Three items in recent Emerald City news
Although it's a slow visitor-traffic mid-weekend, the red-meat news just keeps on flowing. Thus there are three items we feel compelled to throw out for discussion this evening:
The first is this morning's Standard-Examiner story, in which Scott Schwebke reports the scheduling of a candidate debate, in which mayoral candidates Van Hooser and Godfrey are calendered to lock horns at WSU on October 12, 2007. What make this is re-meat story, however, is Mr. Schwebke's odd reporting of this event. Rather than merely telling the folks that the two candidates had agreed to a firm date, time, venue and format for an event that is actually happening, Mr. Schwebke found it somehow appropriate to lead his article by reporting on a venue that fizzled, i.e., a proposed venue in the Boss Godfrey den of lions, Godfreyite Dave Hardman's Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce.
Failed debate venues are common in politics. The ones that are never agreed upon nor scheduled far outnumber the ones that actually "come off." Why Ace Reporter Schwebke saw fit to publicise one of the events that didn't work out we do not know; but we do have our suspicions. Scott Schwebke's story was plainly designed to by the Standard-Examiner to provide Boss Godfrey favorable ink we think, and to embarrass the challenger Van Hooser.
As to the question of scheduling additional future debate venues, we're going to offer a suggestion to Susie and her campaign crew:
The political upside to scheduling further face-to-face "debates" between a challenger with significant momentum is slight, when compared with the downside of giving the "troubled" political loser any more time on the public stage than he deserves, especially in an environment where our so-called "home town newspaper" is plainly in Boss Godfrey's corner.
Another item worthy of discussion this evening is a tepid press release issued by the City Council yesterday, an item that was mentioned tangentially during the comments in the lower article, but didn't spark much reader discussion. Despite the report in Thursday's Scott Schwebke story, which cheerfully (but incorrectly) reported that the city council is participating in the discussion regarding the $247 thousand secret gondola study fund -- that's plainly not the truth, judging from the above-linked City council press release.
We've spoken with four of the seven council members, including council leaders Garcia and Wicks. The story we're getting from these nicy-nice folks is that mayor-council relations are now at an all time low, although that mood certainly isn'r reflected in the press report. Every member of the council now reportedly believes (privately of course) that Boss Godfrey maneuvered deceptively behind their backs in reaching a unilateral agreement with the UTA. The council as a body believes they've been entirely cut out, in violation of Godfrey's worthless promises to work "co-operatively." We've also had a private conversation with the UTA's Mick Crandall, who also told us some very revealing things.
Except for the above, we're going to keep mum about all we've found out for now. This is Scott Schwebke's story, and for now we're going to stand back, out of professional courtesy, and let him dig in and report the truth. Failing that, we'll go ahead and report the sordid details, in the event that his editors hold him back.
Regardless of where Ace Reporter Schwebke takes this, however, this is a story we'll keep hammering until November. It's all here in one package, gentle readers. If there's one single story within the past four years that neatly encapsulates everthing wrong with Boss Godfrey, this is it. Within this single story we find the deception, cronyism, dishonorable conduct, lies, arrogance, disregard for his City Council co-equal government branch, and everything else that disqualifies Boss Godfrey from further "service" at the helm of our Ogden City government.
Last but not least we're going to highlight this morning's letter to the editor, from State Representative Neil Hansen. Gracious and gentlemanly in his unsuccessful mayoral campaign, he's magnanimous and gracious in his defeat. Neil Hansen is truly a "class act," and remains a tremendous local resource in our State Legislature. We thank Neil Hansen for his participation in our municipal primary campaign, and hope that he and Ms. Van Hooser will soon be joining together and pooling their resources. We're a hair's breadth from showing Boss Godfrey the stage door exit in November, and hope to hear soon that political warhorses Van Hooser and Hansen will pulling in tandem, as we move toward the upcoming general election.
Time to go watch our Utah Utes, and find out whether last week's UCLA blowout was a fluke!
© 2005 - 2014 Weber County Forum™ -- All Rights Reserved
15 comments:
I find it hard to believe that numb skull Stephenson feels betrayed by Lord Godfrey's manipulations and lies. Your article would have us believe that the whole council is upset with this example of the mayor's corrupt practices.
I would also suggest that every one who is upset about the UTA involvement with this Godfrey scam should call Mr. Inglish, or email him and let him know how outrageous it is that his organization is conspiring with this corrupt little scam artist. Just take the damn money and buy a bus with it, after all that is what the US Congress said it was for!
Ozboy,
As usual, you get to the meat of any issue!
Susie made the correct decision when she turned down the C of C's sideshow featuring the biggest liar in the center ring!
I agree that Brandon most likely was not outraged over Godfrey's manipulations, lies, arrogance, and stick it in your eye UTA alliance that so ticked off the CC...finally!
Let's hope they are not going along with any more of his schemes no matter how palatable Harmer makes them into a smoothie for them to easily swallow.
The CC needs to hone their collective gag reflex. But kudos to them for finally getting their dander up and slapping down this virulent mosquito.
