With the 2013 Ogden City Municipal Primary looming a little under six days hence, we're delighted to provide a glimpse of the first set of campaign financial disclosure statements of our nine Ogden City Council candidate hopefuls, which were duly filed with the Ogden City Recorder's Office by 5:00 p.m. yesterday, pursuant to applicable provisions of Ogden City's Campaign Financing Disclosure ordinances, which arrived on the heels of the Ogden City Council's 2009 campaign finance reform. "Cash is King" in politics, as the old saying goes; so click the highlighted links below to discover which candidates are Ogden City's fund-raising "royalty," at least at this juncture:
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenses |
| Municipal Ward 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Neil K. Garner | $0 | $25 |
| Pamela Stevens | $0 | $25 |
| Municipal Ward 3 | ||
| Turner C. Bitton | $4,698 | $3,734 |
| Doug Stephens | $3,800 | $2,312 |
| At-Large "A" | ||
| Sheri Morreale | $1,000 | $997 |
| Stephen D. Thompson | $1,868 | $568 |
| Marcia L. White | $10,015 | $3,384 |
| At-Large "B" | ||
| Bart Blair | $0 | $25 |
| Courtney Jon White | $80 | $32 |
Special thanks to Ogden City Recorder Tracy Hansen, a model of helpfulness and efficiency, who worked late, graciously furnishing the above reports early yesterday evening.
Plow through these reports, O Weber County Forum political wonks; and whatever you do, please don't keep your cranky opinions and comments to yourselves.
Update 8/8/13 10:00 a.m.: Interesting discussion developing over at the Ogden Ethics Blog, where blogmeister Dan Schroeder questions the propriety of Mayor Caldwell's $500 donation to the Marcia White campaign. So whatddaya think, O Gentle Ones? Even though such a donation is completely lawful, is it ethical? And even assuming it is ethical, is it politically proper?
8 comments:
For more detail and commentary: http://ogdenethics.blogspot.com/2013/08/wide-disparities-in-funding-among-ogden.html
Thanks for the additional analysis and commentary, Dan.
no conflict with the mayor contributing to a council members campaign???
Congratulations, smaatguy. You get an "A" for issue-spotting this morning.
I'm surprized that Stephen Thompson hasn't raised more money. Maybe he's just keeping his powder dry.
It's pretty common for politicians to contribute to each others' campaigns. And it's perfectly legal here in Ogden, as in most other places. That doesn't mean it's a good idea. It creates at least the appearance of trying to buy favors from each other.
"Even though such a donation is completely lawful, is it ethical? And even assuming it is ethical, is it politically proper"
My take: Caldwell's donation really amounts to an "enhanced" endorsement.
"Politically improper?
Hell no!
My thanks too Dan! Following the money in greater detail was quite a clarifying experience.
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