Ogden City Friday News Roundup

Ya gotta admire Mike's raw enthusiasm, don'tcha think?

A coupla Ogden City-related news items worthy of note this morning as we approach the weekend.

1) The boyz over in the Ogden City Business Development Department are whoopin' it up as they breathlessly announce, via their trusty Standard-Examiner mouthpiece, an encouraging new residential development project in Ogden. Here's the the nutsell nitty-gritty via S-E reporter Mitch Shaw:

OGDEN — Work will start this week on a housing development that city officials say will help change the face of the east-central area of downtown Ogden.
The project, dubbed Lincoln Cottages, sits on an undeveloped, vacant 2.5-acre lot at 27th Street and Lincoln Avenue and will feature fourteen 1,200-square-foot homes with three bedrooms and two bathrooms...
The entire project is expected to cost about $1.4 million, with the anticipated selling price for each home around $117,000.

And the beleaguered Ogden City lumpentaxpayers also have something to cheer about, we suppose inasmuch as we learn that not only will this project spruce up a badly dilapidated part of Ogden's Central City, but also that the bulk of project is to be financed on somebody else's dime:

Sponsored by Ogden city, the Utah Non-Profit Housing Corporation and Habitat for Humanity, the city will contribute $225,000 to the project, while UNHC, which owns much of the land and is acquiring more, will cover the balance.

We'll helpfully provide Mr. Shaw's full writeup here:

• Work begins this week on $1.4 million housing project 

And nope. We checked. Neither the project contractor,  Stacey Enterprises itself, nor any of the contractor's key personnel appear on Mayor Mike's 2011 campaign donor "friends" lists. Happily, Mayor Mike seems to have ushered in a whole new (non-crony capitalist style) way of doing business in Ogden, we guess.

2) And as a followup to our earlier Weber County  Forum reporting on Mayor Mike's recent China Junket, we'll embed for your edification and viewing pleasure this informative video story obtained via ABC4 News, wherein our globe-trotting Ogden City mayor devotes almost seven minutes to explaining his trip motives, strategies and hopeful expectations:



Ya gotta admire Mike's raw enthusiasm, don'tcha think?

Ogden Mayor Visits Taiwan to Attract Cycling Suppliers - Updated

I'd like to see more big players in the cycling world call Ogden home," sez Ogden's "Travelin' Mayor Mike"

Interesting article we stumbled upon yesterday on the Ogden City Business Development Department website, revealing that "Mayor Mike" Caldwell is apparently reviving a recent and "cherished" Ogden mayoral tradition, namely, "globetrotting" to distant points all over the planet on the Ogden taxpayer's dime, ostensibly to gather information and rustle up new international business. An identical companion story on the Ogden City "official" website is datelined March 21, 2013 , so evidently we can fairly conclude that our beloved  Mayor Mike is enjoying the gracious hospitality of Taiwan bicycle factory owners and bike manufacturers, together with the the cheerful camaraderie of other fellow Taipei Cycle Show attendees even as we speak:

• Ogden Mayor Visits Taiwan to Attract Cycling Suppliers

"As an avid cyclist and ambassador for Ogden, I'd like to see more big players in the cycling world call Ogden home," said Mayor Mike Caldwell. "I hope my visit here will convince a few more brands to join our already burgeoning bike industry."

There's even talk of "the possibility of developing a 'sister city' [relationship] with Ogden and establishing it as the North American cycling cluster," the OCBD story additionally reports.

Sister City "sister?"

Hopefully upon "Ogden Ambassador" Mayor Mike's imminent return, the beleaguered Ogden lumpentaxpayers will receive a full and proper briefing on the itinerary and projected results of this trip, along with a complete detailed report on exactly how much we paid for it, of course. (So please be sure to save all your receipts, Mike!)

Sadly, looking back at the outcomes of our previous Ogden mayor's numerous interstate and international travel junkets, those ill-executed trips clearly yielded exactly zero positive results, insofar as we can determine. Perhaps however this trip will produce a more favorable payoff, when we factor in  Mayor Mike's demonstrable enthusiasm and "winning" charm, que no?

Here's an added bonus question which we'll throw out for discussion:  

Under what circumstances (if any at all) is it ethically proper, fiscally prudent or even marginally sensible for any city government to deploy a three-man, taxpayer-funded, expense-paid blue ribbon Mayoral Administration Trade Delegation to travel halfway around the world to increase the supply of bicycles in a place like Ogden, Utah?

Please don't feel bad if you're completely stumped by that last question, folks...