Oz, about the UTA godfrey scam. This is an illegal agreement, lying little matty did not have the authority to enter into, and Inglish knows that. This is truely a special budget item, the council's legal arena. This supposed flip flop of funding, UTA keeping this money, calling godfrey's money something else, it came to UTA with a specific purpose. A purpose that no party will step up and claim responsibility for now. The council should demand that UTA return the money to the feds. This is fraud against all tax payers in the country and the Ogden City Council could set a national precident for all local governments to follow, refusing tax waste and misappropriation of funds.
There should be no ill gotten rewards for either lying little matty or UTA in this deal.
P.S. Council, terminate the lobbyist imediately. This shows exactly why we shouldn't have one.
Exactly. And instead of relying on Williams for legal advice the Council needs to hire an attorney OUT of Weber County to represent them!
The lobbyist does not 'work for the Council'.
He told Jeske and me that he works for Godfrey, Murray and some other cities and does not work for the Council. We sat together in the dining room at the Capitol when he told us that.
Rudi..
I really appreciate that you linked the letter of Neil Hansen, He is a class act and I think that the voters really missed the boat on this one.
I supported his issues and feel that he would have made our city proud. Good luck in the future Neil and I will be behind you in the future for what ever you should be for.
As for the lobbyist being paid by our tax dollars I feel that is an abuse of money and should not be done.
Crum:
Everything you complain about whats wrong with the democrats.
You defend the standard examiner when democrats point out the coruption that the republicans are part of.
They call it weining?
We need good men like you to step up.
Hansen did it. They lied and used him. That's part of the reason why good men like him are a dieing breed.
Again we need good men like you to help.
What's with Scott Schwebke this morning?
"Godfrey has refused to sell city-owned Mount Ogden Golf Course"
Makes it sound like Godrey's the man to protect us from those crazy gondolistas!
Yes, Southsider, Lying Little Matty Gondola Godfrey thinks he can, with a swipe of his pen, sell our land, assets, and onions to fund gondolas! Lying Little Matty, Curt and Bob Geiger, Bernie and Ed Allen, Bob Ballantyne, and fatboy and [I would write something really hateful here, but he knows what it is, and so do the police, who investigated his "relations" with his former students] Tom Moore really, really, really, really, really, really, really like gondolas! They will go to any length to demonstrate just how much they love gondolas! God, they love gondolas! How great are gondolas? Just ask the Geigers! Gondolas are the best thing ever! Gondolas uber alles!
And, Rudi, it was a fluke; we reiterate our call to fire Whittingham. God, the Utes can't put up a number against the pittiable Rebels, yet the gondola-loving Cougars take out Air Force. I am tempted to give away my tickets for next weekend's homecoming game, but I get free reebs beforehand, so....
THE SKI IS BEAUTIFUL BLUE
I'm wonderin' if Godfrey is frothing at the mouth and into his Cocoa Puffs over ANOTHER gang shooting? Did he call Andy Howell or Dave Greiling and order them to keep these stories confined to the sidebar?
How can "100" people in cars and on motorcycles be milling around that station?
Where is Greiner?
Griener is at some Lobbyist paid for event, schmoozing with his Republican buddies
Anyone wanting to make the argument that the SE editors are bending over backwards in the Mayoral race to serve Hizzonah's re-election campaign have some pretty strong evidence in this morning's article about the debates [one happening, one not].
I guess there could be some disagreement about whether Mr. Schwebke should have led with "Hooser refuses Chamber debate invitation" rather than "Godfrey/Hooser to meet in debate at WSU." My own view agrees with Rudi that natural lede in the story was the debate that is going to happen, not the one that isn't. But I guess others might argue differently.
What is not subject to reasonable debates, seems to me, is the editors' decision to place the story on the front page, and with a headline that focuses exclusively on Ms. Hooser's [wise I think] decision not to play on a field that would give Matt Godfrey home field advantage. Granted, this is a newsworthy story. But headline news on the the front page of the paper? Front page of the Weber/TOU section, yes. But front page news? No.
Flat bias in my book. Difficult to explain any other way. I suspect it was what they call in baseball a "compensation call." [Widely believed by players that when an umpire flat blows a call and he knows it, he will tilt the other way on a subsequent call as a kind of compensation, a way to make it up and even things out.] I suspect the SE editors, having run the Godfrey/UTA contract story [which did not make him look good], were seeking to compensate with the debate story by making it into a Van Hooser debate story and putting it on the front page. They shouldn't have. Kind of spineless wimpery, at best.
Editors without the backbone to prevent their paper pandering to anyone during an election campaign aren't doing their jobs.
Curm,
Why do they (SE) try to make a compensation call to balance out Godfrey?
The facts are the facts.
Why don't they start doing a better job as an umpire?
Concerned:
Well, first of all, I'm just guessing that it was a compensation call on their part. I was looking for some explanation for the story's appearing, inexplicably, on page one of the paper.
But if it was a make-up call, they shouldn't have done it. As you say, "facts are facts." If the SE stands behind the reporting in the Schwebeke UTA contract stories, then the editors have nothing to make up for by tilting the other way, or seeming to, on a different story.
Post a Comment