Encouraging Scott Schwebke story in this morning's Standard-Examiner, reporting that our Emerald City Council has now followed up on its earlier-reported course of action and hired its own legislative lobbyist:
• Ogden hires lobbyist for $10,000This morning's story also provides a fairly remarkable quote from Ogden City CAO John "Pureheart" Patterson, who swears (cross his heart) that he has no idea at all why the council has found it necessary to employ its own lobbyist:
John Patterson, the city’s chief administrative officer, questioned the council’s need to hire Peterson.Quick reminer to Mr. Patterson, who apparently lives in a world of alternate reality all his own ... It was Godfrey's own sneaky actions which brought on this inevitable consequence.
“At this point in time, given the friction between the city council and administration, it feels like they have to have a lobbyist to keep an eye on our lobbyist,” he said. “It’s unfortunate. Hopefully, we will get on a better track.”
For our own part of course, we've long believed that the Mayor's administration could use a competent "tough love" babysitter, not only within Emperor Godfrey's ninth floor throne room, but also up on Utah's Capitol Hill.
A Weber County Forum Tip O' the Hat this morning to our Ogden City Council grownups, for taking the necessary action to ride herd on the devious and ethically-challenged Mr. Jolley and Mr. Johnson.
Remember, folks, it's Boss Godfrey and his lackeys who've been doing the recent whining about a "lack of Administration/Council communication."
And yes... on the strength of Mr. Patterson's above quote, we're filing this story under the label "Alternate Reality Department."
8 comments:
Well, there has been some progress up there on the 9th floor, Rudi. Pureheart Patterson is no longer pretending that the Mayor's pet lobbyist is the City's lobbyist. In any case, the better track Pureheart claims he hopes we can get back on would have to have, as one of its rails, a Mayor whose word was good, and who understood that when he makes a commitment to the Council, he needs to keep it --- as he did not keep his agreement with the Council that Mr. Jolley would work only on lobbying bills that both the Mayor and Council agreed he should work on.
We have a Mayor who has made it plain that his word is no good. And yet some people wonder why it's important to have an independent rather than rubber-stamp city Council?
Well, Folks it is time that I hire my own lobbyist. I now understand that the lobbyist that work for the mayor and the lobbyist that work for the council will try to undermine my work as a legislator, so I will hire a lobbyist to watch what these two will be doing. Then maybe I can get my bills through. It looks like the ethics resolution that will be on the ballot next Nov. will be how well the lobbyist work for all the elected officials. Did you know that this government is now been changed to, "for the lobbyist" "by the lobbyist" "of the lobbyist".
What a waste of taxpayers money.
I know how the city can have saved $50,000.00 of your taxpayers money and that is to pick up the phone and call the legislators themselves, just like I have to if I want something done in the city. I call the city council. Is it that hard to get done what you really want done. I know that there are 104 of us running the state, but I have a vote on the capital just like all the other legislators in the house. Maybe I should hire a lobbyist to to make the phone calls for me.
So whoever would like the job to be my lobbyist, I now open up the bidding to the lowest bidder, which currently stands at $1. I will be paying for this lobbyist out of my own pocket, and not from the taxpayers.
Lobbyist should be banned from taking taxpayer money to do lobbing. Because some of this money ends up in the campaigns of the elected officials. Is this really how we want our tax money spent. I always thought that elected officials should be meeting with other elected officials. not by ways of lobbyist.
Your right. It would be interesting to see how much money Godfrey has gotten for his buddy Rob Jolley for his campaigns. or just what favors Jolley has given to Godfrey, or to the chief senator Greiner.
Good luck on the lobbying problem; person who can afford them have had ready access to the corridors of power for millennia.
Sad reality.
Cr and Git'r:
Well, the fact is, lobbyists matter in the halls of every legislature in the land. And part of the reason they matter is that they shell out so much money to legislators. In light of which, I'd want my city to have a lobbyist working the state capital were I a mayor or city council. Would I be happy about it? Of course not. But I suspect I'd be a lot less happy legislation affecting my city if my city didn't have a lobbyist at the capital.
Of course, it would help if the lobbyist actually worked on legislation the city government thought important, rather than on bills that benefited the mayor who hired him.
Curm,
You are right on the money with that. You should put in a bid.
Money, money, money, money.
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