For those of us who have remained in doubt whether Boss Godfrey's third administration will be more "kind and gentle" than his last two administrations, all doubt seems to have been removed this morning, with this morning's Ace Reporter Schwebke story, "Godfrey seeks new faces on committees." In his typically ham-handed manner, Boss Godfrey announced in a press release yesterday that heads will roll within the numerous volunteer advisory boards, committees and commissions which attend to a myriad of details throughout Emerald City, such as arts, multicultural affairs and historic preservation. We incorporate below pertinent paragraphs from Mr. Schwebke's story:
OGDEN — Mayor Matthew Godfrey plans to replace members of city advisory committees who have served for a decade or more, to open the door for a new crop of volunteers.The obvious end result, assuming Godfrey follows through with this plan, will be the loss to Emerald City of the most experienced citizen volunteers from a variety of voluntary advisory boards. Dedicated Ogden city citizens who have mastered the steep learning curves that go along with the missions of these boards, committees and commissions -- will be replaced by malleable new volunteers, with philosophies more amenable to Boss Godfrey's own "visions," shall we say, ever so politely.
Godfrey hopes to have new committee members in place in January. Committee appointments recommended by Godfrey must be approved by the city council.
Godfrey estimated Tuesday night that about a dozen committee members will be replaced.
We've had animated discussions over the past few hours with some of the folks who will be adversely affected by Boss Godfrey's latest power grab/purge. The question has arisen whether Godfrey has the legal authority to remove long-time board members midway through their terms of office.
The answer, folks, seems to be that Boss Godfrey does indeed have the power to do this, in which connection we cite Ogden City Code Section 3-2-1. We've highlighted the operative provisions in red, and set forth the most important statutory language below:
"... J.Removal From Office: Board members may be removed from office at any time by the mayor, without cause."
Buckle up lumpencitizens of Emerald City. It's obviously going to be a long and rocky four years.
On another note, we'll highlight this morning another story from the Std-Ex "Outdoors Section," which observes the January opening of Weber State University's new indoor "climbing wall." Salomon Center master tenant Gary Nielson (Gold's Gym) is obviously not happy about this development; and grouses mightily about government entities who compete with "private businesses" like his. Be sure to read this delightful article, gentle readers, in which Utah GOP Senator and Utah Taxpayers' Association watchdog Howard Stephensen gives Mr. Nielsen a well-justified comeuppance.
“It’s the People’s Republic of Ogden,” says Stephenson.
Dang do we ever love the politics of Emerald City. Nobody could make this stuff up.
In closing, we'll apologize for the late posting of today's article. The Std-Ex digital edition website experienced some apparent problems this morning, and came back on line only a few minutes ago.
The floor is now open for your gentle comments.
28 comments:
Well, from his own mouth, Neilson tells us that the climbing wall was a loser from the get go.
Makes one wonder why we're footin the bill for a refridgerated ice model. At least with the stupid unused one at the totally ill conceived Jackass center there is little cost other than construction. How big an annual maintainence bill will the totally unused ice variety be?
I gathered from Neilson's comments that he could take it or leave it, there fore the inclusion of this white elephant must have come directly from a vision, or delusion, of the mayors. Come to think of it, other than the gym, all of this hodge podge set up must be of the mayor's imagination. Neilson probably was enticed by the fact it sounded like a can't lose proposition, which judging by his lease, he really can't.
How likely are bowlers to bring swimming trunks and head to the flow rider after a few frames? How likely is that crowd even inclined to want to drop $50 or $75 to get blown in a wind tunnel? For that matter, how many folks do you suppose head for those activities after working out in the gym? Neilson tells us they don't use the climbing wall. They may play a game of pin-ball or pac-man.
I hope that those that were so inclined to vote for the lying little scumbag just because there is something in place of the dirt he created, will open their eyes to what they got for their investment, and practice a little more scutiny next time he comes forward with any big ideas.
On another note, didn't take him long to go after all that publicly opposed his re-election bid. Did it?
Interesting how Mr. Touchy Feely Neilsen is making threats to WSU about withholding scholarships, when he is on one of the biggest government subsidised teats in Ogden's history. What a boob.
