ACLU Report: Godfreyite Misconduct "Marred" the 2007 Mayoral Election

To the disappointment of some, neither Godfrey nor any of his supporters will be frog-marched

Well the jury has come in... the American Civil Liberties Union jury that is... according to this morning's Standard-Examiner. Scott Schwebke apparently received the ACLU's 4/25/08 press release, and dutifully provides a short write-up, concerning the alleged shenanigans of Boss Godfrey and his Godfreyite lemmings during the 2007 municipal elections. We incorporate our favorite Ace Reporter's lead paragraphs below:

OGDEN — Errors by poll workers and inappropriate actions by supporters of Mayor Matthew Godfrey marred last year’s Ogden mayoral election, the ACLU said in a report released Friday.
The ACLU concluded that, while no laws were broken, the spirit of the election was violated by inappropriate actions, including unnecessary voter challenges and poll worker errors.

Godfrey, of course, considers it all to be a big joke:

Godfrey dismissed the report as ridiculous. “It’s laughable. The credibility of the report is lacking.”

Not only does Boss Godfrey get a good laugh at the lumpencitizens' expense, he turns the tables and dons the role of "the poor persecuted victim":

Godfrey said the family member the ACLU referred to is his brother. He said there is no allegation his brother did anything wrong, only that his mere presence made voters uncomfortable.
“I find it amazing that they can say my family members don’t have the right to be at the polls,” Godfrey said.
He also criticized another complaint in the report that alleged his posters and other election materials were present at polling locations and visible to voters.
“It’s a total fabrication,” he said. “It’s obvious to everyone at those locations that it’s untrue. It’s ridiculous to make such a claim.”
Godfrey seemed unconcerned during an interview that his actions or those of individuals associated with his campaign created even the appearance of impropriety, the ACLU said.
“Instead, he dismissed most of the complaints we brought to his attention as merely responses from people who bore him a grudge,” it said.

Nothing new here. When things go wrong, it's standard practice for Godfrey to clumsily claim to be the true victim. Godfrey plays the part of "Poor Pitiful Pearl" ad nauseum. So we'll move on. Needless to say, the ACLU views the matter quite differently.

Read Ace Reporter Schwebke's morning story here, wherein Mr. Schwebke provides a good fact summary.

For those detail-oriented readers among us, we recommend reading the ACLU's full 17-page report, straight from the Utah ACLU website.

And no. The ACLU will be filing neither a lawsuit nor a criminal complaint. As is usual in the course of mayoral misconduct, Boss Godfrey and his faithful supporters apparently operated in the "gray area" of the law, and thus none of them will suffer the indignity of a courthouse frog-march. Hopefully this report will draw some attention in the state legislature, however.

We're short of time for our own tedious analysis, and therefore suggest that our readers make the digestion of the ACLU report part of their day's activities. Who knows? Perhaps this material will provoke a flurry of WCF reader commentary.

Next!