Standard-Examiner: Panic Over Ethics Reform - UPDATED

Our home town newspaper issues a strong citizen call to action

By Curmudgeon

In all the discussion over the Standard-Examiner's less than stellar reporting on the campaign, don't want to lose sight of the fact that the paper ran another good strong editorial yesterday morning on the drive for a citizens' ethics reform initiative:

• OUR VIEW: Panic over ethics reform

From the editorial:

Some Utah legislators are already screaming that the sky will fall if voters decide next year to take matters into their own hands and implement tough legislative ethics reform.
House Majority Leader Kevin Garn, R-Layton, claims that lives and reputations can be ruined if the initiative is passed. He adds that if the initiative is passed, it will be tied up in the courts for years.
That sounds to us more like a threat. Witness the hysteria from state Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, who calls the initiative an attempt to suspend free speech and basic rights.

The editorial provides a link to the referendum proposal by Utahns For Ethical Government and summarizes the proposed ethics reforms. And the SE concludes:

We support these measures.... To sum up the initiative's goals, it only requires that legislators not use their political clout to receive gifts or personal, political and business advantages. In other words, it requires our elected officials to conduct themselves with high ethical standards.... Unfortunately, in the Legislature, these standards have been replaced by a favortism and trading system where privilege trumps common sense.
It was... necessary for Utah citizens to do what the Legislature simply won't do: enact serious ethics reform.
We urge Utahns to sign the initiative petition when they have the opportunity to do so.

The whole editorial --- and the petition --- are worth a serious read.

Update 9/15/09 7:30 a.m.: In response to Curmudgeon's earlier query, the Std-Ex provides a Utahns For Ethical Government press release online this morning, informing its readers that the UFEG will be holding a number of public hearings within the next several weeks, including this one in Ogden:

Tuesday, September 29, 2009--7-9 p.m. (An optional 8th hearing)
Weber County
Mound Fort Middle School, Media Center
1400 Mound Fort Drive
Ogden, UT 84404

We urge all WCF readers to mark their calenders and plan to be in attendance.