Standard-Examiner: Roy Police Chief Whinham Quits Amid Controversies

Ex-Police Roy City Police Chief Greg Whinham: Head and shoulders (ethics-wise) above "Dennis" and "John"

We still don't know what happened; and frankly, at this point... "we" really don't care. What's important, wethinks, is that Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham did "the right" thing by tendering his resignation, rather than subjecting the folks of Roy City (and himself) to an endless stream of gossip, innuendo, mindless speculation and other nasty stuff:

• Roy Police Chief Whinham quits amid controversies

Sadly, so ends an otherwise illustrious 29 year law enforcement career. 

Take note though, political sleazeballs like Brigham City's Mayor Dennis "Barney" Fife and "Honest" John Swallow, our "erstwhile" Utah Attorney General, [wink.. wink].

"We" believe that ex-Police Chief Greg Whinham is head and shoulders (ethics-wise) above you self-obsessed people, Dennis and John, specifically, if you know what we mean, and we think you do.

Write it down... so you don't forget it, OK, Boyz?

And what say our ever-savvy and curious Weber County Forum readers about all this?

A UEG Call to Citizen Action: Support Campaign Finance Limitations This Week

Now is the time to support campaign finance limits

Via: Utahns for Ethical Government

Dear Friends:

This coming Wednesday, July 17, the Legislature's Interim Government Operations Committee will be hearing a proposal to limit campaign contributions. The proposal is sponsored by Republican Representative Kraig Powell and Democratic Representative Brian King.

"Uh-oh!"

Utah desperately needs such reform. We are only one of four states not to have some limitations. As friends of Utahns for Ethical Government, you know that we have long advocated and worked for such rules. A nonpartisan committee appointed by Governor Huntsman proposed such a solution. Current news in Utah demonstrates loudly the need for such reform.

We encourage you to act! Attend the meeting if you are able. Contact your legislators and tell them that you are supportive of the Huntsman Commission recommendations. Don't let the next few days pass without taking some action!

Government Operations Committee:

Wednesday, July 17, 9 a.m.

Room 445, State Capitol

For more information and specifics about the proposal, read the Salt Lake Tribune op-ed by Powell and King that appears today, Sunday, July 14, on p. 4 of the Opinion Section:

• Limiting money in Utah politics

WE URGE YOU TO ACT THIS WEEK and hope for an overflow crowd at the committee meeting to show how much the public cares about campaign funding limits.

Sincerely,

Utahns for Ethical Government Executive Committee
July 14, 2013

(Links added.)

Top of Utah Courthouse News Roundup

Serial scammer Wayne Ogden "rolls over" and Utah A.G. John Swallow shows Alliance for a Better Utah "who's boss"

Just to provoke a little bit of online discussion, we'll highlight a couple of interesting news court-related news stories this morning, which dovetail nicely with topics previously discussed here at Weber County Forum, which items we'll now submit to our readers in no particular order of importance:

1) As a followup to our last article on the subject, and true to our earlier prediction, it seems that "serial scammer" Wayne Ogden will soon indeed be enjoying an extended meet-up with his soon-to-be new cellmate "Bubba," as the Salt Lake Tribune reports that Ogden City's second most-notorious home-boy con man (Val Southwick being the first) has voluntary "taken a fall" in his latest "ponzi" rip-off criminal case, entering a guilty plea to "two charges of wire and securities fraud, as part of a plea deal with the U.S. attorney’s office." In exchange for rolling over on the federal charges, Wayne will serve an agreed 10-year prison sentence, along with taking on another multi-million dollar restitution order, Trib reporter Tom Harvey reports:

• Serial scammer Wayne Ogden pleads guilty to new fraud charges

Sad outcome for this once-promising "former South Ogden Eagle Scout," wethinks.  Looking at the bright side, however, Ogden's forthcoming 10-year "hard-time" stretch will no doubt afford plenty of time for Wayne to brush up on his Boy Scout Oath, we suppose, a chore which Wayne has plainly neglected in recent years, que no?

"Honest" John Swallow

2) On the civil litigation front, the Standard-Examiner reports on the latest development concerning ethically-challenged Utah Attorney General John Swallow, whose high-priced defense attorneys have filed a routine "Motion for Dismissal" in Swallow's pending election fraud civil case:

• Utah AG says election complaint against him should be dismissed

For those readers who may be unfamiliar with this ubiquitous procedural device, which some legal scholars characterize as a "reaction of some litigators to make a motion to dismiss in virtually every case," amounting to "a bad habit".  Such such motions do generally serve three chief tactical purposes nevertheless:

1. Resolving a case on its own legal merits;
2. Demonstrating to the opposition that they're in for a long and expensive fight; and,
3. Running up everybody's legal bill, thereby promoting a full-employment economy for "Big Time" civil "litigation mills."

We'll take a wild guess at this point and guess that that the motivation behind Swallow's counsels' motion lies behind doors number 2 and 3, folks, but we''l have to wait to see what the District Court has to say about this, we suppose.

Needless to say, we'll be closely following future developments in both cases as they progress...

So who'd like to throw in their own 2¢?

