Economic Cycle Research Institute: U.S. Economy Tipping into Recession

If you think this is a bad economy, you haven’t seen anything yet

Submitted by: Danny

Turn to Weber County Forum for news you can use.

Early last week, ECRI notified clients that the U.S. economy is indeed tipping into a new recession. And there’s nothing that policy makers can do to head it off:

• U.S. Economy Tipping into Recession
• ECRI Video - A U.S. Recession
• ECRI Report Summary Details
• ECRI Business Cycle

Selected cautionary notes:

Why should ECRI’s recession call be heeded? Perhaps because, as The Economist has noted, we’ve correctly called three recessions without any false alarms in-between. In contrast, most of those who’ve accurately predicted a recession or two have also been guilty of crying wolf – in 2010, 2005, 2003, 1998, 1995, or 1987.

Here’s what ECRI’s recession call really says: if you think this is a bad economy, you haven’t seen anything yet. And that has profound implications for both Main Street and Wall Street.

Read up, folks!

Standard-Examiner: Hearing on BDO Lease Funds Extended

You're all invited to examine Boss Godfrey's proposed $1 Million Wish List, and offer your own takes on which items are (or are not) legit

At the suggestion of one of our gentle readers, we'll put the spotlight on the following back-burner Standard-Examiner news item, which is probably deserving of at least some Weber County Forum reader discussion.

Scott Schwebke sets forth the essential facts in his opening paragraphs, wherein he describes the full panoply of expenditures which would be funded by the diversion of a cool $ 1 mil of BDO lease revenues into the administration's hot little hands:

OGDEN -- The city council decided Tuesday night to continue until Nov. 1 a public hearing on a request from the administration to use about $1 million in Business Depot Ogden lease revenues to help revitalize east central neighborhoods.
The continuance is needed to allow the city council more time to study the request, said Bill Cook, the council's executive director.
Specifically, the administration is requesting $550,000 for its infill housing program, which would refurbish or reuse existing homes that are in poor condition or, in some cases, build new dwellings on lots.
The administration also wants $250,000 for its unit- reduction program, which aims to reduce or eliminate rental units in single-family homes to stabilize neighborhoods.
In addition, the administration is seeking $287,000 in BDO lease revenue for infrastructure improvements in east central Ogden, including new sidewalks, curb and gutter, and water utility improvements.

Read Tuesday's full Standard-Examiner story here:

• Hearing on BDO lease funds extended

For a (slightly) more detailed description of the Administration's request to expend a cool million bucks toward Boss Godfrey's most recent wish list, check out last Tuesday's full September 27, 2011 Council Packet:

• 09/27 City Council Regular Session Packet

We've given Godfrey's list a quick once over, and we'll volunteer that what we're seeing is a full declension of proposed expenditures, running from those which would be designated for obviously legitimate public use items such as "sidewalks, curb and gutter, and water utility improvements," to some highly questionable public funds expenditures, such as "refurbish[ing] or reus[ing] existing homes that are in poor condition or, in some cases, build[ing] new dwellings on lots." So with respect to the range of the proposed expenditures (vaguely) included in the Administration's request, we'll ask out gentle readers to chime in below, to offer their own opinions as to which items on Boss Godfrey's list are legit... and which are not.

We had the opportunity to speak with Council woman Amy Wicks this morning by the way, to inquire about why the Council put this matter over for later action. Frankly, we'd already reviewed the above council packet over the weekend, and had fully expected the current council, which pretty much bends to the will of the Godfrey administration when it arrives at the council door looking for a handout, to robotically give this proposal the usual "rubber stamp." To our great delight, Ms. Wicks informed us this morning that the council was uncomfortable with the vague language of the administration request, had suffered some heartburn about the concept of doling out $1 Million in taxpayer dough to the Little Lord with virtually no strings attached, and therefore unanimously decided to continue the matter for further public hearing to November 1, 2011, and in the interim, to set the council staff to work formulating a full set of firm and specific guidelines, defining how these funds would be administered by the spendthrift Godfrey Administration, (if they are to be so administered at all).

That folks, is a suddenly conscientious City Council firing on all cylinders, wethinks. Frankly we didn't know they had it in 'em.

So in closing, you're all invited to examine Boss Godfrey's proposed wish list, and offer your own takes on which items are (or are not) legit.

Have at it, O Gentle Ones.

Standard-Examiner: Write-in Candidate Files for Ogden Council - Updated

Rick Safsten, a Gang of Six council candidate re-tread, brought to you straight from the deep bowels of the Ogden Community Foundation right wing socialist cabal

Update: A second write-in candidate has also entered the 2011 election race

As reported in yesterday's WCF article, former Gang of Six Councilman Rick Safsten has suddenly entered the 2011 Ogden City Election At-large "C" council race as a write-in candidate. This morning's Standard-Examiner carries Scott Schwebke's morning story on the topic, which fleshes out some of the details concerning Mr. Safsten's last minute write-in election run:

• Write-in candidate files for Ogden council

This latest political move on Safsten's part is of course a 180 degree flip-flop from his stated 2007 position regarding a renewed council candidacy, at which time he said he "would not not run for re-election because of personal challenges."

And lest you believe that Safsten may have let any political grass grow under his feet in the interval since he was last chased out of council office in 2005, you can rest assured that he's kept his crony-capitalist instincts sharp, sitting on the Board of Directors of one of the most shadowy corporate entities in Ogden City, i.e., The Ogden Community Foundation, where he's been rubbing elbows with the notorious likes of Matthew Godfrey, John "Pureheart" Patterson and... get this... the beneficiaries of the Envision Ogden/FNURE campaign donation money laundering scheme... none other than Royal Eccles and former Ogden City Councilman Blain Johnson themselves.

There you have it, O Gentle Readers: Rick Safsten, a Gang of Six council candidate re-tread, brought to you straight from the deep, reeking innards of the Ogden Community Foundation right wing socialist cabal.

Who'll be the first to chime in on this?

Update 9/28/11 7:53 a.m.: We can't find word one about this in this morning's Standard-Examiner hard-copy edition; but we just now learned from a sharp-eyed and alert WCF reader that there's also a second write-in candidate who's entered the 2011 Ogden City Municipal election race, namely somebody by the name of Patrick C. Conlin, who has been certified by Cindi Mansell's Ogden City Recorder's Office as a "valid (mayoral) write-in candidate." In that connection, check out this 9/27/11 document from the City Recorder's Office:

• Ogden City General Election Candidates (2011)

We suppose we can interpret this (at the very least) as very good news for disgruntled Ogden City voters who find both candidates Caldwell and Stephenson to be entirely unacceptable, and who'd been hoping for a mayoral candidacy voting option which would be the equivalent of voting for "none of the above."

Who knows however? We'll have to wait and find out, we guess, whether Mayoral Candidate Conlin has any political substance, beyond providing an easy option for a "protest" vote.

