Phipps "mistakenly named an education official as a supporter;” but we have it on good authority that an Ogden City department director’s name is also on the mailer... and the city official denies giving permission
By George K.
Our ace reporter at the Standard Examiner, Scott Schwebke, reported Sunday morning that David Phipps, who is running for At-Large Council Seat B, said that ”he will send postcards to about 1,000 voters apologizing for mistakenly listing a local education official on a campaign mailer as a supporter.”
Phipps is quoted as saying, “I have made the centerpiece of my campaign an open and accountable Ogden city government ...” and “I truly believe in being accountable to…the residents of Ogden, so to correct this misinformation and to show it was an honest mistake – I would like to apologize publicly.”
If he is truly apologetic why did he name only Karen Thurber as mistakenly appearing on his mailer? Mark Johnson, Management Services Director for Ogden City, notified the Council last Tuesday after the mailer had been sent that he did not give permission for his name to be used on the mailer. If that is the case, we think that Mr. Johnson would have followed through and also informed Phipps that he did not have permission to use his name. According to the Hatch Act, government employees are not allowed to endorse any candidate publicly. If he/she does endorse, campaign for or support a candidate publicly, he/she risks losing his/her job.
For those who haven't seen the offending mailer, you can view it here with your own eyes, in electronic Adobe PDF form. (Scroll down to the address page for an eye-full)
We wonder what kind of lame excuse Phipps will use this time to cover up this blunder.
Is this the kind of irresponsible behavior we want in our next council representative? Or is Mr. Johnson tempting fate and hoping that no one on the Council or a public resident would file charges against him?
Who will be the first to respond to the latest in this series of campaign shenanigans?
Are we going to have a rerun of questionable campaign tactics as we did in 2007?
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17 comments:
Obviously he meant that Karen Thurber and Mark Johnson only meant to endorse him when he thought he was running for Seat A
I believe Ms. Buttschardt spells her first name "Kym".
Clearly, this is a young man who is detail-oriented and really does his homework.
Ray:
Damn, that's brilliant! Excellent work. You have a career as a political spinmeister out there if you want one. Still laughing....
Curmudgeon; Does that mean that I am like Blaine Carl in spin ability?
Ahem...
It shows Brandon Stephenson on the endorsement list ... isn't a City Council person covered by the Hatch Act in such a situation?
TLJ
George K,
Would you happen to have a copy of the NEW postcard mailed out?
It would be nice to compare ...
just sayin
BB
Phippshits, Phippshits,
not a very bright clan
Phippshits, Phippshits,
trying to stick it in our can
Phippshits, Phippshits,
at PPC they meet
Phippshits, Phippshits,
trying to buy a council seat
TLJ; I guess city attorney Williams will have to make another miracle "cure"
TLJ:
I doubt very much Hatch Act prohibitions apply to elected Council members endorsing others for election.
I'm not an expert on the Hatch Act, but I'm skeptical of all these Hatch Act claims.
Stephenson made endorsements on his web site in the last election. Funny thing: He endorsed exactly the same candidates who benefited from Envision Ogden.
Biker Babe,
The flyer that is linked in this thread is the last Phipps flyer. Most voters received it the Monday before the primary election.
George
kinda figured that ... was just hoping maybe someone had gotten the new ones promised by Phipps with the correction ....
just sayin
BB
Just my thoughts regarding Stephenson - it should be inappropriate for any sitting council member to endorse any other council member running for re-election or any candidate running for a seat on the council.
Ogden Dem: Can't tell if you're saying it shouldn't be allowed, or simply that it's unwise. I agree that it's often unwise, but probably not always, and it should certainly be allowed under the First Amendment (as long as public resources aren't used to deliver the endorsement).
Dan S; Would that be public resources similar to inserts in my city utility bill?
Hatch Act? What is your reference for Mr. Johnson being restricted from endorsing a city candidate under the Hatch Act? As I read it, the Hatch Act would not apply in this case. Maybe I'm reading it wrong: http://www.osc.gov/ha_state.htm
Do you really want to know what finally prompted David Phipps to send his "mea culpa" - over a month after it was promised? I emailed him, copied it to the Standard, and asked him why he hadn't kept our agreement. I do believe he intended to use the paper to avoid the expense of the mailing. Draw your own conclusions. By the way, I'm endorsing Bart Blair - why? Because he and his family invested in the East Central neighborhood long before it was "cool".
Karen Thurber (yes, the same)
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