Salt Lake Tribune: Ogden Man Claims His Business Will Die Without Live Performers

One man’s vision of creating a vibrant alcohol-free hangout for teens and live performers hinges on approval of a new social hall definition by the "usual" Ogden City bureaucrats

Just to get some discussion going this morning, we'll put the spotlight on an enlightening March 8 "local" story from the Salt Lake Tribune, reporting about one Ogden City entrepreneur's effort to rev up his start-up business, and breathe some life into the sorely dilapidated shopping center at Ogden's 31st and Harrison, amidst the ever-present backdrop of Ogden City mindless bureaucracy and time-and-energy-consuming red tape (although there does seem to be some "hope at the end of the tunnel"):

•  Ogden man claims his business will die without live performers 

Boiling down Cathy McKitrick's 3/8/13 Trib writeup, we present for our Weber County Forum readers what we deem to be the essential facts:  

Harrison Plaza Shopping Center

Last fall, Earnie McKown began renovating a large building he leases in the old Harrison Plaza Shopping Center, where he performed building renovations and commenced operating an "alcohol-free hangout for teens" called  Paris Cafe.  Finding his initial format, involving "DJs, pool, 'specials' and a 'canned' music" wasn't cutting it financially, he cleverly modified his business model to feature "live" band performances, a tactic that immediately "took off." "Within three weeks," according to Mr. McKown,"my business doubled and I could start paying rent."

The "fly in the ointment" however, as the ever-competent Ms. McKitrick reports -- "Under current zoning, McKown can operate as a 'social hall' but is not allowed to host live entertainment."

After "a mystery somebody" "dropped the dime" on him,  resulting in an Ogden City code violation citation,  Mr. McKown then bravely, and in the highest entrepreneurial spirit, thereafter set forth on a battle with the Ogden City bureaucratic big shots, an effort which was at least temporarily frustrated when in October of 2012, "the Ogden Planning Commission voted 6-1 to deny his [request an amendment] of Ogden City' zoning ordinance, and a few weeks later the City Council unanimously concurred with that recommendation."

On a decidedly positive note for Mr. McKown however, the City Council did "leave the door open to revisit the vague social hall definition" at a subsequent time, and in accordance with this opportunity, Mr. McKown has thus feverishly set to work again, in cooperation with the city "planning" bureaucracy, to fashion a new Paris Cafe-friendly zoning ordinance, an effort which was most recently rewarded by a January 4-2 "favorable" Planning Commision vote. It's therefor all up to the council now to decide whether the eyesore Harrison Plaza Shopping Center property will experience a bright new revival, or revert to being essentially "boarded up," inasmuch as Mr. McKown has made it known that absent his new requested zoning code modification, he's fully prepared to pull up stakes and call it quits.

Needless to say, we'll be closely following this story as it develops; and we're keeping our fingers that this story will have an ultimate "happy ending."

But before closing this article out, we'll note that there's one interesting subplot to this story, O Gentle Readers, in connection with this aspect of the Trib facts which we've lifted from Ms. McKitrick's text:

Ron Atencio, owner of Mojos — a[nother] thriving all-ages live music venue in downtown Ogden that opened in 2004 — serves on the city’s planning commission and was among the six voting against McKown’s initial petition.

When, we ask, will our decision-making public servants (such as "ethically-conflicted" Planning Commissioner Attencio) ever learn that those in such positions who adhere to the highest ethical standards recuse themselves and don't vote on issues from which they, as potential business competitors, might derive clear financial benefit?

That's it folks. So who'll be the first to throw in their own 2¢?

Salt Lake City Weekly: Senate Pres Could Profit From Prison Relocation

Sodden Question: "Is there anyone out there in WCF Readerland who's the least bit surprised about this suspiciously odoriferous political scenario?"

Property even four miles away from the prison will see a huge upswing in value if the prison is relocated and replaced with a major commercial development. That does raise concerns that Niederhauser would be too closely tied to the prison relocation plan.

Buzz Welch, Director, U. of U. Ivory Boyer Real Estate Center
Senate Pres Could Profit From Prison Relocation
February 28, 2013

I haven’t even thought about how the prison might affect us, because prison relocation is so far down the road. We’ll be done and won’t own any property in that area by the time that happens

Wayne Niederhauser, Utah Senate President
Senate Pres Could Profit From Prison Relocation
February 28, 2013

We'll dirct our readers' attention to potential blockbuster Utah legislative conflict of interest story simmering on the Utah news front-burner this morning, as City Weekly carries a 2/28/13 story reporting that Utah State Senate President Wayne Niederhauser (R-Sandy) possibly stands to reap a substantial financial windfall if the state legislature ultimately decides to move the Utah State Prison, a prospect that's been floating around in the public forefront for the entirety of the 2013 legislative session. CW Reporter Eric Peterson's lead paragraphs provide the gist:

A bill passed favorably out of committee Wednesday to create a special board to consider the economic worth of relocating the Utah State Prison in Draper and developing the land underneath it. The bill would allow Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, to assign three senate members to that group, which raises ethical concerns, considering that Niederhauser operates a holding company that owns more than 30 acres of undeveloped property near the prison that could increase considerably in value if the board decides to move the prison. [Emphasis added.]