Update 3/12/13 6:02 a.m.:  The Standard-Examiner furnishes additional details on the Mayor Mike's globetrotting adventures this morning, starting out with the startling and heretofore unknown headline revelation that Japan has apparently annexed the Republic of China:

• Ogden mayor in Japan Taiwan, pushing city as premier cycling city

Helpful hint for the S-E weekend skeleton crew: Check out this handy Eastern Pacific map:

Geography 101: Republic of China (Taiwan) v Japan

Oops!!!

Update 3/23/13 11:41 a.m.:  OK, the erroneous S-E headline has now been fixed. Fun though, while it lasted.

Tour de Drome Follow-Up

Released documents reveal planning details, future plans, and more mayoral travels.

By Dan Schroeder

Two months ago, as the date for the Tour de Drome bike ride approached, I got curious and submitted a GRAMA request asking the city for all records related to the event. A week later I received a copy of the city’s $5,000 contract with event organizer Cindy Yorgason. But it took several follow-up requests, and another six weeks, before the city finished responding to my request.

The remainder of the city’s response consisted of a thick stack of printed email messages and their attachments. From these, I’ve selected and uploaded a small selection that seem reasonably interesting:

• Press release
• Special event application
• Meeting notes
• Contact list
• Emails

The documents paint a fairly complete picture of how the Tour de Drome event was planned, what kinds of expenses it incurred, and who was involved. They also include a few tidbits about the velodrome project itself, the mayor’s velodrome-related travels, and future fundraising plans.

Most obviously, these documents highlight the depth of Ogden City’s involvement with the Tour de Drome event. It was the city that hired Yorgason. Planning meetings were held in the Municipal Building, and Yorgason regularly reported her activities to CAO John Patterson and several other city staff. In fact, eleven city employees are included on the list of contacts that Yorgason circulated, and several others are named in emails due to their peripheral involvement. The required Special Event Application names Patterson and Events Coordinator Carolyn Brierley, in addition to Yorgason, as the responsible parties. The official press release begins with the words “Ogden City presents...”.

Nevertheless, it is equally clear that most of the money involved with this event was laundered through the Ogden Community Foundation. Although the city handled some of the money, especially during the early planning, OCF was brought in at the beginning of April and invoices for expenses were then redirected to them. This means we’ll probably never know exactly how much was spent on the event, or exactly how much money was raised. But in all likelihood, the total expenses were less than the initial budget of $10,000, while the total revenue was not much over $5000. Whether OCF will absorb the net loss is unclear.

An obvious next question is whether this arrangement with OCF was legal. Or more generally, is it legal for a city to put on a fundraising event for the benefit of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit? I suspect that the answer is no, but higher authorities are unlikely to get involved this time, given that the event actually lost money.

However, this event isn’t the end of the story. The same people are continuing to hold regular meetings, planning for another, bigger velodrome fundraising event in October. Presumably the proceeds from that event will also go to the Ogden Community Foundation.

And finally, it’s always interesting to learn about Mayor Godfrey’s globe-trotting adventures. Yorgason told me on May 1 that she had accompanied Godfrey and Patterson on a recent trip to see the Los Angeles velodrome. But now it appears that the mayor may have since taken a much longer trip, to Switzerland, to visit a velodrome located there. Let’s hope that a real reporter will dig up the details on these trips and tell us how much we’re paying for them.

Standard-Examiner: Boss Godfrey Returns From Secret International "Trade Mission"

Quote of the Day: "Boss Godfrey understands his community and constituents"

This morning's Standard-Examiner reports that the jet-setting Boss Godfrey has now returned from another "foreign trade mission," this time to our neighbor south of the border, Mexico. Unlike last January's China Mission, this trip was all cloak and dagger, and was not pre-publicized, so the Std-Ex fills in all the details after the fact. Read up. This morning's story is in standard Scott Schwebke format, of course, complete with the usual complement of glowing and optimistic quotes, self-congratulatory Godfrey utterances, and the obligatory "pat on the back" by the ever-fawning Godfrey sock-puppet, Councilman Stephenson:

• Mexico trip seen boosting Ogden

And speaking of glowing quotes, we gotta confess we got an especially good chuckle outta this one:

Miguel Rovira, the state's regional director for the Americas for the Governor's Office of Economic Development, helped arrange Godfrey's visit to Mexico. Rovira praised the trade mission."It's extremely creative. The mayor understands his community and constituents," he said Thursday.

