Nearly two weeks post election, the Standard-Examiner finally gets around to reporting to the general public this morning a piece of highly election-relevant information which, if it had been reported in a timely manner prior to the election, might arguably have tipped the mayoral race in favor of defeated mayoral challenger Susan Van Hooser. At the very least, failure to timely report the matter contained therein deprived the Std-Ex's readership of full knowlege of the facts and issues surrounding the November 6 general election. We incorporate below the opening paragraphs from today's Top of Utah section story:
OGDEN — A local organization says a declaration signed by Mayor Matthew Godfrey will not permanently protect Mount Ogden Golf Course and an adjoining city-owned park from development.
Smart Growth Ogden said in a prepared statement it appreciates Godfrey’s “good intentions” but contends the declaration doesn’t guarantee the property will remain as open space.
"I hope the mayor is going to stand by his intent to ensure that the entire park complex, including the golf course, the undeveloped park land and open space, will be protected from development and saved for perpetual use by the general population of Ogden,” said Sandy Crosland, a member of Smart Growth. “Many people in Ogden decided to vote to re-elect him based on that promise and commitment.” [Emphasis added.]
As our gentle readers will recall, on or about October 25, 2007, Mayor Godfrey executed and recorded (ostensibly) a document entitled "Declaration of Covenents, Conditions and Restrictions for Mt. Ogden Park and Golf Course" (the "declaration" mentioned in the preceding Std-Ex paragraphs.)
Shortly thereafter, on or about November 1, 2007, members of Smart Growth Ogden published and circulated a document entitled "Mayor's Declaration Does Not Protect Park In Perpetuity," (the "prepared statement" mentioned in the preceding Std-Ex paragraphs.) We are informed by reliable sources that the Std-Ex was in possession of this document no later than November 1, a full four days prior to the election. The gist of the SGO document, of course, is that Boss Godfrey's "Declaration," isn't worth the paper it's printed upon.
Although the Std-Ex was in possession of Smart Growth Ogden's (SGO's)"prepared statement" well in advance of the November 6 election, the Std-Ex publisher saw fit to conceal and suppress this information until this very morning. In the interim between actual receipt of this document and the November 6 election, the Standard Examiner apparently did nothing to verify the information or confirm or rebut the opinions set forth therein. Until this very morning, the Std-Ex did not so much as mention it at all. This information was highly material to the 2007 mayor election; yet the Std-Ex saw fit to keep a lid on it until this morning, at which point it now becomes a mere historical footnote.
As Emerald City's sole general circulation newspaper, the Standard-Examiner occupies a position of trust in our community, with a solemn obligation to neutrally report all news which materially effects our community. This obligation is all the more important with respect to issues effecting our municipal elections, of course.
We believe the Standard-Examiner has grossly breached this obligation in connection with this matter. In its failure and refusal to report on this matter in a timely fashion, and in its active concealment of the issues contained within SGO's prepared statement, the Standard-Examiner has let down our entire community, and revealed itself as a publication entirely unworthy of our trust.
The Std-Ex writes a new chapter on the topic of bad journalism this morning, with this self-revealed abuse of its journalistic privilege.
Shame on the Standard-Examiner.
Shame on the carpet-bagging "Suits from Sandusky."