Get the full lowdown here, O Weber County Forum Legislative wonks:

•  Senate Pres Could Profit From Prison Relocation

"Under Senator Scott Jenkins’ SB72, Niederhauser won’t be able to stay away from his duty in appointing senators to the Prison Land Management Authority. Niederhauser says that, unfortunately, he can’t get around his own conflict of interest but says such things are unavoidable in a citizen-run Legislature," yesterday's SL Weekly story further reports.

Astonishingly, faced with an arguably blatant conflict of interest in this matter, Niederhauser nevertheless seems entirely unwilling to recuse himself from his prospective Prison Land Management Authority board member appointment role; and here's another eye-popping Niederhauser quote: 

“I don’t make a living being a legislator, and I don’t think the people want me to make a living being a legislator and, consequently, all of us have conflicts of interest and we try to deal with them the best way possible, by [merely] declaring all of our conflicts,” Niederhauser says.

Niederhauser evidently thinks it his overriding, unavoidable duty to act, you see, O Gentle Readers, despite his admittedly conflicted position. Thus, in our "blessed" Utah legislature, "duty to stack an legislative expolaratory committee" apparently trumps "scrupulous avoidance of the appearance of impropriety."

Complicating the narrative, City Weekly further reveals that Niederhouser's own "business partner lobbied" SB72's Senator Jenkins "for the relocation," even though Niederhauser claims, with a completely straight face, that he hadn't "even thought about how the prison might affect [he and his real estate development partner]." Jenkins, of course just goes right along with  the Senate President (with an equally straight face, we guess) and says that he didn't know "nuttin' from nuttin'" about Niederhuser's property interest prior to drafting his pending bill.

Adding further grist to the discussion mill, at least one other Utah blogger has also latched onto this story, and suggests that it's not just Niederhauser, but also Jenkins himself, who may sit in the conflict of interest hot-seat with respect to this convoluted legislative transaction:

• Bill sponsor and senate president could both profit from prison relocation

We'll be keeping a close on this story as developments continue to play out; but in the meantime we'll ask the sodden question:

"Is there anyone out there in WCF Readerland who's the least bit surprised about this suspiciously odoriferous political scenario?"

Whatever you do, don't let the cat get your tongues.

Greg Bell Local/Federal Investigations: Here Comes the Damage Control - Updated

Sadly for poor old John Swallow however, he's not "feeling any GOP love" at all

In the wake of yesterday's disturbing Standard-Examiner story, revealing that Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell is under investigation by local and federal prosecutors for abusing his executive power concerning a Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS)  child-welfare investigation, here comes the predictable damage control, via the Salt Lake Tribune (of all places):

State senators on Friday were vouching for the honesty and character of Lt. Gov. Greg Bell, a former Senate colleague who now finds himself ensnared in a federal probe after intervening in a child-abuse investigation and pushing for an audit of the case.
"If I were to put it in transportation terms, I believe that Greg Bell is so straight, you could use him as a template to stripe the freeways with," said Sen. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, who succeeded Bell. "I hope there’s no foundation to these allegations."
Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, said Bell was an "outstanding" senator and "was one of the top people as far as doing the right thing."
The senators’ vocal backing of Bell echoes supportive comments Thursday from Gov. Gary Herbert, who called Bell "as honest as the day is long."

Read up, folks:

• Ethics bill emerges in wake of probes of Utah Lt. Gov Bell, Swallow 

Sadly for poor old John Swallow however, he's not "feeling any GOP love" at all:

It also presents a stark contrast to the lack of support received by new Attorney General John Swallow, who is also the target of a federal investigation for his involvement with a Utah businessman, who was under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, and for other campaign fundraising issues.
"We’ve stood shoulder to shoulder with Greg Bell," said Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan. "We don’t have that same relationship with John Swallow."

A cynic (like us) would suggest that Utah GOP insiders are circling the wagons around Lt. Governor Bell, and getting ready to throw Attorney General Swallow under the bus, que no?

And there's more. Lt. Gov. Greg Bell said Friday that he was "merely trying to get to the bottom of "conflicting claims" in a child-abuse case with a performance audit he ordered in 2011," (when he unleashed the intimidatory power of the State Auditor's office in an alleged attempt to derail the subject DCFS investigation):

• Utah Lt. Gov. Bell says he was just seeking truth about DCFS case

And why was the Utah Lieutenant Governor meddling in this single DCFS investigation?

Friday evening, state Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, criticized any comparison of Bell to Attorney General John Swallow — who also is under investigation by the FBI — because "what Greg is accused of doing is trying to help a friend and neighbor."

Suggested new theme song for "friends and neighbors" of Utah GOP elected officials:

• Friends and Neighbors Theme Song

And the beat goes on...

Update 2/23/13 12:00 p.m:  There's more on this story from the Standard-Examiner.

For the first time, Bell's purported "retaliation" against DCFS is explicitly mentioned:

• Bell defends his intervention in DCFS investigation

And the Standard provides more on the above-mentioned GOP legislative faction's "Greg Bell Love-fest":

• Legislators rush to Bell’s defense

Something's definitely rotten in the State of Denmark, wethinks.