So what about it WCF readers? Is there anyone out there who can provide a little quick info on Patrick Conlin, other than the fact that he resides in Ogden, and operates a chiropractic clinic in South Ogden?

A Few News Items For WCF Readers Who Aren't Completely Alienated From Ogden City Municipal Election Politics

Interesting election news tidbits which might keep otherwise bored Ogden City political wonks' political interest up... and their heads in the game

For those WCF readers who aren't completely alienated from Ogden City Municipal Election politics by the current Ogden City Mayoral candidate slate, wherein right wing socialist candidate Mike "Tweedle-dum" Caldwell is running for the top O-Town CEO spot against policy -indistinguishable fellow right wing socialist candidate Brandon "Tweedle Dee" (aka "Godfrey Sockpuppet") Stephenson, here are a few interesting election news tidbits which might keep your political interest up... and your heads in the game:

1) 9/22/11 Ogden Mayoral Debate Video. A couple of days ago (last Sunday to be exact), we happily posted a link to the YouTube video of last week's (9/22/11) Post primary Channel 17 debate. Within a day of posting the link, and after a dozen or so WCF readers had the chance to view the video, sadly, the geniuses at Channel 17 removed it from YouTube. Happily again, we now find out that it's back up for public on-demand viewing once again, via this link:

• OGDEN Mayoral DEBATE 2011 - (9/22/11)

Now that the video's now back up for public examination, there seems to be only one pending question: Is there anybody at Ogden's Channel 17 who has the slightest clue what they're doing? Nevermind. Don't bother answering the question. We already know the answer to that.

2) Channel 17 Council Candidate Forum. Speakin' of Channel17/Boss Godfrey Administration TeeVee Candidate Forums, we learned from one of the council candidates a couple of days ago that Channel 17 (under "ostensible" City Council sponsorship) will be taping a "City Council Candidate Forum" (similar to the above-mentioned "Ogden Mayoral Debate") at the Ogden City Council chambers on October 12, 2011. We've already linked the announcement info in our right sidebar; but to be sure all of our gentle readers are able to reserve ample time on their calenders to make sure they don't miss this important 2011 Ogden City Election event, here are the full particulars:

• City Council Candidate Forum - October 12, 2011

3) Dark Horse Council Write-in Candidate Emerges From the Past. Last but not least, we just got a hot tip regarding the Ogden City Council - At Large Seat "C" race, wherein that biker guy, Stephen D. Thompson, whose main political issue could realistically boil down to the issue of whether there oughtta be a motorcycle helmet law (or not), was hopelessly outmatched in the primary voting by veteran Ogden City Council juggernaut Amy Wicks.

Adding further interest to the list of losers who've already tried to challenge the highly popular Councilwoman Wicks this year, we've received a report, via a highly-reliable City Government source, that the broken-down former Gang of Six Councilman Comrade Rick Safsten has now entered the Council At-large "C" race, as a write-in candidate.

Seriously though, Gotta say the Ogden City right wing socialists must be feeling pretty confident if they're ready to bring Comrade Rick Safsten outta mothballs, to ultimately try to throw a wrench into Mr. Thompson's already meager council aspirations, no doubt.

That's it from your blogmeister for now.

So who's ready to throw in their own savvy 2¢?

Standard-Examiner: Outrage Over Redistricting Senate Seats in Ogden

Is Senator Reid right in this instance? Or is Demo Party Chair Jim Dabakis's concept correct?

Fascinating front page story in this morning's Standard-Examiner, highlighting the latest dust-up in Utah's ongoing legislative redistricting project. With the release of the most recent proposed district maps, the controversy over the majority party's possible gerrymandering of State Senate Districts has now arrived right here in Ogden City's lap, with a Senator Stuart Reid-designed map, which like Caesar's European map of old ("Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres"), would divide our own Emerald City into three parts:

• Outrage over redistricting Senate seats in Ogden

Inasmuch as Ogden City has arguably the the most concentrated Democratic Party demographic in the state, State Democratic Party Jim Dabakis is mad as a wet hen:

The chairman of the state's Democratic Party, however, calls it "blatant gerrymandering" designed to protect the senators who now sit in those seats.

"I am outraged at what they have done in Ogden," said state Democratic Chairman Jim Dabakis. "Reid's (Sen. Stuart Reid, R-Ogden) explanation is the most preposterous thing I've seen in my life. That's ridiculous, and people in Ogden are smart enough to smell that for what it is. It's incumbent protection."

Senator Reid, however, (who seldom makes a decision without getting the opinion of Boss Godfrey), advances the argument that a redistricting plan, which would water down Ogden's Democratic Party-inclining demographic with the far more GOP-oriented elements of adjacent outlying rural areas, would net a big benefit in the Utah Senate, i.e., drastically increased political clout:

Reid said Weber's three senators -- himself, Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, and Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, "all have a piece of Ogden city, and we'll also have rural, so we've tried to represent in this design both the urban and rural interests, and for Ogden city, I felt it was very important to draw the lines so Ogden had as many representatives as it could, as many senators as it could represent its interests in the Senate and the House."

Reid said he checked with Mayor Matthew Godfrey and said he agreed "it's clearly in the best interests of the city to have as many senators as you can representing your interests, especially Ogden, which in the past has been pretty much a stepchild."

So what about it, O Gentle Ones? Is GOP Senator Reid right in this instance? Does it make sense to slice and dice Ogden's neighborhoods into three State Senate Districts (which string off into Utah's rural areas)? Or is Demo Party Chair Jim Dabakis's concept correct? Should Ogden be ideally represented by a single senator, whose major focus is upon Ogden's specific interests?

That's it for now, WCF readers.

Who'll be the first to chime in with their own take on this issue?

September 22 Mayoral Candidate Debate Available For Viewing Via YouTube - Updated

Ooops!... no it's not... Hey waitaminute.... now it's up again!

For those readers with a little extra free time on their hands, we're delighted to embed below the full video of Thursday's (September 22, 2011) Mayoral Candidate Debate, which has now been uploaded by Ogden's Channel 17 to YouTube, for your viewing pleasure :



Regular Weber County Forum readers are gonna love the first question...

We've also added this video to our Election Sidebar Module (Videos) for your convenient future reference.

Update 9/26/11 7:48 a.m.: For reasons unknown, Ogden's Channel 17 has suddenly removed the above video from YouTube. Looks like the event is still being broadcast on regular TV cable, however. We'll accordingly invite our gentle readers to speculate about the Godfrey Propaganda Channel's rationale for this removing the video from YouTube and yet retaining it in its cable broadcast.

Update 9/27/11 5:00 p.m.: Okay... it's now inexplicably up again! Looks like poor ole CH17 station manager Bill Francis is havin' a hard time makin'his mind up. Go figure.

WSU Game Day Thread: Wildcats Square Off Against NCU Bears

No online streaming video this week, but the game will be broadcast live on Cable TeeVee

The WSU Wildcats are back on the road this afternoon, where they'll face Northern Colorado University in Greely, Colorado's Nottingham Field at 1:30 p.m.

