Deseret News: Judge Rules State School Board Selection Process Unconstitutional

Judge Waddoups definitely has his work cut out for him as he tackles fixing the Utah State School Board nomination system... on an exceedingly short timeline

Uh-oh. There's blockbuster 2014 General Election news this morning, folks, as Deseret News reporter Benjamin Wood informs his readers that a federal judge has thrown a wrench into the gears of the pending State School Board elections. Specifically "[o]n Friday, U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups ruled that the state's selection of school board candidates — a multi-tiered process that includes vetting by a committee and final selection by the governor — violates constitutional guarantees of free speech," according to the story linked below:

• Judge rules State School Board selection process is unconstitutional

"Waddoups did not order remedies related to the case, which was brought against the governor, lieutenant governor and members of the governor's nomination committee by former candidates for State School Board. An additional hearing was set for Thursday, during which Waddoups is expected to receive additional testimony and recommendations from the involved parties and issue a final order," Mr. Wood further reports

With a mere 57 days remaining until the 2014 Utah General Election, don't consider our current Weber County ballot roster to be indelibly etched in granite:

State School Board District #1 - 4 year term

Declaration of Candidacy	Website/Contact Info	Campaign Finance Disclosures
David L. Clark	None Found	David L. Clark 2014
Terryl Warner	State School Board Member Bio	Terryl Warner 2014

State School Board District #2 - 4 year term

Declaration of Candidacy	Website/Contact Info	Campaign Finance Disclosures
Willard Z. Maughan	None Found	Willard Z. Maughan 2014
Spencer F. Stokes	None Found	Spencer F. Stokes 2014

Judge Waddoups definitely has his work cut out for him as he tackles fixing the wacky Utah State School Board nomination system, wherein "Utah [now] runs their [State School Board} elections the same way as Iran, with the mullahs approving which candidates can appear on the ballot."

Hopefully, he'll come up with something suitably Solomonesque, as time's running exceedingly short.

Update 9/12/14 9:00 a.m.: The Trib reports this morning that Judge Waddoups has issued a ruling in re the State School Board candidate selection matter.  Happily, Weber County Election ballots won't be effected:

• Judge: Add two rejected school board candidates to ballots