More Bad News For Utah Attorney General Swallow

Scathing Utah Herald Editorial; Harry Reid denies Jeremy Johnson allegations; U.S. Attorney’s Office is playing it "coy" about possible Swallow prosecution

Strong editorial in yesterday's Provo Herald, following up on yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune stories, and urging newly-elected GOP Attorney General John Swallow to resign:

• New A.G. Swallow should step down

The Herald is pulling no punches on this. Frankly we don't recall such a scathing rebuke of any elected Utah official from any Utah newspaper within memory:

Newly elected Utah Attorney General John Swallow is entangled in a corrupt tale of influence peddling and potential bribery that should alarm every Utahn...

The allegations against Swallow have sufficient legs, even now before every detail has been uncovered, to justify his immediate resignation. His reputation is now seriously tainted, and that is an impossible thing to overcome for an attorney general...

Please spare us the pain, Mr. Swallow, and get out now. You can't be trusted....

The Salt Lake Tribune deserves the highest praise for revealing sleaze to the people of Utah. It has done credit to itself as a watchdog of government, and the people of this state should be grateful.

Unjustly accused, LOL?

Whew;  you get the drift, we hope. It'd be nice, wouldn't it, if the Provo Herald editorial board would crawl outta their shell and let us know how they really feel about Utah A.G. Swallow, no?

And the Salt Lake Tribune this morning adds more "grist" to the discussion "mill."  Seems Senator Harry Reid don't know nuttin' from nuttin' about any influence peddling/bribery scheme.  "These unsubstantiated allegations implying Senator Reid’s involvement are nothing more than innuendo and simply not true," sez Kristen Orthman, Reid's spokeswoman.

Fascinating subplot playing out in this story too.  Although the U.S. Attorney’s Office is playing it "coy" about whether it is investigating or intending to prosecute Utah A.G. Swallow, it's emphatic in its denial that there has ever been any agreement not to prosecute. "It has been reported that federal prosecutors informally agreed not to prosecute John Swallow. This assertion is completely untrue," sez Eric Holder's office, according to this morning's Trib story (thereby leaving the door open for "guess what?")

Gets interestinger and interestinger, dunnit?

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah A.G. Up to His Eyeballs in Possible Bribery Scheme

Pull up your Barca-loungers and pop up a batch or two of Orville Redenbachers, folks, as we predict this developing story is gonna be lots of fun

Bad news for newly sworn-in Utah Attorney General John Swallow, who stands accused by "[e]mbattled St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson" of  "help[ing] broker a deal in 2010 in which Johnson believed he was to pay Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid $600,000 to make a federal investigation into Johnson’s company 'go away.'  But when the federal government filed a lawsuit Johnson thought he had paid to quash, he demanded Swallow return some of the $250,000 initial payment. Then, just days before the Nov. 6 election, Johnson engaged in a frenetic but unsuccessful effort to get Swallow to drop out of the race, saying information about what Johnson called a "bribe" would come out and force the Republican’s resignation if he became attorney general."

• Indicted businessman: Utah A.G. tied to alleged scheme

Swallow "emphatically denies Johnson’s allegations," of course, and sez  "he doesn’t understand why Johnson is spreading lies about him." "Any suggestion by Mr. Johnson that I have been involved in illegal or inappropriate activity regarding his FTC case or any other matter is false and defamatory," Swallow said.

Needless to say, Swallow's party-partisan political opponents smell blood in the water...

• Democrats want an investigation of Utah A. G. John Swallow

And in a totallly fascinating twist of fate, the Trib has begun playing the part of the civil prosecutor, "freezing Swallow's testimony," pursuant to series of pointed informal psuedo-interrogatories:

• Q&A: Utah A.G. John Swallow responds to Johnson's allegations

Pull up your Barca-loungers and pop up a batch or two of Orville Redenbachers, folks, as we predict this developing story is gonna be lots of fun in the weeks to come. 

Salt Lake Tribune: Affair Leads to Less Power for Brigham City Mayor - Updated

Heck, he's still drawing a city paycheck; and that's all that's important, right? 

More blowback in Brigham City, Utah government this morning, as the Brigham City townsfolk roundly rebuke their philandering Mayor Dennis Fife, and his city council colleagues vote to "strip him" of "of his powers to hire, fire, supervise and discipline city officers and employees":

• Affair leads to less power for Brigham City mayor

Nary a good word was spoken of the politically out-of-touch mayor at last night's council bitch session; yet the tone-deaf little feller remains stubbornly resolved to "hang in there," if only as a mere figurehead, we guess.

Heck, he's still drawing a city paycheck; and that's all that's important, right?

Update 12/22/12 9:00 a.m.:  The Standard's all over the story this morning, too:

• Brigham mayor won't resign despite council stripping his powers

Standard-Examiner: Response to Brigham City Mayor's Affair: Bill for Recall Election

Sadly, we'll not be holding our breath

Intriguing story from yesterday's Standard-Examiner, reporting that "State Rep. Lee Perry is preparing a bill for January’s legislative session to create a recall election law in response to concerns expressed by Brigham City residents about the lack of a way to remove [the philandering] Mayor Dennis Fife  from office":

• Response to Brigham City mayor's affair: Bill for recall election

Here's the fundamental question, wethinks.  Does the GOP-dominated Utah Legislature have the guts to set up even a narrow legal process to oust creepy sickos like Fife from their duly-elected political offices?

Sadly, we'll not be holding our breath.