Here's the pre-game setup from the Standard-Examiner:

• Wildcats aren't taking Northern Colorado lightly

The Bears' home town paper, the Tribune, has a few words on this topic too. With WSU coming off last week's 49-17 win over Sac State, and the Bears recovering from last week's 50-20 loss to Idaho State, we won't say the mood in Greely is gloomy, but it comes close:

• Homecoming pressure on UNC football squad

There'll be no online streaming video this week, but here's the KZNS internet audio feed:

• KZNS (1280 The Zone) Live Broadcast

And good news for WSU fans with TV cable service... the game will be broadcast live via Comcast Channel 61 (ALT), "Miracle of Mracles, we say!!!.

Sit back and enjoy the game, Wildcat fans. And please don't hesitate to throw in your own two cents, if you so choose.

And so what do you all expect of this game? A WSU Blowout? An evenly-fought game? A UNC blowout?

Gotta say your blogmeister truly loves the nuances of WSU Football.

Update 9/24/11 4:56 p.m: Final... WSU 45, UNC, 21.

Update 9/25/11 7:30 a.m.: The Standard's Roy Burton provides the post-game story:

• Wildcats muzzle bears in Greeley

Salt Lake Tribune: There Won't Be a Recount In O-Town

High time to start drawing the lines and differentiating the positions of the two remaining Ogden City mayoral candidates, wethinks

Here's the link to this afternoon's Salt Lake Trib blockbuster story (thanks to sharp-eyed reader Dan S.) , wherein veteran SLTrib "Ogden Beat" reporter, Cathy McKitrick reveals that Ogden mayoral candidate Susan "Susie" Van Hooser has decided to throw in the towel:

• Second, third place Ogden mayor candidates drew close tallies

With a mere 46 days remaining until the November 8 O-Town Municipal Election polling date, it's therefore high time to start drawing the lines and differentiating the positions of the two remaining heretofore indistinguishable Ogden City mayoral candidates, dontcha thinks?

So when are we all gonna get started on this?

Howbout now? Ferris? Jason?

Update 9/24/11 9:30 a.m.: The Standard is carrying the story too this morning, but weirdly enough it doesn't seem to be available online, except for the SE Digital Edition:

• Van Hooser: No Recount

Salt Lake Tribune: Ogden Activist Takes His Open-records Fight to Court - Updated

Query: 1) Just who has so much political juice as to kick the A.G.'s office into high gear to protect the Envision Ogden culprits; and, 2) What exactly is in those documents which the government lawyers are working so feverishly to hide?

For those readers closely following Dan Schroeder's Envision Ogden GRAMA Documents Request Saga, we're pleased to highlight the latest news in the matter, via yesterday's Cathy McKitrick/Salt Lake Tribune story:

• Ogden activist takes his open-records fight to court

Both Dr. Schroeder and Mark Shurtleff's Utah Attorney General's Office have filed pleadings with Utah's Third District Court, appealing the April 22, 2011 decision of the State Records Committee, which was for the most part favorable to Dr. Schroeder. Whereas Dr. Schroeder now merely seeks the release of the final few documents which were ruled to be "protected" under that earlier order however, the A.G.'s Office is reportedly hell-bent on a wholesale reversal of the committee's decision, and thus apparently now seeks to block the release of over 300 documents, including the very bank records which could reveal the names of the culprit (or culprits) behind the Friends of Northern Utah Real Estate scam.

This latest pro-secrecy action on the part of the A.G.'s Office flies flagrantly in the face of the intent of the current Utah GRAMA law, which generally favors open records, and invites the two-pronged question: 1) Just who has so much political juice as to kick the A.G.'s office into high gear to protect the Envision Ogden culprits, and 2) What exactly is in those documents which the government lawyers are working so feverishly to hide?

Update 9/23/11 8:00 a.m.: For those readers who'd like to dive a little more deeply into the issues involved in this round of litigation, here are the pleadings which are now on file with the Third District Court:

• Attorney General's Complaint
• Dan Schroeder's Complaint and Attached Exhibits

Update 9/23/11 10:00 a.m.: Not to be outpaced by the Trib, Scott Schwebke provides his own morning version of the story too:

• Ruling on Envision Ogden records release challenged by AG's office

Big Mayoral Debate Tonight

If you feel like this event is coming out of the blue, you'd probably be right

Do you have an empty gap in tonight's evening calender? Looking for a little something to whet your political appetite? Here's news of an evening event which may just fill the bill, submitted to us via email by yet another sharp-eyed and alert WCF reader:


Particulars are available at the Ogden City website:

• Ogden Area Events Calendar - Debate with Ogden City Mayoral Candidates

If you have a "gut feel" feel that this event is coming out of the blue, you'd probably be right. Except for a short blurb in this morning's SE section B sidebar, it appears that tonight's event sponsor (the craven Lame Boss Godfrey "Boss Godfrey".

We'll leave the lights on in the lower comment section of course, for those readers who might wish to chime in before, during or after this event.

Update 9/22/11 7:03 p.m.:

Well Lo & Behold, and Surprise of Surprises, Dan Schroeder is now live blogging from the Council Chambers "debate!"

Do be sure to "read up."

Update 9/23/11 10:00 a.m.: The Standard is carrying the story too:

• Ogden mayoral candidates tout qualifications

Bad News For Susan Van Hooser Fans Who Have Been Keeping Their Fingers Crossed and Hoping For Miracles - Updated

Looks like Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee will run for the big mayoral office prize in November after all

For those Susan Van Hooser fans who have been keeping their fingers crossed and hoping for miracles, here's the latest from Cindi Mansell's Ogden City Recorders Office, which reports no apparently significant changes in the final Ogden City Primary Election vote distribution, with the heretofore uncounted "provisional ballots" now factored into the final vote tallies:

• Election summary report - 9/20/11

Looks like the November 8 General Election now boils down to a thrilling race between corporate cash-backed Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee.

Exciting ainnit?

Never mind.

Update 9/21/11 8:12 a.m.: The Standard has the story this morning, reporting that Ms. Van Hooser, who still stands 44 votes shy of second place, is now weighing her options:

• Van Hooser not sure if she'll request a recount of mayoral vote

So what about it, O Gentle ones? If you were Susie Van Hooser, what would you do?

One Great Editorial in the Standard-Examiner This Morning

Do your part! Send the Godfreyite right wing socialist Richard Hyer Packing!

We'd like to belatedly note one great editorial in the Standard-Examiner this morning:

• OUR VIEW: Crosswalk stings needed

Mr. Gibson's editorial mentions Friday's Ogden Municipal Ward 2 disaster, where the only remaining fiscal conservative in THAT race, the WSU economics and math-master grad Jennifer Neil got mowed down Thursday while legally crossing a friggin' crosswalk.

Jennifer will definitely be out of action for a while now; but don't write her off, inasmuch as she's repeatedly demonstrated over the years that she's tougher than nails.