Rudi:
Mr. Neilson's whining about other people getting subsidized by the taxpayers --- apparently he thinks only he should be--- gives me an opening to link to an interesting article in today's NY Times [Link here.] It's about attempts to bring back the long-declining downtown of New Rochelle, NY, and what's working and what isn't.
For example, condos and apartment complexes are going up and filling with tenants, but the street-level retail space in them is not selling at all. From the story:
Even though the new residents are starting to move in, there are few signs of renewed economic vitality downtown. Vacant commercial spaces — some in new storefronts, others in boarded-up commercial buildings — remain a hard sell, brokers report.
Even in a former Bloomingdale’s department store, which was converted to 60 condominiums several years ago and renamed Davenport Lofts on Main, street-level retail space remains mostly empty, long after the residential units sold out.
And then this, which might sound familiar to Ogdenites:
In 1999, NewRoc City, a sprawling entertainment complex, was built in the downtown by Cappelli Enterprises on the site of a defunct shopping center anchored by a Macy’s. But the complex, which has a multiscreen movie theater, an arcade, a hockey rink and a bowling alley, has become an island unto itself, attracting many teenagers but not prompting significant retail growth in the surrounding downtown, said Craig A. King, New Rochelle’s commissioner of development....
New Rochelle has several successful shopping centers with large national retailers as tenants, but they are on the outskirts of the city, where they offer ample parking and draw from a relatively broad geographic area.
Before the "you're all naysayers!" crowd chimes in, let me just say that the point of the article for Ogden seems to me to be that downtown rejuvenation plans are something of a gamble. Some work. Some don't. Ogden's may. I hope it does. But the story should at least generate enough caution that we don't count as "successful" developments and projects that are just coming out of the gate, much less projects that haven't even opened their doors yet... as Mr. Robinson did in the DL the other day, counting as brilliant successes the businesses of the River Project redevelopment, not one of which has, I think, yet opened its doors.
I found the Times article interesting and well worth the reading. FYI.
Bonnie Galbraith is being released from the Landmarks Commission and was quoted in the article. She is the same person who supported SVH and was quoted in the Standard last month criticizing the Mayor. If the Mayor is vindictively politicizing the Landmarks Commission, is there anything he won't touch? Glad we get four more years of this junior high school behavior. Lucky us.
I remember hearing about 5 years ago, they were planning a climbing wall in the gym on WSU campus. They didn't build it to compete with Mr. Neilson's venture in any way. They just waited till they had proper funding to get their long awaited & planned for project completed.
To Mr. Neilson -- tttthhhhhhhppppppttttthhhhhh !!!!!
Most tenderly, TLJ
The last names of those submitted by Lying Little Matty Gondola Godfrey to serve on volunteer commissions is as follows: Chapman, Geiger, Ballantyne, Blodgett, Story, Fowers, and Cavendish. Soldiers all in Wayne Peterson's famed Squirrel Patrol. Beware! Wayne Peterson and his potential European lover -- a very small man with a giant forehead -- will soon rule Gondolatown with a limp hamfist!
The Mayor must literally crack himself up when he serves up quotes for the paper. He claims the shake-up of the various committees is not politically motivated(!) because he in fact has "family" who will also be affected. Yeah, he's got a relative on Landmarks who NEVER SHOWS UP TO MEETINGS or does much of anything. Quite the sacrifice to get rid of his detractors like Bonnie Galbraith. This guy is worse than Michael Corleone. The other quote I LOVED was "10 years is long enough for one person to serve". Uh-huh. I expect the Mayor's resignation on the table two years from now then.
Mini-weasel Scott Brown was at a recent Landmarks meetings ranting and raving about how they wouldn't let him butcher 25th street with ugly adjustments to his building. He finally raged he would work to see "The whole commision replaced!". Well I guess he went to co-midget Godfrey and the two hatched a nice plan. I wonder why Mr. Brown hasn't left his Hobbit hole to show up to recent Landmarks meetings? I guess he knew what was coming didn't he?