And what say you, O Gentle Ones?

Residents Respond to Brigham City Mayor’s Adultery

Stick a fork in the deluded little dude; he's done

You are a disgrace, sir. And your chief of police is too.

Brigham City resident Ron Aldridge
Residents say Brigham City Mayor’s affair creates ‘a wedge’
December 7, 2012

...I am concerned that we have people in this city of ours that you were involved in them being released from their positions. And now you have done the same. And you stand there and say you will retain your position.

Brigham City resident Flora Reiter
Residents respond to Brigham City mayor’s adultery
December 6, 2012

As a followup to this week's earlier stories, we incorporate this morning's lead paragraphs from the Salt Lake Tribune: 

City Hall was packed in this small northern Utah city as residents hoped to weigh in on whether Mayor Dennis Fife should remain in office or resign.

Earlier this week, the 67-year-old mayor, husband, father and grandfather wrote a letter of confession to constituents, explaining he had had an affair with a woman he once counseled as a Mormon bishop.

GULP... Major screw-up!

Both the Trib and the Standard offer a taste of the flavor of future Brigham City council sessions, as the philandering Mayor Dennis Fife digs in his heels and stubbornly refuses to tender his resignation:

• Residents respond to Brigham City mayor’s adultery
• Residents say Brigham City Mayor’s affair creates ‘a wedge’

Seriously.  What did Mayor Fife expect? A standing ovation?

Stick a fork in the deluded little dude; he's done.

Breaking: Brigham City Mayor Admits to Extramarital Affair - Updated

Mayor Fife hopes to remain in office despite questions over his ability to lead

According to morning stories in the Standard-Examiner and Tribune, a reckless $100,000  excess of government largess isn't the only problem facing Brigham City, Utah government officials these days, as both Northern Utah newspapers reveal yet another whopping lapse of judgment on the part of of Brigham City's Mayor Dennis Fife:

• Brigham City mayor admits to extramarital affair
• Brigham City mayor discloses affair in letter to residents

While Utah does not appear to be among the states which criminalize clergy sexual relations with adult congregants, nevertheless as a Ward Bishop, Fife not only admittedly occupied a position of ecclesiastical authority over his erstwhile paramour, but was also was cloaked with an additional special fiduciary role as her spiritual counselor.  It would thus follow that  Fife was probably bound by a similar fundamental ethical responsibility to this woman in his care as therapists generally owe to their current or former clients, notwithstanding the lack of specific Utah penal sanctions.

As a result, his ethics and fitness for office naturally come into question.

Fife is now exerting extreme effort toward damage control; and we'll be closely following this story to find out whether it'll sell with his ultra-conservative constituents (and government colleagues) of Brigham City.

So whaddaya think, folks, will Fife succeed in sweeping his admitted adultery under the rug?

Update 12/5/12 8:00 a.m.:  Looks like we can add hypocrisy to the fast-growing list of "endearing" traits of the wonderful Mayor Fife :

• Officer fired for alleged affair files lawsuit against Brigham City

Don't forget, folks. This A-1 screw-up Fife is Matthew Godfrey's chief cheerleader in Brigham City government.

Standard-Examiner: North Ogden Hires Godfrey’s Firm for New Economic Development Plan

Conflict of interest? You be the judge

Just as gentle reader Smaatguy earlier predicted here at Weber County Forum, the Standard-Examiner reports this morning that North Ogden City has hired Boss Godfrey's whiz-bang, private economic development consulting firm, Better Cities, to "help vitalize the commercial district in North Ogden" at a cost to the North Ogden taxpayers of $38,000 over the next year:

• North Ogden hires Godfrey’s firm for new economic development plan

“I told them I would play Santa Claus and to give me their wish list, and we would see what we could do,” Godfrey said, possibly confusing the issue of who's truly acting the part of the real Santa Claus in this new scenario.

Earlier this month, the Standard revealed (and we reported), that Better Cities had reached a similar agreement with North Ogden's neighbor to the north, Box Elder County, once again provoking the ethical question which we raised in our 8//12 article update, "Under what circumstances, if any, would Godfrey's representation of multiple municipalities (or local government entities) along the Wasatch Front constitute a conflict of interest?"

 Conflict of  interest? You be the judge.

So what about it O Gentle Ones?  Is there an aspiring business ethics expert in the house?

Standard-Examiner Editorial: Our View: Unethical Enablers

Bravo, Doug Gibson and the S-E Editorial Board.

The truth has always been that the dominant political force in our state does not want real ethics reform. They have crafted "baby-steps" ethics laws that allow them loopholes to freeload food and gifts and also retain their ability to gobble up all the campaign cash they can beg for and maintain elite relationships with lobbyists.

Standard-Examiner Editorial
Our View: Unethical Enablers
August 3, 2012

Voters, please remember when you go to the polls, which of your legislators support real ethics and which legislators are enablers of the current imperfect system.

Standard-Examiner Editorial
Our View: Unethical Enablers
August 3, 2012

Top notch editorial in this morning's Standard-Examiner, saying everything that needs to be said, in the wake of this week's Utah Supreme Court decision in the UEG legislative ethics reform initiative matter, about the current state of Utah legislative ethics:

• Our View: Unethical Enablers

Bravo, Doug Gibson and the S-E Editorial Board.