• Send Lawyers, guns and money!

Sympathetic Ward 2 voters should navigate to Jennifer's blogsite, and click the PayPal button which is lodged in the upper left sidebar:

• Jennifer J Neil Campaign Blog - Jennifer J Neil for Ogden City Council Seat, Municipal Ward 2 2011

Send the Godfreyite right wing socialist Richard Hyer Packing! (Please and thank you!)

That's it for now, O Gentle Ones. We'll let this suffice until we get the final Emerald City Election vote counts, including counts on the 200 or so provisional ballots which are still inexplicably gumming up the works in re this matter.

Last Call For 2011 Ogden City Election Provisional Voters

You have up 'til and including 5:00 p.m. today to get your fannies down to Ogden City Recorder Cindi Mansell's office with proof of residency

Here's a timely heads up for those 200 or so 2011 Ogden City Municipal Election voters whom, for one reason or another, were issued provisional ballots during last Tuesday's balloting:

• Second finalist on Ogden mayoral ballot undecided

Provisional Ballot voters have up 'til and including 5:00 p.m. today to get your fannies down to Ogden City Recorder Cindi Mansell's office with proof of residency, (or proof of whatever deficiency triggered the issuance of your provisional ballot).

The Ogden City Council will be meeting as the Ogden City Board of Canvass, to consider certifying last week's election results tomorrow night:

• Ogden Board of Canvass meeting Agenda, etc.

The Van Hooser campaign already blew it once, by NOT getting their base to the polls on Tuesday.

Let's not blow it again, Van Hooser fans, now that we have one last chance, slim as it may be, to get Susan Van Hooser back on the ballot.

Standard-Examiner: The City Club Stakes Success on Fab Four Theme

We took the day off yesterday, but we don't want to let another moment slip by without making note of yesterday's Standard-Examiner business section story, putting the spotlight on two-five drive's City Club, which marks its twentieth anniversary next week:

• The City Club stakes success on Fab Four theme

The City Club pioneered Historic 25th Street's modern revival at a time when the area was considered neither cool nor chic. The City Club was built into a genuine 25th street commercial juggernaut, through a combination of of vision, dedication and olde-fashioned entrepreneurial elbow grease. A Weber County Forum Tip O' the Hat to Bill Parker and Heidi Harwood, the owners/proprietors of one of the classiest and most hospitable night spots on the street.

WSU v. Sac State: Weber County Forum Game Day Thread

It'll definitely be fascinating to see what Coach Mac pulls out of his bag of magic tricks this week

Well, the weekend's again arrived, and we'll therefore take a well-earned breather from the Totally Screwed up Emerald City 2011 Municipal Election Race, (and also broach a subject quite a bit less distasteful) and ineluctably zero in on another subject that's quite a bit more soothing and near and dear to our hearts... What else... WSU Wildcats Football!

Accordingly we' ll note that The WSU Wildcats are back home this evening, where they'll face Big Sky Conference peer Sacramento State U. at 6:00 p.m. (MT) at the newly re-turfed Stewart Stewart Stadium. On the heels of last week's Utah State ass-thrashing (USU 54, WSU 17), it'll definitely be fascinating to see what Coach Mac pulls out of his magic bag of tricks this week, wethinks.

Just so's we can help get WSU Wildcat Fans' minds right pre-game, the Standard-Examiner offers a little useful pre-game hype this morning...

• Wildcats hope to clean up offense miscues against Hornets
• New turf ... new attitude for Wildcats

And the Sacramento Bee has a few weak words on the topic, too, written apparently by a free-lance sports writer hack, who probably earned a few shekels for this lightweight (and weakly-researched writeup), in spite of the fact that this guy has the chronological sequence of WSU's Wyoming and Utah State games inexplicably and entirely reversed. Okay. Here's the lame Sac Bee story anyway, for what it's worth:

• Sac State football team seeks offensive balance

And here's the KZNS internet broadcast link, by the way, for streaming game audio:

• KZNS (1280 The Zone) Live Broadcast

For our readers' convenience we'll continue to expend endless time trying to link this evening's other obscure possible game broadcast audio and video links. (Remember the game doesn't start until 6:00 p.m.)

It'll definitely be fascinating to see what (if anything) Coach Mac pulls out of his bag of magic tricks tonight, No?

Whatever happens from here on out, however, let's not let WSU Wildcats fans (ironically) let "the cat" get your tongues, heheheh.

Update 9/17/11 6:24 p.m.: Oh yeah... almost forgot. Don't fail to check out WSU Athletics' Twitter Feed, which is always good for timely and informative play-by-play info:

• Twitter Results for @weberstate

Update 9/17/11 9:40 p.m. (via Bob Becker): Final score 49-17 WSU. Track meet. WSU has discovered some running backs. Slippery lil suckers. Impressive. And an O line that opened some very large holes.

Update 9/18/11 2:00 p.m.: Both the Standard-Examiner and the Sacramento Bee have the post-game story:

• Wildcats run over Sacramento State on new turf
• Hornets take a beating in another Big Sky opener

Update 9/20/11 12:21 p.m.: Thanks to the ever-sharp-eyed Perfessor Becker, we now learn that Saturday's WSU v. Sac State blowout scat-back videos are now up on YouTube:

• WSU Vs. Sacramento State. Sept 17

Whoa!....

Standard-Examiner: Provisional Voters Must Prove Documentation By Monday

Is the 2011 Municipal Election race narrowed down to a choice between a couple of right-wing-socialist, corporo-fascist real estate development strumpets? Or will that veteran, populist mayoral office campaigner, Ms. Van Hooser, re-emerge in the Ogden mayoral race some time very soon?

Although we've been wrapped up with personal business for most of the morning, we'd nevertheless like to briefly highlight at least one Weber County Forum-topical news item appearing this morning in the Standard-Examiner, before the a.m. slips into the afternoon.

Ogden Municipal Election - Provisional Ballots. In a serendipitous response to some discussion in the lower comments sections about the potential implications of a little under two-hundred uncounted provisional ballots, Ace Reporter Schwebke furnishes this on-point story, discussing in a fair amount of detail, the current status of those yet un-tallied "provisional" (and "absentee") votes:

• Provisional voters must prove documentation by Monday

While we recognise that the addition of these ballots to the 2011 Primary Election vote count is unlikely to upset the relative vote tally differential between ertstwhile #2 Mayoral candidate Primary Election finisher Brandon "Sockpuppet" Stephenson and the #3 vote-getter, "Woman of the People" Susan Van Hooser, we'll also note that such upsets are not entirely unprecedented in recent Emerald City political history either. In that connection... lookie here... take a little side tour down memory lane:

• Johnson edges Aardema (Standard-Examiner - Nov 14, 2007)

Classic quote from the ever-mendacious Friends of Northern Utah Real Estate (FNURE) - (rhymes with 'manure') 2007 Council candidate and later two-year oft-missing-in-action Council Member Blain Johnson:

“We both ran a clean and fair race, and it could have gone either way,” said former City Councilman Johnson (with a completely straight face).