So what about it gentle readers? Does Boss Godfrey's latest international foray demonstrate his solidarity with the Ogden lumpenfolke, as Mr. Rovira suggests? Will this week's Mexico trip actually (and miraculously) result in the creation of important Ogden jobs? Does it make sense for the mayor of our little Utah town to be embarking on repeated international "trade missions," just like the "big boys" in the Governor's Office? Or can we simply chalk it all up as another Godfrey pleasure junket, mainly intended to rack up Boss Godfrey frequent flyer miles on the lumpencitzens' dime, and to relieve the poor little feller from the boredom of actually performing his elective job, after a grueling ten years of "service," which at this point may be "wearing on him?"

We dunno, gentle readers.

Perhaps a few of our gentle readers can shed some light on the true meaning of all this.

Standard-Examiner Editorial: Our Mayor In China

As investors, we taxpayers want to hear about all that went on, positive and otherwise

Now that Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey has gone to China in an effort to recruit businesses to Junction City, we look forward to receiving a full, public recap -- by our mayor -- of the trip's goals and what has been accomplished for the city. [...]
The China trip was paid for by taxpayers. As investors, we taxpayers want to hear about all that went on, positive and otherwise.

Standard-Examiner Editorial
OUR VIEW: Our mayor in China
January 19, 2010

We'll start this morning's discussion by casting the spotlight upon a fine editorial in the Standard-Examiner this a.m., aptly calling for a full report on Boss Godfrey's now-concluded China trip:

• OUR VIEW: Our mayor in China

Boss Godfrey's been doing plenty of world traveling lately on the taxpayer's dime, as the editorial board notes; so we'll join with the Standard in demanding a full report. We agree that it's now incumbent upon our mayor to allay our suspicions that this cross-global excursion was a mere pleasure trip. Godfrey has at his disposal the ideal communications platform to fully inform us whether our taxpayer dollars were well-spent, and to be "specific about individuals and businesses that were on his 'city-business agenda' in China." We therefore strongly urge The Little Lord to get crackin'.

Chime in, O Gentle Readers. The World-Wide-Webosphere awaits your ever-savvy comments.

Standard-Examiner: Godfrey Seeks Business In China

Does Boss Godfrey think the Chinese are going to bring high paying jobs to Ogden?

By Biker Babe

Mayor Godfrey is off to China:

• Godfrey seeks business in China

Godfrey: "O, you didn't get the memo? - I left today (Wednesday) to find businesses to come to Ogden. "

Chair Gochner: "I hope his trip is productive" [because all of his others have done nothing but cost us money]... after she read the email that he'd gone to China.

Does Boss Godfrey think the Chinese are going to bring high paying jobs to Ogden? Are these the scratch & dent & lead & cadmium & baby formula poison people he needs to fill up the eminent domain blight in the downtown?

Big question here: Do WE THE CITIZENS OF OGDEN want them? Who told him to go there? Who advised him on this? With folks quitting the Community & Economic Development Department right & left, is the typing staff qualified to offer such advice?

js

Boss Godfrey: "I Don't Want Overhead Wires in My City"

A glimpse into Mayor Godfrey's apparent European streetcar junket epiphany

By Curmudgeon

The Salt Lake Tribune is running a story today about the recent trip UTA ran to Europe for several Utah mayors to learn about street car systems. Ogden's very own Mayor Godfrey appears in the story, with comments that should absolutely not be missed. For example [from the story]:

Bordeaux, France, demonstrated a new technology that uses a third rail that is electrified only as the car passes over it, eliminating the risk of pedestrian electrocutions. Other trains on the tour packed batteries, allowing cities to dispense with overhead wires in places, such as city-center plazas. Those technologies proved persuasive to Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey, who said he doesn't want overhead wires in his city.

The Mayor who pitched the city into some turmoil for several years, touting a gondola to run on wires suspended from stanchions all the way from downtown up to Harrison, then along Harrison to WSU, now announces he "doesn't want overhead wires in his city."

Parody is dead.

Boss Godfrey Returns From Europe: Touts French Wireless Street Cars as "Unique"

Aesthetically acceptable Bordeaux-style street cars might be applicable to Ogden's public transit needs, Godfrey admits

Now that Boss Godfrey has returned from his European Street Car Study Junket, he's started talking about his findings. To our good fortune, reporters from the Standard-Examiner made themselves available to take notes. Here's the gist from this morning's Scott Schwebke/Mitch Shaw story:

OGDEN — Mayor Matthew Godfrey says a whirlwind tour earlier this month of six European cities gave him insight into cutting edge streetcar technology that could benefit Ogden.
The trip from Dec. 9-16 took Godfrey to Vienna, Austria; Munich, Germany; Zurich, Switzerland, and the French cities of Nice, Bordeaux and Paris. [...]
The most unique streetcar system with possible applications for Ogden was found in Bordeaux, Godfrey said.
Instead of overhead lines, the Bordeaux operation is powered by a pedestrian-safe electric supply system buried in the ground, according to American Public Transportation’s Web site at www.apta. com.
The system could be beneficial to Ogden because it would eliminate the need for unsightly overhead lines and the price would likely be no more than 3 percent higher than a conventional streetcar system, said Godfrey.
“I definitely want something wireless and this is the best technology I’ve seen,” Godfrey said.