I've been wondering how long Mayor Godfrey would tolerate the likes of me on the Ogden Trails Network Committee. I'm past his new 10-year limit, so I guess I'm now off.
A few thoughts:
1. Term limits are usually a good idea, but as deep throat has already pointed out, why not apply the same principle to the mayor's office? In fact, term limits are much more important for a powerful position like mayor than they are for a committee of volunteers who merely make recommendations.
2. I'll be interested to see if the mayor can actually fill all the slots that will be left vacant on the committees. In the past we've had trouble finding volunteers who were willing to serve.
3. The timing of this announcement, right after the election, is highly suspect, especially since several of the affected individuals (Galbraith, Vause, myself) publicly challenged Godfrey, or supported Van Hooser, during the campaign.
4. In the long run, this may be a good thing. Godfrey will try to stack the committees with people who said they supported him during the campaign--but once these people get an inside view of how he operates, he'll lose some of the thin margin of support that he currently has.
What this does is eliminate any professional competency that these committees may have had in the past. Since anyone w/ half a brain knows that this is politically motivated, these committees will be pointless. If the Council has to approve these appointees, which I assume they will, they will be put in a tough position. From what I recall from the Planning position appointments not too far back, why does the City Council have authority to approve nominations to committees, but not eliminations?
lassus -
pot. kettle. black.
that is all.
The Jackass Center is hosting a special free holiday screening of "Jingle All the Way" on Lying Little Matty Gondola Godfrey's forehead tomorrow night; you're only allowed into the event if you can demonstrate your hatred of squirrels, as well as your love of gondolas and onions. Have a peaceful Thanksgiving, brave men and women of Wayne Peterson's famed Squirrel Patrol! Keep dreaming of the glorious day when OTown gondolas will rise over our blessed streets! Gondolas uber alles!
If only we'd been so smart as to build another skating rink downtown! I seem to remember long-ago discussions of that possibility. Between WSU, high school, and men's and women's teams and leagues, the Ice Sheet has a tough time meeting all local hockey needs, let alone figure skating/public skating/curling afficianados.
You said a mouthful, JP. My kids are hockey players, and the WSU Ice Sheet is so booked up with all the Weber County kids who are playing hockey, that local junior hockey players have to play in the wee hours before school, the only times they can get "ice time" on the WSU "Ice Sheet."
Mayor Godfrey missed a "sure thing" on this.
Thanks.
Nonsense, Hockey Mom! My Salomon Center is much better than Ice Hockey! Consider my bumper cars, for example.
"Exciting, isn't it!"
In all truth, now that I have my mandate, I plan to have all you naysayers sent to concentration camps.
If you're not part of MY solution, after all, it's YOU who has a problem, Capice?
Heil me!
Matthew Godfrey continues to excite me, that's for sure!
In its weekly "Hits and Misses" column, the Salt Lake City Weekly has as its third item this week [a "miss"] Election--Ogden Style. You can find it here.
So maybe, after a few classes of "rock climbing," those students will take a liking to the sport and go to the Rec Center's climbing wall because the WSU's climbing wall will be full of students. This new wall may indeed compliment the Rec Center wall and interest will grow.
Seems that now the Junction is under way, and there's NO turning back, you complainers would want to see it succeed so that you don't have to pay for it over the years. Possible that, if it succeeds, it will attract more business, etc. and the tax base will grow, dollars will be spent, and Ogden's growth will continue in a positive direction.
All of this complaining does nothing but hurt the ears. And the name calling on this blog certainly does not enhance its viability nor that of the posters who seem to do nothing other than that. Where's the contribution to the city? Most of what I read is nothing more than bitching about something that's already in the books.
Godfrey Cracks....
My thot too. If the little despot thinks ten yrs is long enuf to serve, then surely he will hand in his resignation in 09????
I wonder if he cringed when he read that quote in the paper?
If the President of the United States is limited to 8 years, then 8 is enuf of Godfey.
Kudos to Mrs Galbraith for saying how it is. All that experience shoved out the door. Of course this is political. Is there anything this despot does that is not self-serving? And transparent (for motive)?