Curiously, this morning's SE article quotes Ogden City Recorder ("WCF's" Ever-Super-hero) Cindi Mansell thusly:

"Mansell said in her 20 years as a clerk-recorder she has seen two recounts but neither changed the outcome of the original results."

Ms. Mansell is probably right about the effect of recounts during her twenty-year tenure, but what about Blain Johnson's 2007 Council race victory, where the "provisionals" "flipped the original vote count (twice)"; and thus made all the difference, we ask?

So what about THAT, Mister Schwebke, hmm...?

Is the 2011 Municipal Election race destined to be narrowed down to a choice between a couple of Tweedle-Dum, Tweedle Dee right-wing-socialist, corporo-fascist real estate development strumpets? Or, despite the heavy odds, will that veteran mayoral office grass-roots campaigner, 'Woman of the People," Ms. Van Hooser, somehow improbably re-emerge in the Ogden mayoral race via an automatic recount some time very soon?

Righteous hope always springs eternal, dunnit?

Ogden City Ward 2 Council Candidate Jennifer Neil Gets Hit By Car While Out Campaigning - Updated

If you'd like to give Ms. Neil a little helping hand while she's unable to get out and raise her own campaign dough, now would be a great time to pitch in

Bad news in the Ogden City Ward 2 City Council General Election race, as we learned yesterday evening that regular WCF poster and Council Candidate Jennifer Neil was hit by a car (inside a cross-walk) while out campaigning yesterday afternoon. We talked with her this morning by phone and she reports that she was taken to the hospital for x-rays and related examination. Fortunately there were apparently no broken bones or serious internal injuries, but she's nevertheless pretty banged up, and most likely will be unable to resume actively campaigning for at least the next couple of weeks.

One of the first witnesses to arrive at the scene of the accident posted a series of situational Facebook updates, including this post, describing Jennifer's circumstances and additionally offering what we deem to be a highly-revealing, candid and entirely off-the-cuff insight into Council Candidate Neil's "core character":

Oh...did I mention my friends name? Her name is Jennifer J Neil & I've been friends with her for many years. Jennifer is running for a seat in The Ogden City Council & was out campaigning when she got hit by the car. It made me realize how unselfish Jennifer is. I think she would be the perfect choice to help make decisions for Ogden. She showed this to me today in the compassion she had for a total stranger that ran her over. I feel lucky to have her as my friend!

Your blogmeister has of course been a friend of Ms. Neil since at least the early nineties, and couldn't possibly be more in agreement with the above assessment. No doubt about it. Above all else, my friend Jennifer Neil is blessed with a legitimate and genuine...

• "Heart of Gold"

It's in that connection that we'd like to refer you all to Jennifer's 2011 City Council Campaign Blog where you'll find a PayPal donation button prominently displayed in the upper left sidebar.

If you'd like to give Ms. Neil a little campaign finance helping hand whilst she's laid up, and temporarily unable to get up on her feet to raise her own campaign dough, now would be a great time to pitch in, with only 54 days remaining until the November General Election.

Otherwise I guess you can just all sit on your abundant buttoxes, and let that lame and arrogant right wing socialist Godfreyite, Hyer, just take the Ward 2 Council seat by default.

Update 9/16/11 8:00 a.m.: Mr. Schwebke provides further information in re this matter with this morning's Standard-Examiner story:

• Council candidate struck by car

Do Big Campaign Donations Efficiently and/or Reliably Deliver the Votes in Heavily Contested Local Political Campaigns?

Two of the most thought-provocative articles we've ever seen yet, concerning the question of whether big campaign donations efficiently and/or reliably deliver the votes in heavily contested local political campaigns

We've left yesterday's 2011 Ogden City Municipal Primary Election Results page up at the top of the WCF Front Page up for most of the morning today (in order to squeeze out every last WCF reader comment possible.) Looks like that WCF article, the second most-read WCF article in over two years, seems to be finally "tapped out," comment-wise, however.

"Time marches on", as the old saying goes, so we now have some "chewy" new "political nuts-and-bolts" material to dwell on, submitted thusly via email by regular WCF contributor Dan Schroeder:

Hi Rudi,

I put a new article up on the Ogden Ethics Blog yesterday, and another quick one today. Care to highlight them on WCF?

Dan

Lo & Behold... Gentle Dan's wish is our command; and we accordingly provide links to each of these two new highly-cerebral and deeply analytical articles, set forth below in chronological order:

• Visualizing Campaign Fundraising
• Dollars vs. Votes (preliminary)

In the wake of yesterday's Ogden City Municipal Primary Election balloting, we're pleased to present a couple of the most thought-provocative articles we've ever seen yet (anywhere), concerning the oft-lightly considered, narrow question of whether big campaign donations efficiently and/or reliably deliver the votes in heavily contested local political campaigns.

Don't let the cat get yer tongues, O Gentle Ones.

So what say you about all this?

2011 Ogden City Municipal Primary Election Results

Pull up your La-Z-Boys, fill the bowl with freshly-popped Orville Whatchamacallit's, and watch tonight's real time vote tallies roll in, folks

As promised in today's earlier article, (and as we've done every year since the 2005 founding of Weber County Forum), we're once again quite thrilled to provide a real-time feed from the Ogden City Recorder's Office, tallying in real-time the results of today's Ogden City Municipal Primary Election. And a Weber County Forum Tip O' The Hat to the gremlins in the O'Town IT Department, by the way. They had butt-kickking, leading edge, map oriented real-time vote tallying software back in '07 and '09, and yet this newly-designed software setup totally blows the doors off those earlier versions:

• 2011 Municipal General Election Real-time Tallies

Although we're told by the Ogden City IT Department that this automated feature will be up and running shortly after the polls close at 8:00 p.m., please be aware that these "live" vote tallies may still be subject to annoying human-caused lags and delays, as the raw data are physically lugged into the counting house from the various city polling places, and entered into the computer that tallies the votes.

While we're waiting for Ogden City's newly re-designed real-time/online scoreboard spring into action, we'll also invite all WCF political wonks who are logged in here to offer up their comments about today's Ogden Municipal Primary Election Event.

And one other thing... if the above link somehow doesn't perform as advertized (or you don't perhaps have the latest version of Adobe Flash Player installed), we're informed that the Weber County Clerk's office will also be publishing real time data, too, in relative Fred Flintstone style; you'll thus have to refresh this page the old fashioned way (manually):

• 2011 Ogden Municipal Election Results

That's it from us for now; and we do believe we have it covered on all bases.

So pull up your La-Z-Boys and fill the bowl with freshly-popped Orville Whatchamacallit's, folks.

Exciting, ainnit?