"Eliminate the need for unsightly overhead lines?" Quite a transformation, we think, for the "visionary" little feller who only last year still "envisioned" this ghastly monstrosity as the most desirable (and visually prominent) feature to be added to the future Emerald City streetscape. That's a step in the right direction... we think. There's nothing like a trip through the old cities of Europe, of course, to provide even a rube from Harrisville, Utah a new appreciation of the inherent value and wisdom of clean aesthetics.

And we can't fail to note that Godfrey concedes that the Bordeaux wireless streetcars are "unique." As every Weber County Forum reader knows, unique is only a click or two down the Godfrey preference scale from "cool and sexy."

Here's a view of the Bordeaux wireless streetcar, by the way:


Last week we posed the question: "Anybody want to make a side bet on whether or not our Emerald City Mayor will return to town [from Europe] raving about street cars?" Not surprisingly, we didn't get any takers willing to wager that Godfrey would fall in love with European streetcar technology.

Given the paucity of info provided in today's story, it's certainly too early to draw any firm conclusions about whether Godfrey's public transit affections have been won over to transportation alternatives designed for grownups. Nevertheless, we'll go out on a limb and tentatively offer this observation: At least at this juncture he's talking about streetcars as a viable public transit option... and no longer raving about gondolas. That's progress, we suppose.

And what say our gentle readers about all this?

Standard-Examiner: Ogden's Mayor to Take European Streetcar Junket

We're keeping our fingers crossed that it's not all about the free hors d'oeuvres

Encouraging front page story in the Standard-Examiner today, announcing that Boss Godfrey, gondola fancier extraordinaire, will be traveling with a Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce-sponsored entourage through Europe in early December. His stated mission: To learn more about street cars. We incorporate below a few key paragraphs from this morning's Scott Schwebke story:

OGDEN — Mayor Matthew Godfrey will visit five European cities next month to inspect streetcar systems as part of a junket funded by the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and other sponsors. The trip, from Dec. 9 to 16, will include stops in Vienna, Austria; Munich, Germany; Zurich, Switzerland; and the French cities of Nice and Bordeaux. [...]
In addition to Godfrey, others invited to participate include Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon, Bountiful Mayor Joe Johnson, Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce President Lane Beattie and several UTA board members.
The Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce is coordinating the trip because it’s interested in exploring viable mass-transit options for a corridor extending from Salt Lake City to Ogden... .
“We are all about finding transit solutions,” (Natalie Gochnor, chief operating officer for the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce) said.
During the trip, participants will inspect technologies not readily available in the United States, such as wireless streetcar systems, that could ultimately be valuable in addressing Ogden’s mass transit needs, Godfrey said.
“It will be very helpful to see it on the ground, as well as talking with companies that manufacture it,” he said.

With at least a half dozen foreign street car manufacturers scrambling for U.S. public transportation dollars, it's likely that Godfrey and his Utah colleagues will be treated to a very good show. And there will be plenty of gracious wining and dining on this whirlwind European tour, we confidently predict.

So... what say our gentle readers about this latest twist in the Ogden public transit story? Is it conceivable that Godfrey will emerge with a new public transportation mindset? Will Europe's high-tech streetcar solutions prove to be cool and sexy enough for the ever-cool and sexy Boss Godfrey? Is it possible that Ogden's mayor could vanquish his gondola obsession once and for all? Will Godfrey be traveling Europe with his eyes, ears and mind wide open; or will he be merely embarking on this trip to hobnob with the Salt Lake City political bigwigs... and to gobble up a week's worth of free European meals and hors d'oeuvres?

We're keeping our fingers crossed it's the former, to say the least.

And what say our gentle readers about all this?

Update 11/22/08 7:59 a.m. MT: The Transit in Utah blog has also posted an article on this topic this morning, asking a quite probative question (and also volunteering a savvy proposed answer):

First off, why does the mayor of Ogden have to travel to Europe to see a streetcar system? I guess a car trip to Portland, Tacoma, Seattle and down to San Francisco would not be exotic enough for him.

