease default by the Gold's & Fatcats tenants, the illegal diversion of BDO revenue to purchase the downtown mall site, the use of traffic citation quotas and a revolving door justice court to increase city revenue, the illegal Stuart Reid severance package and the subsequent rehiring of Mr. Reid with a featherbed city management contract, the vangate incident which embarrassed Ogden all over the country, the rotting sewer and water pipes, the understaffed and underequipped fire and police departments, the neglected growing gang problem, the failed Peterson landgrab, the 2-year long gondola dog and pony show, the subsequent admission that the colf course sale & gondola plan was never feasible in the first place, the Scott Brown porno-harassment scandal, the Dean Martinez whistleblower firing, The Mike Moyal property development harassment, the attempt to secretly funnel funds from a federal grant to Chris Peterson, the sale of the old Bloom Recycling property to Chris Peterson at an under market price, the rezoning of property for the benefit of feloniously accused Gadi Leshem, the Army lawsuit, the Woodbury lawsuit, the Union square lawsuit, the AK-Air lawsuit and several other lawsuits nobody has yet heard about and various and sundry incidents evidencing a complete general lack of competence on the part of the Godfrey administration...
Mayor Godfrey and his skilled and competent A-Team have done a helluva good job.
never mind....guess i just needed to check in again. enjoyed the above posts.
"I'm with Tom Moore."...why not read that at CC mtg tomorrow nite? I'd planned to attend, but cannot be in public rite now...so ya'll go get em...and tell the council that not one dime to the windsor hotel people!
enuf is enuf!
sharon:
May I add...."too much is superfluous".
Sharon:
You wrote: "I'm with Tom Moore."...why not read that at CC mtg tomorrow nite?
I don't think he can. It would take longer than the three minutes they'd allow him. I wish the chronicle of Godfrey Administration mis-steps could be recited in under three minutes....
"I'm With Tom Moore":
Nice list. Here's another item. Last week the honorably named Richard McConkie (of the Ogden Dept. of Community and Economic Development) said that $76,500 earmarked for the Windsor Hotel was "derived from the Spolar Building project" loan repayments. (Spolar a/k/a Time Square at 25th & Lincoln houses Indigo/Sage and Karen's Cafe.)
We haven't seen Spolar mentioned in the S-E since the property's previous developers sued Ogden City for stolen plans. Nary a word in the S-E on the outcome, if any.
Tom Moore can proudly stand shoulder to shoulder with President Bush in declaring, "Heckuva job, Brownie/Godfrey!"
oz,
The Tom Moore London flat maneuver is very true as the Eccles Community Art Center longtime Director, Sandy Havas, can verify.
Part of her deal with confronting Tom Moore about the London flat disaster was that he would call the donor of the $2500.00 donation to personally apologize to the donor.
The donor is still waiting for Tom Moore to call to apologize.
Please add to this list of mayorial accomplishments the harassment of minorities on numerous occasions right here in Emerald City.
There was the taking away of the two hard working immigrant's beer licenses on 25th street under the pretext of bums peeing in the street. (Still happening incidently)
Then there was the law suit the city lost over a cop beating up a citizen in his front yard.
Then there was the 90 day motel limit law that was directly targeted toward the most disadvantaged people in our town and which adds a huge burden to their already harried lifes.
This and many more bigoted actions taken against poor citizens all to further the glory of the Godfree dream of a neat white and rich town at the bottom of the ski lift.
Oh yea, what about his mean spirited attempt to dump the Marshall White center that is of such a great service to the poor and minority residents of Ogden?
And then there is the petty attempt to shuttle the support services for the poor off to west 12th street.
And not to forget his disgusting attempt to gain the Firefighter's support of the Gondola to nowhere idea by bribing them with promised raises that they already deserved?
A man of the people for sure!
Honestly, I think we should just trust our mayor in every decision that he makes and we should just support that.
Tom Moore is right.
I don't think it's quite fair to condemn a whole adminstration because of a few minor slip-ups.
You people are just vomiting up accusations.
A real businessman, like me and the Mayor, doesn't worry about piffling little things like ethics or keeping one's word.