Paul Rolly: Legislators Flip-flop on Their Own Intent

Feast your eyes on the desperation of  the ethically corrupt GOP dominated Utah legislature, folks

As a followup to yesterday's UEG Citizens Ethics Initiative Petition update, we'll now highlight Friday's Paul Rolly story, which proves that our lumpencitizen unfriendly Utah state legislature continues to play all the mendacious angles to prevent the 100,000+ citizens of Utah who signed the petition from ever seeing this landmark legislative ethics reform measure appear on the Utah ballots.  Rolly reports that legislative leaders want lawmakers to weigh in on the suit at the Utah Supeme Court level with an amicus curiae brief, clarifying that it was the Legislature’s intent to impose an April 15 petiton deadline, which would technically operate to disqualify the initiative measure from the November 2012 ballot, contrary to Judge Shaugnnessy's earlier 3d District Court ruling:

• Rolly: Legislators flip-flop on their own intent 

Feast your eyes on the desperation of  the GOP dominated legislature, folks, as "legislative leadership" (so-called) pulls out all the stops to thwart the apparent public will to impose robust and and pervasive ethics reform upon our ethically-corrupt Utah legislature.

Kinda makes you proud, dunnit, O My Utah GOP Friends?

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

Utahns for Ethical Government News Update: Our Appeal to the Utah Supreme Court

First, a big and heartfelt thanks to all those who responded to our request for financial help... And now it's on to the Utah Supreme Court

By: Utahns for Ethical Government

Dear Supporters,

First, a big and heartfelt thanks to all those who responded to our request for financial help. Thanks to you, we actually exceeded our $15,000 goal and can proceed to fully pay for our survey as well as pay our current and upcoming court filing fees and minimal operational costs, as we prepare our appeal to the Utah Supreme Court. Your response was heart warming and very much appreciated.

Second, you may have read an account in the newspaper of the final lower court ruling by Judge Todd Shaughnessy of Utah's Third District Court. We mentioned in our earlier communication that the Judge ruled a few weeks ago that UEG had one year in which to gather signatures ( :-), while at the same time ruling that e-signatures could not be used for our initiative (:-(. A surprising third ruling was issued after a subsequent hearing before the Judge on certain facts remaining in dispute. The ruling states that the count of eligible signatures must be based on the number of votes cast for President of the U.S. in 2008 rather than on the number of votes cast for Governor in that election. This is a significant difference because several thousand more people vote for President than for Governor. The judge's decision was based on a 2011 Utah law that stiffened the requirements long after our actual signature gathering effort had been completed. We believe that we collected enough signatures under the old requirement but not enough if we are bound by the new requirement.

We were surprised and dismayed to discover that all of us could work so hard to gather signatures believing that one standard existed, and then learn after we have completed our work that the standard was changing! We, of course, think that applying the 2011 law is fundamentally unfair, but it has a basis in law that we will be challenging on appeal as inapplicable in our case.

The Utah Supreme Court decision will be very interesting and important to all Utahns. We are finalizing our appeal at this moment, requesting an expedited decision because of the time pressure as the election approaches.

We will continue to keep you posted.

Yours in solidarity,

Kim Burningham, Chair
Utahns for Ethical Government

Dixie Huefner, Chair
UEG Communications Committee

Utahns for Ethics Reform Update

UEG hearing date established; National study gives Utah low ethics grades

By: Kim Burningham, UEG Chair
Dixie Huefner, UEG Communications Chair

Court hearing scheduled for April 27th. We thought that you would want to know that Utahns for Ethical Government's (UEG's) court case has once again been reassigned to another 3rd district court judge--from Ryan Harris to Todd Shaughnessy. We do not know why the reassignment was made, but we now have an April 27th hearing date with Judge Shaughnessy. We hope that we will have his ruling not too long after the hearing, and, of course, we hope that our citizens ethics initiative will be on the 2012 ballot. We will keep you posted.

National study gives low grades to Utah ethics laws and practices. In the meantime, the Center for Public Integrity has issued its 2012 report on integrity standards and enforcement of those standards by the 50 states. The report is based on information collected in 2011 and reflects relevant laws as well as practices to enforce those laws. Utah's overall grade, along with 17 other states, was a D. Eight states received Fs. Nineteen states got Cs, and 5 states received Bs. No state received an A. To be in the bottom half of the states is not something of which to be proud. On ethics issues of major concern to UEG, Utah's scores were dismal. (On other issues like "internal auditing" and "procurement," Utah's grades were higher--A and B+, respectively.) For more information, you can visit the Center's website.

Among Utah's worst subscores were the following areas of special interest to UEG:

• Political Financing - F
• Legislative Accountability - F
• Lobbying Disclosure - D
• Public Access to Information - D+
• Ethics Enforcement Agencies - F

You can see that, in spite of various bills passed by the 2010 Legislature, which the legislative leadership asserted took care of their ethics problems, the Center for Public Integrity concluded that Utah's ethical standards and practices remained extremely poor. We agree and hope that UEG and the public will be able to do something about this appalling record.