I was ASKED to serve on a committee several months ago...my name didn't even get to the Council! Was I surprised?? Duh
wondering,
Well, I've been trying to contribute to the city by serving on the trails committee for the last 13 years. But it seems that my contributions are no longer wanted.
Oh, and while I'm complaining, I'd like to point out that I had no prior notice of being ousted before I read about it in this morning's paper.
Hey, wondering....
While I agree that seeing the "Junction" succeed is in our collective best interest, I can't agree with the "what's done is done" mentality.
So, while you're wondering about things, here are a few more to add to your list.
Ever wonder why gas is over $3.00 a gallon and the city still doesn't have a meaningful plan for mass-transportation, when the WFRC made some serious recommendations on this issue to the city at least year ago?
And while you're wondering, stop and think of all the goings on in the city over the last couple of weeks. Does any of this seem to play out like a movie you've seen before?
And, wonder this...what if so many citizens hadn't raised hell about the city selling the golf course to Chris Peterson? You'd see some really beautiful homes when you looked up at Mt. Ogden, instead of the beautiful hillside you see today.
In case you've missed the point, a lot of the division comes from frustration from the LACK of action on serious problems facing the city while the mayor's been on his "gondola" kick.
Politics, unlike religion, doesn't require blind obedience to doctrine. Our two-party system works well when opposing points of view are presented and we all work together to find common ground and are able to find solutions to problems we all can live with. When the system becomes one-sided as it clearly is in Ogden and will be for the next four years, it would appear, the opposition has a duty to raise hell until people start paying attention.
The Salt Lake Tribune has been doing this for over 125 years and has been responsible on numerous occasions for bringing shady dealings in this state to light. This is one example of how dissent can be a good thing for everyone!
We don't have our own TV station in Ogden. Apparently, the news section of the SE is just a fluff piece to wrap around the sports page and advertisements. So, if we didn't have the blog, people like me who are new here and don't run in the same circles as those who have lived here for a long time would be clueless about a lot of this mess because the coverage you see in the paper is so lacking.
If you want to see an end to name calling, you need to visit with the mayor and his supporters and remind him that when he disagrees with someone, it's inappropriate to belittle them, persecute them, interfere with their constitutional right to vote, The name calling will stop when opposing points of view are acknowledged and common ground is found on issues. You need to recognize the mayor and his supporters have a dog in this fight, too.
Good on ya, Rerun!
And don't forget that this little mayor has not only threatened loss of employment....he actually fired those who dared to do their duty....and by doing so, incurred his wrath. They lost their livlihoods.
Oh, he's a dastardly little cur.
NO one is allowed to dissent in his kingdom.
Now, just watch how much expertise and passion will be banished as he brings in his lackeys to take over those committees.
I think Dan said that even they will be sick of Godfrey as they see his machinations.
Some people enjoy being a pawn, as long as they can get close to the throne. Others will have their eyes opened and will grow to detest Godfrey as so many before them.
Anyway, Wondering, you just keep wondering how to be a pacifist. The rest of us will do the real work.
Rerun and Dan S:
Rerun: You wrote: In case you've missed the point, a lot of the division comes from frustration from the LACK of action on serious problems facing the city while the mayor's been on his "gondola" kick.
Very nicely put.
Dan: you wrote: I'd like to point out that I had no prior notice of being ousted before I read about it in this morning's paper.
Right. Not at all a classy way to handle the matter. If he was determined to purge the advisory committees, that's within his powers to do. But anyone with any class at all would have notified each person he was going to remove personally... by phone or in person would have been the proper way; by letter if he didn't want to face them. Or by having his staff contact each of them individually. But having them learn of it in the public prints was a truly classless way to handle the matter.
Let the Mayor remove everyone fomr the committees. Then, let him appoint his lieutenants. THEN....
let the City Council do NOTHING! Let them REFUSE to confirm ANY of them!!!
Hey wondering, what's the possibility that the students that learn to climb on the new WSU wall actually want to be climbers? They're learning in a class, safe enviroment without all the equiptment expenditures. If they do become lovers of the rocks, they'll ply their passion out on those rocks, not in some fluff jr. romper room.
