More Sunday Morning Whining From Boss Godfrey

A short essay on a few things our Ogden City Mayor fails to "get"

Can we see by a show of hands how many of our readers nearly lost their breakfast after opening up this morning's Standard-Examiner hard-copy edition? There was Boss Godfrey's grinning mug right their on the front page, whining and complaining about the Ogden City Council yet again. We'll incorporate a few text passages from this morning's Ace Reporter Schwebke story:

OGDEN — The city council’s periodic use of a private law firm to render opinions on municipal issues is adversely impacting its relationship with the administration, says Mayor Matthew Godfrey.
Godfrey said he’s troubled by the “secretive nature” of the Salt Lake City firm of Chapman and Cutler, which has been retained by the city council.
He also complained the administration is kept in the dark regarding the law firm’s work on the council’s behalf.

Memo to Boss Godfrey: Chapman & Cutler are the council's lawyers. The "secretive" part involves attorney-client confidentiality. Ask your lawyer, Gary Williams, to explain it.

And then there's the issue of conflict of interest... you know... those occasions where Boss Godfrey's lawyer (Gary Williams) can't ethically represent both the Administration and the Council. Council Director Bill Cook obviously "gets it":

Bill Cook, the city council’s executive director, defended keeping Chapman and Cutler on retainer. The city council uses the law firm sparingly when it believes the municipality’s legal staff has a conflict of interest because it’s already advising the administration on a particular issue or when it wants a second opinion, Cook said.
“The city’s legal staff does a great job,” said Cook. “It (the use of Chapman and Cutler) is only done if it’s better that an outside attorney is involved.”

City Attorney Gary Williams "gets it" too:

Gary Williams, the city’s attorney, said his responsibility is to impartially advise the administration and city council on legal issues.
There are times (conflict of interest situations) when it may be appropriate for the council to seek outside legal advice, said Williams, declining to explain when that could occur. [parenthesis added]

Query: How come Godfrey can't "get it?" Learning-disabled, we guess.

And one more crucial question: How come Boss Godfrey tattles to the Standard-Examiner any time he doesn't get exactly what he wants?

Even a cold heart like Godfrey needs an occasional warm shoulder to cry on, we suppose.

And here are a few other Schwebke passages we also really liked:

Several council members expressed displeasure during a recent work session that they learned after the fact that Rob Jolley, the city’s lobbyist, and Ogden Management Services Director Mark Johnson succeeded in amending Senate Bill 294.
The amendment gives Godfrey complete executive control over the RDA.
“It’s a big issue for me,” City Councilwoman Caitlin K. Gochnour told Godfrey during the council work session, expressing disappointment that she didn’t know about the amendment in advance. “It’s a big issue for Ogden.”

A Weber County Forum Tip O' the Hat to Councilwoman Gochnour for sticking to her guns, and refusing to pick up the tab for Mr. Jolley, Boss Godfrey's ethically-challenged legislative lobbyist. Caitlin's another grownup who obviously "gets it."

And before closing, we'll briefly comment on the $20,000 retainer the council is currently negotiating with current private counsel, Chapman and Cutler. Here's our advice to the council: Jump on it. Judging from the council's excellent performance since they hooked up two years ago with their own private attorneys, we believe these Big City lawyers are worth every dime they get.

The floor is open to our readers' ever-gentle comments.