The Standard-Examiner reports this morning that there's more whining emanating from the ninth floor Boss Godfrey throne room, due to the recent disclosure that the Ogden City Council is in the process of hiring its own lobbyist to represent its interests during Utah's 2010 legislative session. Read Scott Swebke's full story here:
• Two lobbyists for Ogden?The big spending Boss Godfrey, who employs his own lobbyist to the tune of $40 thousand per year, gripes that the council will be wasting taxpayer money, by agreeing to a further $10 thousand annual lobbyist stipend.
And Godfrey has the further audacity to suggest that the council can share the lobbying services of lobbyist Robert Jolley, who's already on the administration payroll. Godfrey apparently has a short memory. The last time the council tried that course of action, it didn't work out very well at all. Some outspoken folks even suggested at the time that that the behavior of Mssrs. Godfrey and Jolley had been downright sneaky. Imagine that.
Yessirree. We're four-square behind the council on this. We interpret the council's apparent decision to hire its own lobbyist as a healthy sign that our council is heartily embracing its newly rediscovered role as a separate and coequal branch of city government.
Not only that, we believe Mr. Johnson hit the nail on the head. Mark Johnson and his lobbyist buddy, Mr. Jolley, really could use some serious baby sitting.
That's it for now.
The floor is open for your ever-cunning commentary.