Update 9/13/11 10:50 p.m.: The Standard-Examiner is already running the story:

• It's Caldwell vs. Stephenson for Ogden mayor

2011 Ogden City Municipal Primary Election Day Thread - Updated

You're all invited to chime in with a little primary election day conversation; and don't forget to check back in later this evening for real-time post election voter tally coverage

Breaking news for WCF readers who may have been living under a rock: Today is Ogden City Primary Municipal Election Day; and assuming you're registered to vote, and that you haven't already availed yourself of "early voting," you can vote from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today at the following voter precinct polling places:

• Voting Precincts and Polling Places Notice 2011

This morning's Standard-Examiner story should serve as reminder that typical Utah primary election turnouts are notoriously meager:

• Primaries to clear up muddy municipal election picture

So if you want to see your favorite mayoral and/or council candidate survive to run in the November election, don't stay home and rely on your neighbors to put them over the top, folks, even though you're confident that they're leading in the most recent polling.

If you still need to familiarize yourself with today's candidates, check out the election module in our right sidebar, which contains everything you need to know about these eager aspirants to political office. "One Stop Shopping" for Emerald City Municipal Election candidates... that's what we aptly call it.

Check back in later this evening for real-time vote tallies, which we'll be linking here in a new article after the polls close at 8:00 p.m. Robust election night coverage is a six year tradition here at Weber County Forum, so be sure to come back and join in all the fun.

In the meantime however, we'll invite you all to chime in with a little primary election day conversation. We'd definitely like to hear how your voting experience went today. Were poll workers courteous and well prepared? Did you have any problems casting your vote? What could city and county election officials do, if anything, to improve the process?

That' it for now, Gentle Readers.

Who'll be the first to throw in their own 2¢?

Update 9/13/11 8:17 a.m.: In response to an inquiry by Gentle Reader Bob Becker, here's a sample ballot (PDF), provided by the Ogden City website:

• Sample Primary Election Ballot

Update 9/13/11 9:55 a.m.: Following up on last night's discussion, concerning exactly which documents are necessary to prove identity for Utah voting purposes, see this helpful informational document, which is parked on the Ogden City website:

• Valid Voter Identification Required At Any Poll on Election Day

Results Are In For Our Second Mayoral Candidate Preference Poll

Once again we'll issue the disclaimer that this online political polling business is "all in fun." It WILL be fun however, won't it, comparing these data with tomorrow's "real life results"?

The results are in on this week's "Pre Primary Ogden Mayoral Candidate Preference Poll #2", which we've now shut down and removed from our WCF right sidebar. While we'll be the first to concede that these results are not "scientific" by any stretch of the definition, we believe that today's new poll numbers are still somewhat tantalizing, when compared with those of our earlier 8/2/11 "Pre Primary Ogden Mayor Possibilities Poll #1":

What's clear is that Mayoral candidate Mike Caldwell has been the big gainer. He's jumped from a 10% preference to 23% in the course of 40 days. Candidate Van Hooser, who led the pack with a 41% preference on 8/2/11, has now slipped to a 35% plurality. There's been some give and take among and between the other candidates too; but here are the raw results, without any further ado. Take 'em for what they're worth; and interpret 'em as you wish:

• 2011 Ogden Mayoral Candidate Preference Poll Results (Consolidated)

And once again we'll issue the disclaimer that this online political polling business is "all in fun." It will be fun however, won't it, comparing these data with tomorrow's "real life results"? You're all aware that tomorrow is the Ogden Municipal Primary Election polling date, right?

So now we'll zero in on the pregnant question... what (if anything) do our ever-savvy gentle readers make of these polling numbers? Could we be looking at Caldwell and Van Hooser moving on to the the November General Election?

Have at it O Gentle Ones...

WSU Takes On Sister School USU Tonite! - Updated

Okay WSU and USU football fans... It's time to tune in to tonight's WSU/USU intra-family brawl

Big game tonite in Logan City, according to the SE's Roy Burton

Here's how to tune into tonight's game audio, O my fellow Wildcat fans:

• 1280 -AM live streaming audio - with Carl Arkey
• KVNU News/Talk 610 live stream audio (from Logan)

And here's a little additional radio tuning info from the D-News:

• Saturday's Beehive State gridiron battle between Utah State and Weber State can be heard throughout Utah

And Oh Yeah... here's one other thang. Stay tuned folks, and we'll soon find out how the ESPN3 video feed works tonite. If all goes well, this could be the Best WSU/UTAH STATE game-day resource on the web. (We'll be workin' on it, and will insert the WSU/USU video feed as soon as it comes online around 6:00 p.m, Mountain Time....)

OK, folks, here's the live video broadcast via ESPN3:

• Weber State vs. Utah State

And if all else fails, (or if you missed a big play because you went to the bathroom), check out WSU Athletics' Twitter Feed, which is always good for timely and informative play-by-play info:

• Twitter Results for @weberstate

Update 9/10/11 9:06 p.m.: Final, final... USU 54, WSU 17. Ouch! We'll just take a wild guess and assume that last week's USU near upset of National Champion Auburn just might NOT have been a fluke. Watch out, WAC!!! The Aggies are comin' to getcha.

Update 9/11/11 10:00 a.m.: The Standard carries two post game stories this morning:

• Aggies pull away from Wildcats late
• Aggie offense finally hits high gear

Update 9/12/11 5:30 a.m.: The Standard comes through with yet another follow-up story this morning:

• Wildcats make no excuses for 2nd-half disappearance

Update 9/20/11 12:15 p.m.: Good goin' Perfessor Becker! Thanks to your sharp and alert observations, we now learn that WSU v. Sac State scat-back highlights are now up on YouTube, for all the world to see and enjoy:

• WSU Vs. Sacramento State. Sept 17

Ogden Ethics Project Mayoral and Council Candidate Forum Video Recordings Now Available For On Demand Online Viewing

With all the good material we've placed in our right sidebar election module, there's no excuse for anyone with a functioning brain and internet connection to arrive at the polls uninformed on Tuesday

Attention Ogden City political wonks. We're delighted to report that both the Ogden Ethic Project's 8/25/11 Mayoral Candidate Forum and 8/31/11 City Council Candidate Forum video recordings have now been posted to YouTube, for your on-demand viewing pleasure:

• 8/25/11 - Mayoral Candidate Forum (OEP) (Youtube)
• 8/31/11 - Council Candidate Forum (OEP) (Youtube)

We've also planted these links in our right sidebar (Videos) for handy future reference.

Pull up your Barcaloungers™ , folks. This is gonna be Way Good.

With the veritable mountain of informative material we've placed in our right Sidebar Election Module, by the way, there's no excuse for anyone with a functioning brain and internet connection to arrive at the polls even slightly uninformed about the crucial issues concerning Tuesday's Primary Election balloting.

That's out take; and we're stickin' with it. So what say our gentle readers about all this?

Update 9/10/11 9:15 a.m.: The OEP webmaster has uploaded a new set of Council Candidate Forum videos this morning; and the sound quality is greatly improved. Your Weber County Forum Blogmeister believes this is verrry cool.