I will stack my integrity against anyone else's in the room.
Just lie down next to the pod. You'll feel better in the morning.
Where does the idea come from that government is a "corporation"?
If so, the goal would be to raise "sales" as much as possible by increasing taxes as much as possible, and maximize "profits" by retaining the taxes and spending as little as possible on the public. As a "corporation", the owners would have limited liability and would not be liable for the actions of the corporation and . . . oh Jeez, how stupid can this get?
Government is supposed to be a "service" to the public. It takes in tax to cover the cost of those services. It's not a business, and certainly not a corporation.
Tom Moore, your are a lightweight. You have done Godfrey more harm than good with your silly ramblings. Moroni feels you are a good man. Try to use that thing on your head for something other than nodding in stupefied approval of anything that is presumed to be your leader.
And actually, I find some merit in some of Godfrey's alternate routes for a trolley and hope they will be considered, now that he has returned to trying to serve the public for a couple of months before the election (rather than flip public land to his cronies for pennies on the dollar as he does the rest of the time.)
There Mr. Tom Moore. How do you like that vomit?
BTW, Tom it's always nice to find another reader. (Picture me waving to you.)
Danny:
Only problem is, the same routes were already extensively discussed in the Baker Report, just two years old.
I would point Mayor Godfrey and Mr. Patterson to pages 19 through 24 (inclusive) of the Baker Report (or just figure 7, page 25, for those with a short attention span), where over a half-dozen alternative routes were studied and discussed. Even a route up Washington and then over on Country Hills was briefly considered (see pp. 23-24).
The only good thing about this would be to spend the $250K Federal grant on repeating the Baker study, instead of spedning it on enriching idiot gondola-backers, which was apparently the original plan according to the Secret Gondola Study Memo Collection.
Sure am seeing a lot of Godfrey signs going up. And I'm seeing some VH signs too. Big ones. That's good.
Does everyone think that all the people who are wearing a Godfrey sign will actually vote for him? I'll bet it's at least 95% of them.
Danny, Don't get sucked into this stupid delay tactic that lying little matty gondola peccary godfree is pulling on the Council and public.
This stalling is to keep transit off the table for the election and to try and preserve the $247,000 he's been trying to steer peterson's way.
As for the alternatives you may like, the corridor study, is very recent, the only corridor that even comes close to qualifying for a transit project is the one identified in the study. Now other area or corridor in Weber Co. has the number of people concentrated anywhere on it to justify a project. The front runner, combinded with WSU and on to the hospital is the only corridor with sufficient numbers. That's what the study was all about.
Any of lying little matty's suggested alternatives were disengenuously acknowleged by the lying little peccary himself as unviable with his little qualifying statement at the end of his performance,"we could fund a transit project ourselves". Get it? It's too bad most of the Council didn't pick up on his performance.
I think you've all nailed it: Godfrey is stalling for the election, whereupon he will revive the Gondola and sale of Mt. Ogden Park. This is painfully obvious, and your excellent discussion (Curm, Moroni, Danny, Mono, Bill C., Britney Spears, et. al.) has detailed this diabolical scheme.
However, I'd like to propose a hypothesis: Godfrey has secretly promised (or whispered through his sinister vine) to his supporters that he will revive the Gondola and Mount Ogden Park development in order to keep thier support.
I have spoken to several LO Choir members and they are truly disappointed that Godfrey has abandoned plans to sell off (significant parts) of Mt. Ogden Park to raise money for development of the Gondola. As unbelievable as this may seem, just look around town at all the Godfrey signs. Not only that, but they continue to believe that the gondola WILL CONNECT to Snowbasin, sooner rather than later. I swear, I'm not making this up. Does anyone have corroborating anectdotal evidence of this?
And yes, many of these same people believe that Saddam Hussein schemed with Bin Laden to cause the events of 9-11. I know, I know. But these people are registered voters and they don't read wcforum either.
The gondola item is no longer present on the Ogden City website homepage. However, for old time's sake, if you search on "gondola" you can easily find it intact, including the description of how it will go to Snowbasin.