Thats the part of this whole thing folks just can't wrap their brains around. Out door recreation is just that, outdoors. Neilson knows this now, and has basically said as much.
Lying little matty is not an outdoors kind of guy, he has no passion to be outside, other than his little occassional run. All his attempts to package and market these things fall short because they involve being out in nature. Thats where the true passions come from, not some blinged up sterile inside enviroment.
Face it, lying little matty cannot duplicate Mt. Moran, Cataract Canyon or any other marvel of mother nature. The only folks he has impressed with these efforts are those that don't do any of these things, and those that profit from his efforts.
armysarge:
You wrote: Let the Mayor remove everyone from the committees. Then, let him appoint his lieutenants. THEN....
let the City Council do NOTHING! Let them REFUSE to confirm ANY of them!!!
Not only is that not going to happen, it shouldn't happen. The various citizen volunteer advisory committees do, some of them, important work for the city. It would be as irresponsible of the Council to refuse to staff them out of pique as it would be for the Mayor to appoint only those whose major role would be to genuflect in his direction on command. While I can easily conceive of the Mayor being that petty and petulant [given past peformance], I cannot conceive of the Council being so.
One of the core principles of the American political system is "to the victor belong the spoils." When you win the Mayor's office, you get to make appointments to jobs that pay [CAO for example] and to volunteer citizen advisory committees that do not. That's just how it is. You can use that power to make sound appointments that will ultimately benefit the city [even of those who opposed your election when they have expertise of particular value to one of the committees], or you can use the appointment power to reward the faithful and punish the independent. That's just how it is and has been for a very long time.
I would be disappointed in the Council if it followed your advice, and I cannot imagine that it will.
What I am afraid the Mayor has not yet grasped, after eight years in office, is that, having won election, he is not the Mayor of 51% of the electorate, he is the Mayor of Ogden City. Of all of it. Of all of us. He's my Mayor too, Sarge. And yours. And on matters like these committee appointments, he ought to be acting as Mayor of All of Ogden, not merely of his campaign faithful.
Appointing only loyalists to key policy-making positions like CAO makes sense; any executive has to have the loyalty of key close administrative associates. I'd do the same. But on the volunteer committees, any Mayor following an election, if he is wise, has a chance to establish in a public way that he intends to govern as the Mayor of Us All, and not just of his partisans. I wish Mayor Godfrey, after eight years and three wins at the polls, had figured that out. It doesn't seem that he has. But we'll have to wait for the full list of removals and appointments before we can say with absolute certainty. I'm not optimistic, though.
Charles Trentelman was so hard up for an idea for his column today that he had to ask a sociology grad student for advice. She suggested he do a "gratitude list" -- a list of things he's grateful for. And on the list, he put this:
I’m thankful to Susie Van Hooser for running for mayor of Ogden. Her narrow defeat showed how badly a lot of people who care about my town want to be listened to by their government. I will be very grateful to the winner, Matthew Godfrey, if he keeps those people in mind as he continues the good work he is doing to improve my town.
That nicely sums up my take on the matter too. Mr. Trentelman's full column can be found here.
Curmudgeon,
You missed one point in your first commentary above: One of the responsibilities of the Council is to act as a "check and balance" to the Mayor's irrational behavior and maintain a level, unbiased environment for economic and social growth in Ogden. I believe that the Council will act upon the Mayor's nominations using that criteria for their approval process.
brett:
Yes, that is one of the Council's functions. And if any of the new appointees seem to the Council to be wholly inappropriate or unwise, I'd expect them to exercise that function as you would. But if the Council were to reject all --- or even most --- of the new appointees [as Sarge suggested], it would be I think not acting responsibly. "Is a known supporter of the Mayor" is not a sufficient reason to deny a nominee [and nominations are absolutely the Mayor's province] a place on, say, the Landmarks committee, or the Christmas Village committee or the Pioneer Day Parade Committee or the Trails committee etc. It's the blanket nature of Sarge's recommendation I took issue with.
Post a Comment