Standard-Examiner: Auditor: Ogden Finances Sound Despite Procedural Gaffe

Query: As we approach that wonderful day in January 2012 when the Ogden City Municipal Building screen door will slap a departing Boss Godfrey on the a$$, is there anybody here on WCF who'll be willing to cut the little cretin a pass?

Amidst what we'll write off as a one-day lull in Emerald City election news, we'll go back to our news article queue and spotlight Tuesday's Scott Schwebke story, which puts the Standard-Examiner print edition readership focus on the State Auditor's August 18, 2011 report, a topic which has been rattling around Weber County Forum since at least late August. Heres the pertinent SE Story btw, for what it's worth :

• Auditor: Ogden finances sound despite procedural gaffe

Although this story was lightly covered by the SE once before, Tuesday's version is something that we can only characterize as a Schwebke-enabled Godfrey Administration attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the SE's hard-copy readership. To illustrate the weakness of the Godfrey administration's present attempt to shift the blame away from itself, we'll focus on these three telling story paragraphs:

The administration's failure to get permission from the city council for the expenditures is labeled a significant deficiency and does not comply with state law or municipal ordinances, the report states.

However, the report's use of the term "significant deficiency" is incorrect because it is reserved for financial issues instead of administrative or procedural matters, said Mark Johnson, the city's chief administrative officer.

"They used the wrong terms," he said.

Being the curious type, we cast about on the web for a standard finance definition of the term "significant deficiency," and Lo & Behold, here it is:

SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCY, in finance, is an internal control shortcoming in a highly important control area or an aggregation of such deficiencies that could result in a misstatement of the financial statements that is more than inconsequential.

What we've witnessed here folks, was a series of instances where Ogden City's "internal ("procedural") control shortcomings" failed to identify the administration's serial unauthorized misappropriations of funds over fairly extensive time periods. Yes. The State Auditor used the "right terms" and not the "wrong terms," contrary to Me Johnson's idiotic ramblings. It's procedural defects which the definition contemplates, and it's therefore with a heavy heart that we say that we have no alternative but to label Mr. Johnson's lame excuse that these reported "gaffes" were "merely procedural" as grossly and wholly inaccurate, mendacious and assbackwards.

Adding further insult to injury, the fundamentally dishonest Mr. Johnson also offers as an additional lame defense, e.g., a political variant to the idiomatic "no harm, no foul rule". The essence of this flimsy additional blanket excuse for the administration's bad conduct, we suppose, is that since the Council and one private citizen already covered the administration's derriere after the fact, we should just ignore the bad conduct and cut Boss Godfrey & Associates a free pass.

So what about it, O Gentle Ones? As we approach that wonderful day in January 2012 when the Ogden City Municipal Building screen door will slap a departing Boss Godfrey on the a$$, is there anybody here on WCF who'll be willing to cut the little guy a free pass?

(Didn't think so, but felt compelled to ask.)

Standard-Examiner: Vacated Ogden Council Seat Up for Grabs

We're delighted to find out this morning that the Standard hasn't forgotten that besides the Ogden mayoral race, there are some important council races boiling on the front burner, too

In hope of kicking off some new Weber County Forum discussion, we'd like to shine the spotlight on this morning's most-excellent Tim Gurrister story, which profiles the three eager candidates who're battling it out for Brandon "Sockpuppet" Stephenson's soon to be relinquished Ogden City Council Ward 2 Seat:

• Vacated Ogden council seat up for grabs

Amidst all the "fussing" by the Northern Utah press over the Ogden mayoral race, we're delighted to find out that the Standard hasn't forgotten that there are some important council races boiling on the front burner, too.

The extremely talented Tim Gurrister does a fine job profiling the three Ward 2 candidates, considering the limited amount of page space available in the SE print edition. But for additional information about these three Ogden City Council hopefuls, be sure to visit our WCF "Council Candidate Roster", which is also planted for your convenience in our right sidebar election module.

The world-wide blogosphere now awaits your ever-savvy comments regarding the Ogden Council Ward 2 race.

Salt Lake Tribune: Ogden’s 8 Mayoral Hopefuls Vary Widely in Donor Dollars - Updated

For more detail, be sure to check out our brand spankin' new 2011 Ogden Municipal Election campaign financial disclosure page

For those who might have been unaware of today's important Ogden City Municipal Election deadline, we'll inform you that the first set of Mayoral and Council Campaign Financial Disclosure Statements were due for filing by 5:00 this afternoon. In that connection, The Salt Lake Tribune's Cathy McKitrick has been doing some fancy reportorial footwork, obtained a full set of these duly-filed documents from Cindi Mansell's Ogden City Recorder's Office, and appears to be the first Ogden Political Beat reporter already out of the chute and providing informative reporting and analysis on the subject:

• Ogden’s 8 mayoral hopefuls vary widely in donor dollars

The Tribune also provides a handy summary in The Trib's left sidebar:

Campaign cash: how the dollars stack up in Ogden’s mayoral race:
Jonny Ballard » Not yet posted on the city’s website.
Mike Caldwell » Received $45,414, spent $20,302, cash on hand $25,211
Jason Goddard » Received $13,400, spent $9,376, cash on hand $4,074
Neil Hansen » Received $6,395, spent $6,221, cash on hand $174.30
Brandon Stephenson » Received $19,450, spent $16,659, cash on hand $2,791
John H. Thompson » Received $0, spent $2,333
Susie Van Hooser » Received $10,035, spent $6,213, cash on hand $3,941
Steven Van Wagoner » Received $2,702, spent $1,614, cash on hand $1,088

But for those readers who'd like to submit the full array of this afternoon's newly filed Candidate Financial Disclosure Statements (both mayoral and city council) to a little more detailed and careful scrutiny, check out our brand spankin' new 2011 Ogden Municipal Election campaign financial disclosure page to find out, among other things, who the heck paid for that mind-boggling multitude of Mike Caldwell lawn signs which have recently popped up all over Ogden City:

• 2011 Ogden Municipal Election Contribution and Expenditure Forms - All Offices

We've also placed these forms in our right sidebar election module (and within each candidate's individual WCF candidate information page) for your convenient future reference, folks. Cathy McKitrick's not the only one who's worked their fingers to the bone to promptly get you the information you need regarding today's campaign finance disclosure documents... of that, we can assure you.

That's it for now folks.

Don't let the cat get your tongues.

9/8/11 8:11 a.m.: The Standard is now carrying Scott Schwebke's writeup:

• Ogden mayoral candidates file campaign finance reports

Breaking: The 9/1/11 Ogden Mayoral Candidate Q&A Session Is Now Up On YouTube

We urge all Emerald City voters to take a good long look

Thanks to a helpful morning tip from sharp-eyed and alert Ogden mayoral candidate Steve Van Wagoner, we're delighted to learn that the full Channel 17 September 1, 2011 Ogden Mayoral Candidate Question and Answer Session is now online and viewable by demand, via Youtube. This is a craftsman-like and informative production, and we urge all Emerald City voters to take a good long look:


Special thanks to Mr. Van Wagoner for supplying the link, (which we've also added to our right sidebar Election Module [Videos]), just in time for our new Ogden Mayoral Candidates Poll #2.