Added Bonus: Gentle Reader Ozboy has transmitted to us the below-linked speech transcript, in pdf format, submitted with the introductory comment, "I thought you and your WCF readers might be interested in this speech by David Irvine, the ethics in Utah major drum beater, given to the league of old broad voters in Salt Lake the other day."

Mr. Irvine also happens to be UEG's "silver-tongued" lead attorney, the lawyer who'll be arguing UEG's case before Judge Shaughnessy on April 27, btw. Check out Mr. Irvine's most recent public statement, which addresses the pending lawsuit, and eloquently describes the pathological ethical morass which continues to infect our Utah body politic even unto this very day:

• Ethical Reform and the Capital Crossroads of Money, Power, Ambition and Opportunity

That's it for now, O Gentle Ones. We'll definitely keep you posted as this case progresses.

Godfrey and Reid Cash in With a Brand-new Business

Godfrey and Reid line up to "make hay"

Hey folks! Do you reside in a Utah community with a slightly embarrassing downtown retail area? Are you a small-town city official who's concerned that,"you know what we mean," that your town features some things definitely VERY embarrassing vistas, like a boring Main Street "style retail area" like this?

• Prairie Town

Thanks to a solid tip from yet another sharp-eyed and alert WCF reader, we're now in possession of some truly dynamite-like info about which we're just "champin' at the bit" to reveal...

Okay, here it is. Here's a link to Matthew Godfrey's new Miracle Business Consultation Website, wherein Ogden's little Ogden City Mayoral "shite" tries to cash in on his "lessons learned," whilst having screwed over the citizens of Ogden City for twelve friggin' years:

• Godfrey's American Municipal Consultants

And here's the added bonus if you sign up for Godfrey's "miracle" consultation site:

As night ineluctably follows the day, it seems Godfrey's old pal and mentor, the well-connected and politically powerful Senator Stuart Reid, is officially on Godfrey's payroll, according to Godfrey's website, apparently meaning that Godfrey's saying that "you can get anything you want," including a bought-and-paid-for Utah State Senator like Reid, at Matthew Godfrey's new "political consulting company."

Saturday Morning Weber County Forum News Roundup

Several items in the Northern Utah print media news item morning queue, just to keep the local political news discussion going here at Weber County Forum

1) As a followup to last week's Ogden Redevelopment Agency Board Work Session, wherein the RDA Board discussed "a proposed purchase contract and development agreement for The Four Foods Group, LLC, in connection with the opening of a new Kneaders Bakery And Café at 1951 Washington Blvd.," The Standard reports on the outcome of this week's RDA Board seession, wherein the Ogden RDA applied the finishing touches, and "approved a property sale and development agreement with The Four Foods Group LLC, which will bring a Kneaders Bakery & Café to Ogden as part of the river project":

• Kneaders Bakery coming to Ogden

We'll chalk this up as a feather in the cap of new Ogden mayor Mike Caldwell, and as additional circumstantial proof that Ogden voters who wisely rejected mayoral candidate Brandon Stephenson's 2011 mayoral bid, didn't need an Godfreyite Ogden City Council retread to maintain the Ogden River Project's "momentum" after all.

2) Fine editorial from the Standard, duly noting that the commencement of "another legislative session in Utah brings another needed call for better ethics."

"Utah legislators have made tiny, baby steps toward ethics reform within the past couple of years, but they still fall short," the editorial board aptly observes.

• OUR VIEW: Strange 'ethics' for Utah pols

The Standard editorial reels off a short list of Utah Legislators' documented ethical misdeeds, including Rep. Jack Draxler's spending of "$500 of campaign cash for a condominium in Salt Lake City," and former Utah House Speaker Greg Curtis's slimy diversion of "more than $31,000 of his leftover campaign cash to other legislators."

While we're pretty much in agreement with the overall message of this morning's editorial, we will make one slight exception: We do believe that it's probably perfectly ethical for a political candidate who's loaned personal dough to his own campaign to reimburse himself from his campaign fund, once later donations have rolled in, so long as his disclosure forms properly disclose that that such personal monies are clearly designated as "loans" at the outset, and additionally, so long as these reimbursements don't include "accrued interest."

We'll also opine that we probably won't have to endure editorials similar the one linked above, once the UEG Citizens Ethics Reform Initiative is placed on the November 2012 ballot. We have a high degree of confidence that Utah Lumpencitizens possess the common sense and ethical integrity to set Utah campaign ethics rules aright, even though their elected representatives often don't exhibit these noble character traits themselves.

3) The Salt Lake Tribune this morning reveals that the Richard Burwash lookalike, West Valley City Mayor Mike Winder, the serial Utah civil defendant who's running under the GOP banner this year for the Office of Salt Lake City Mayor, continues to play the role of the "political loose cannon," as his county-wide mayoral campaign now sparks an internecine battle within the Salt Lake County Republican Party:

• Winder’s candidacy sparks GOP dispute

Weirdly, Winder is now attacking Salt Lake Republican Party Chair Julie Dole, who had the temerity to write Winder a letter (at Winder's original request) proposing that he keep out of the SL County Mayoral race, so that the reeking stench of his "dirty political laundry" wouldn't taint all the other 2012 GOP races. Winder contends that in doing her (unpaid volunteer) job, and trying to protect the best interests of other Utah GOP candidates, and the Salt Lake County GOP as a whole, she's "violating a party bylaw requiring officers to be neutral until delegates select candidates for office."