Boy, you ain't shittin. I thought this old turd baby was dead and pulled but the shameless pack of lies continues to persist on Ogden City's Website.
OK ogdenlover, that was pretty good anecdotal evidence. Anyone else?
Ogdenlover and Native:
Well, I do know that Mr. Hardman [President and CEO of the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce], shortly after the Mayor announced the park sale was off the table and the whole scheme had never been feasible in the first place, was telling people "this is just a temporary set-back. It's going to happen. You can count on that."
And OL, if you want a nostalgic taste of the old Godfrey Peterson Lift Ogden proposal as it was in its unexamined, unverified hey day, just click on over to the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce Home Page, then click on the link below the big gondola picture at the upper right, and there it all will be --- park sale and all, still endorsed without reservation or research by Ogden's self-described business leaders.
If Hizzonah gets re-elected and gets a council with a complacent majority who think asking questions is anti-business [e.g. Mr. Royal Eccles for example, joining the unopposed "I Never Saw A Godfrey Proposal I Diden't Like" Stephenson], the whole sordid park sale to the Mayor's crony, gondola/gondola scheme will be resurrected in a trice.
Ogdenlover and Native:
My favorite typo from the above-mentioned webpage:
"11. Will construction of the gondola require a strip swath of bare ground up the mountain?
The visual impact of the gondola will be minimal. There will certainly need to be some things cleared along the way, but new technology allows for a much more discrete construction." [emphasis mine]
It's good they're planning a discrete, as opposed to a diffuse, construction product. No one wants a gondola spread out all over the place.
mono and bill:
Thanks for bringing up the Baker study. Let's be clear, though, on the purpose of this study and how it relates to other work that had already been done.
The Baker study was limited in scope to transit routes connecting the downtown Intermodal Hub to the WSU/McKay-Dee area. Given these two end points, the study examined a full range of eight different alignments, including alignments that would go south on Wall or Washington to the Newgate Mall or even farther before heading east. The alignments were compared based on projected ridership, travel time, constructability, and other factors. The result was that the best alignment considered was the one that heads up 26th to Harrison. The alignments that deviated significantly from this, including the one that took in the Newgate Mall, were rated significantly lower. However, the study did not conclude that these other alignments wouldn't be feasible at all. They might be feasible and could be reconsidered, I suppose, if new information comes along to change the rating criteria.
What the mayor is proposing now, however, is that we forget about even going to the WSU area and instead invest in a transit system that stays below Washington--either a loop around downtown or a line along Washington, perhaps going to Riverdale. These options have not been studied at the same level of detail as the Baker study. But that's because even a more preliminary analysis shows that no major investment (such as a streetcar) is warranted in these corridors at this time. The analysis I'm referring to was done by Greg Scott of the Wasatch Front Regional Council in connection with the development of the WFRC long-range plan. The plan is revised every four years; the most recent revision was finished a few months ago. During the revision process the mayor made every effort to convince Greg that the first priority should be one of these other transit corridors rather than the WSU line. Greg stood firm and insisted that the WSU line is the only one that merits a major investment at this time. This means the other corridors would not qualify for federal funding and even UTA would not want to invest much money in them.
I'll let others draw the appropriate conclusions about the mayor's ability to work with partners and his attitude toward facts that don't fit his world view.
Got it from one who was VERY close to the situation that wayne PETERSON was taken by southwick for about $900,000. !!
Kent Peterson by ogden for the same amount.
Just the right people we want helping our city...and making financial decisons. Beware.
Dan:
I defer to your superior knowledge of the Baker study. However, as I read and re-read it, it's clear they at least briefly considered other transit routes. The study area covers most of the area you've mentioned.
There is an admittedly brief discussion of why the only transit route that makes sense is from downtown to WSU/McKay-Dee (mostly based on current route 603 ridership), but it is in there.
Mono:
Seems clear that no manifestly convincing evidence for an alternative route emerged during the Baker study... or, as Dan notes, at anytime since. Seems pretty conclusive evidence to me.
I'm with Tom Moore said,
I'll give ya ten bucks if you let me copy and paste this as a letter to the Editor...come on...
Permission granted, graceann.
It's all yours with no strings attached.
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