Standard-Examiner: Eight candidates Want to Put their Stamp on Ogden Politics

Added bonus: Pre Primary Ogden Mayor Poll #2

We'd like to draw our readers' attention this morning to a not-half-bad Scott Schwebke print edition piece, profiling the eight candidates who're in the 2011 Ogden Municipal Election race for Boss Godfrey's soon to be abandoned mayoral seat. Mr. Schwebke does a pretty good job summarizing the candidates' various positions, we think, within the finite limits of ink & paper:

• Eight candidates want to put their stamp on Ogden politics

As an added bonus, we'll also utilize this article to serve as a handy springboard for another Mayoral Candidate Poll, a clone of the one we ran earlier this month. Now that there's a little pre-primary campaign water under the bridge, we thought it would be interesting to find out whether there's been any significant movement in our WCF readers' candidate preferences, in the wake of a month of hard campaigning.

Here's a link to the new poll, which we've also placed in the right sidebar:

• Pre Primary Ogden Mayoral Poll #2

We got a pretty good response on this the last go-round (135 votes), so we hope you'll all again join in on the interactive fun.

Now howbout a little discussion, folks? Have any of our readers switched candidate preferences during the last month? And if so, why? And what about those of you who've stuck with your original preference? And does anybody want to offer their opinions about which candidates are running the most competent campaigns (and vice-versa)? And what about these candidates' self-branding? Which ones have successfully set themselves apart from Godfrey Administration crony capitalist philosophy... and which ones are merely Godfrey wanna-be's?

Lots to talk about as we stand poised 8 days in advance of the primary election.

The floor's all yours, O Gentle Ones.

(Oh Yeah! And Happy Labor Day!)

Standard-Examiner Letter: Van Hooser Will Work to Create Unity

Fantastic letter to the editor in the Standard-Examiner hard-copy edition this morning from former Councilwoman Dorrene Jeske, who served on the Council with two of the 2011 mayoral candidates, Susan Van Hooser and Brandon Stephenson. We're re-publishing this article in its original full text, with the permission of Ms. Jeske:

Van Hooser will work to create unity
By Dorrene Jeske
Standard-Examiner Contributed
Wed, 08/31/2011 - 2:25pm

(UNEDITED) Susan Van Hooser is able to assume the responsibilities of mayor without any down time because she deals with city problems daily as an involved council member. She has the knowledge and experience needed. She is a strong leader successfully holding leadership positions in numerous organizations including Council Vice Chair. She is conscientious in her responsibilities to the citizens of Ogden, researching the impact of new city ordinances on citizens. She will work diligently to create a feeling of unity in Ogden.

I have worked with both Susie and Brandon Stephenson on the council and believe that you never really know a person until you either live or work with them. Seeing them in church and totally different situations does not give a complete picture of someone. The Council never elected Brandon as Council Chair or Vice Chair in the seven and a half years he's been on the Council. Why? The State League of Cities and Towns removed him from the legislative committee. Because he missed their meetings? He told me once that he didn't need to vote as his constituents wanted because they would understand.

The fact that Ogden is nearing its bonding limit, and city debt is almost $100 million is a concern. City business procedures would remain much the same under Brandon because the Mayor has mentored him and he sees nothing ethically wrong in accepting large campaign donations from PACs/PALs and businesses as well as their owners (a campaign finance loophole).

Dorrene Jeske

A couple of observations before we turn over the floor to our gentle readers for discussion:

• Ms. Jeske worked elbow-to-elbow with both Van Hooser and Stephenson during her 2006-10 council tenure, and is thus in a much better position to evaluate each of these candidates' strengths and weaknesses than than most folks who write letters to the editor; so we therefore believe this letter is particularly notable.
• Until this very morning, we were entirely unaware that Brandon got booted from the State League of Cities and Towns legislative committee; and we wonder why. Can anyone fill us in on this?

That's it for now O Gentle Ones.

Who'll be the first to throw in their own 2¢?

Sunday Morning News Roundup

A few back-burner items worthy of attention on a slow news Sunday

1) Slight Setback in Dan Schroeder's Ongoing Envision Ogden GRAMA Document Request Hunt: It seems like only yesterday that we were whooping it up, cheering what looked like a near-complete victory in Dan Schroeder's seemingly endless Envision Ogden GRAMA document hunt.

Sadly, we learn this morning morning that the legal battle ain't exactly quite over yet, however. Here's the lowdown in Dan's own words:

Just opened my mail and found notice of intent to appeal from AG [Utah Attorney General]. So I won't be getting the Envision Ogden investigation records any time soon. Also this means I have nothing to lose by filing my own appeal. Here we go again...

As far as we're concerned, the behavior of the AG's office in this matter is entirely inexplicable and thoroughly unconscionable. What's with the government's penchant for secrecy? What is the government trying to hide? How would the average citizen fare in a battle like this, in the absence of Dan's deep knowledge of GRAMA law and near superman tenacity, we ask?

Keep the faith, folks. We'll keep the focus on this story as Dan files his own appeal. If the AG's office doesn't already know they have a real "tiger by the tail," it's certain that they'll soon be finding this out.

2) 9/1/11 Mayoral Candidate Question & Answer Session Videos: We've had email inquiries from several WCF readers who've been wondering when the video recording of last Thursday's Ogden City-sponsored (9/1/11) Mayoral Candidate Question & Answer Session would be available for public viewing; and we're delighted to report that the tapes are now conveniently accessible approximately four times per day on Comcast Cable's public access Channel 17. Click the link below to view the programming schedule:

• Ogden / Weber - Broadcast Schedule

Not a subscriber to Comcast Cable? That's Okay. These videos are also viewable on the same times and dates indicated in the above schedule, through through Channel 17's online webcast link below:

• Ogden Channel 17 Online Video Broadcast Feed

Unfortunately these videos are not yet available through Ch17's Video on Demand feature; but for now, we'll take what we can get.

3) Another Upcoming Ogden Mayoral Candidate Event: Here's a quick heads up on another Ogden Municipal Election campaign event, via yesterday's Standard-Examiner story:

• Coffee Party invites Ogden candidates

The SE blurb informs us that only four of the eight mayoral candidates have confirmed their intention to appear at this event; but we're posting this info here (and within our right sidebar election module) for what it's worth.

That's it for now.

Don't let the cat get your tongues.

Update 9/5/11 12:29 a.m.: Lo & Behold, the full Channel 17 September 1, 2011 Ogden Mayoral Candidate Question and Answer Session is now online by demand, via Youtube:

• Mayoral Candidate Question & Answer Session