We'll continue to keep our eye on this story, O Gentle Ones.

Weird, innit, that a nice-looking young feller like Winder, who appears to be so danged clean-cut and acceptable (by Utah standards) could actually harbor such a warped "me, me, me" mentality and turn out to be such a self-centered and self-delusional "political dork?"

Go figure...

Salt Lake Tribune Editorial: West Valley City Mayor Harmed his City, Deseret News Readers - Updated

Sodden Sunday Reader Query: Is the Deseret News actually not a newspaper, but rather a mere stenography service run by idiot MBAs hired by crazy old cultists?

In the interest of provokoing a little WCF discussion, We'll direct our readers' attention this morning to an eye-opening editorial in yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune, lambasting West Valley City Mayor Mike Winder, for his perhaps ill-considered recent foray into "anonymous" citizen journalism. SLTrib editor Terry Orme's lead paragraphs provide the gist:

Mike Winder, mayor of West Valley City, didn’t like what he read about his city in the Deseret News. So he did something about it.

Winder became Richard Burwash, citizen journalist. Under the Burwash byline, Winder submitted news stories he thought would balance the way West Valley is perceived by that newspaper’s readers. He felt the Deseret News’ coverage was too focused on crime in the city.

The Deseret News took the Burwash copy. After all, it fits into the newspaper’s year-old strategy of using citizen-submitted news stories to replace content once produced by a large, and now much smaller, staff of reporters. Last week, Winder came clean about his alias, admitting it wasn’t the best idea he’s ever had, but defending his motive for improving the image of his city.

So much is troubling about all this that it is hard to know where to begin.

Read the full blistering editorial here:

• Editor column: West Valley City mayor harmed his city, Deseret News readers

In a curt comment beneath the editorial, one SLTrib reader offers this:

The Deseret News is not a newspaper. It is a stenography service run by idiot MBAs hired by crazy old cultists.

This jagged remark is of course a reference to last year's Deseret News staff "housecleaning," wherein Deseret News CEO and president Clark Gilbert decimated the DNews professional staff, "reduced the DNews' print work force by 57 full-time and 28 part-time employees, which reflects just over 43 percent of [their] work force," abandoned all recognized standards of professional journalism and adopted a bone-headed "strategy of using citizen-submitted news stories to replace content once produced by a large, and now much smaller, staff of [professional] reporters."

This isn't the first time the DNews has landed in journalistic hot water as a result of Mr. Gilbert's new cheapskate, "bean-counter driven" business model either. Deseret news readers will of course remember the unfortunate incident back in mid-summer of this year, when the "DNews amateur act" fell for a ludicrous (and what should have been a facially-obvious) "hoax" press release, and published a too-good-to-be-true story "erroneously report(ing) that a Southern Baptist leadership group ha(d) recommended that the Southern Baptist Convention approve gay marriage."

Whether this most recent blunder descends to the level of that earlier world-class foul-up we don't know. What we will ask our readers this morning however is this:

Does this all simply boil down to a "no harm no foul" circumstance as Mayor Winder contends, in that these DNews "puff pieces" were merely a relatively innocent and innocuous (although admittedly clumsy) attempt to to "balance the way West Valley is perceived by that newspaper’s readers?" Or is the SLTrib right in arguing that Mayor Winder's DNews contributions exhibited a reprehensible lack of "honesty, integrity, accountability — and transparency" on Mayor Winder's part?

And aside from generally obvious defects in the the DNews's questionable new cost-slashing business model, is there more that the DNews editors should have done to "pierce the veil" of Winder's bogus "Richard Burwash nom-de-plume" in this circumstance?

Of course we probably ought to at least restate SLTrib reader FUtah2011's original statement in the form of a question: "Is the Deseret News actually not a real newspaper at all, but rather a stenography service run by idiot MBAs hired by crazy old cultists?"

And what other important issues, ethical or otherwise, can our sharp-eyed WCF readers spot in this curious set of facts?

That's it for now, O Gentle Ones.

Who will be the first to toss in their own 2¢?

Update 11/14/11 8:22 a.m.: Here's some additional background material for our WCF readers' consumption, as they consider the queries posed above, gleaned via an impressively broad variety of media sources:

• West Valley mayor admits writing articles using false name
• Utah Mayor Used Alias To Write Upbeat News Stories
• Mayor Used Alias to Promote Town
• Utah Mayor Admits He Used Fake Name To Write News Stories About Himself

Looks like this embarrassing story ain't going away any time soon.

Special thanks to the good professor Dan S. for originally assembling this array of stories on his Facebook wall.

Update 11/14/11 11:40 a.m.: Yesiree, this story's now "goin" viral. Here's the latest from Salt Lake City Weekly:

• Deseret Connect: Whom Can You Trust?

Gotta admit we loved this selected paragraph:

Ironically, as this story is now going viral, Winder has achieved his goal of garnering astonishing publicity for West Valley City, only it's the kind that makes most people cringe.

We're still waitin' around for a few more WCF readers to comment about this highly-embarrasing DNews credibility dilemma, by the way.

Please don't let the cat get yer tongues.