Std-Ex Editorial: Too Much Insider Cash

Time for our state to get ethically in line with most of the rest of the nation

By George K.

The Standard-Examiner has an excellent and very appropriate editorial article in the paper this morning. If Doug Gibson is the author, I commend him for calling a spade a spade. I agree with him 100 percent that big business and very influential people influence the legislators too much. Recent examples of this influence are the Questar bill that was rescinded at the next legislative session due to public pressure which is the biggest boo-boo the legislature has made. The next one happened the last few hours of last year’s legislative session when Ogden’s neurotic Mayor Godfrey and his greedy little patsy, Mark Johnson, with the help of the city’s lobbyist, pushed through legislation attached to a non-controversial RDA bill that was sure to pass which changed RDA boards throughout the State.

The Ogden City Council took the right action when they refused to hire that lobbyist, who was supposed to be working for both the Council and the Administration, for the current year.

It is no wonder that Utah residents have no confidence in the Republican dominated legislature’s ethics. We hope that the present legislators follow the SE’s common sense suggestions for ethical reform. Utah has become the laughing stock of the nation with the goofy bills that our unbridled legislature has passed in the past. We also hope and “push for measures that drive legislators to reach out (sincerely) to voters during the legislative session, rather than banks, credit unions, Energy Solutions, Questar, the payday loan industry, influential individuals, etc.”

It is encouraging that Governor Huntsman has planned for a commission that will deal with ethics and other reform measures if the legislature fails to place such measures on itself. It would be a great step forward to restore faith in the legislature. Because as a voter I do not swallow the claim that the legislators, as a whole, are above being influenced by the donations and gifts of big businesses. They may be able to fool themselves, but for me, “actions speak louder than words.”