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

Gondolas are Still Wonderful Part Three -- Good Ole Boys Disappoint Cortez Gondola Zombies

The final installment of Ace Reporter Schwebke's three-part series is available on the web earlier than normal this morning. Yesterday's Std-Ex technical "glitch" has also apparently been cured. We thus incorporate the lead paragraphs below, hopefully in time for our gentle readers' morning lattes:

While a decision to build an Ogden gondola system remains up in the air, a proposal for an aerial tramway in Cortez, Colo., has failed to get off the ground.

For decades Cortez community leaders kicked around the idea of building a tram system that would take visitors from town to Mesa Verde National Park, which has more than 4,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings.

However, in 2004, the plan was dropped when a feasibility study by Denver-based BBC Research and Consultants showed the $13.5 million tramway would be too expensive to build and maintain.

A Feasibility Study? "Hogwash," sez Boss Godfrey! "We don't need no stinkin' feasibility study! All we gotta do is BELIEVE!!!":

However, Mayor Matthew Godfrey believes a gondola — he says may cost at least $20 million and would run from downtown to Malan’s Basin — is just what Ogden needs to distinguish itself as a top destination for tourism and business.

We know our gentle readers are already champing at the bit to sink their teeth into today's article, so we'll post the relevant link now, without the adornment of further narcissistic editorial sniping. Read the whole sad tale here, about the manner in which the "good ole boys" cruelly crushed the gondolist hopes of one mind-numbed Cortez, Colorado gondola-cultist coven.

As an added bonus, we also link an impromptu companion piece, adding unique non-faith-based perspective to Parts One & Two of reporter Schwebke's article series, from the SGO point of view.

Start Chompin', O ever-gentle readers.

Gondola Wonderfulness Part Two -- A Silver-Bullet for an Idaho Silver-mining Hamlet

After some annoying technical spinning of the wheels this morning (don't ask,) we've finally found a way to locate and link the second article in Ace Reporter Schwebke's gondola promotional series, "Kellogg, Idaho's Gondola -- A Wonderful & Exciting Economic Silver Bullet Which Makes Mind-numbed Emerald City Gondola Zombies Swoon."

Kellogg, Idaho, of course, was one of the stops on Boss Godfrey's Flying Amen Circus Tour last month, and INbedded Ace Reporter Scott Schwebke offers his usual probing reporting and analysis of that little Idaho hamlet's now-fulfilled gondola "vision," in this morning's second series installment.

Reporter Schwebke does his usual bang-up job, and doesn't disappoint in providing his typically-cogent journalistic insight this morning, including this marvellous quote from Gondola Cheerleader Dave Hardman, whose already-hot gondola love affair was ratcheted-up even a few more notches, merely upon casting teary eyes toward the Kellogg gondola, which the voters of that little once-dying Idaho mining town reportedly approved by a tidy 80% majority vote:

Dave Hardman, executive director of the Ogden/Weber Chamber of Commerce and one of those who made the trip, said visiting Kellogg and Telluride gave him insight into how gondolas can drive tourism and provide effective mass transit.

"I gained the idea that gondolas were the catalyst to get people to come to the community and created a transportation system that didn’t disrupt other traffic," he said.

The Kellogg gondola is particularly impressive because it virtually saved the town’s economy when silver-, lead- and zinc-mining operations went belly up, Hardman said.

"Even though the magnitude is much smaller than what is planned for Ogden, the gondola was a catalyst for economic opportunity," he said.

Ace reporter Schwebke's second installment is another milestone achievement in his Standard-Examiner career, we think. Be sure to read Reporter Schwebke's entire story here. It's near-perfect, and certainly destined to win some kind of award in the near future. Perhaps Boss Godfrey will arrange to get him one of those important resume-building awards himself. (Scott Schwebke: "2006 Utah Mother of the Year," maybe?)

Even Ace Reporter Schwebke isn't perfect though; and there is one question we'd like to ask parenthetically:

Are we the only readers who are becoming increasingly annoyed at Mr. Schwebke's constant reference to Chris Peterson as a "Developer?" Shouldn't that label be reserved for people who've actually (and successfully) done at least one development project in the past? (OK... two questions. "Just asking..." you know... rhetorically.)

Have at it, gentle readers. Today's Ace Reporter Schwebke masterpiece has the look of a low & slow pitch, delivered over the outside corner of the plate.

Batter up!

The "Wonderfulness" of Gondolas -- Part One

An Aerial Day-trip with the Amen Chorus

By Rudizink

Our gentle Weber County Forum readers should not complain that Standard-Examiner publisher Lee Carter failed to give us fair and adequate warning. Part One of Scott Schwebke's previously-announced three-part gondola-promotional series makes the front page of the Slavish Boss Godfrey Official Propaganda Organ this morning under the chirpy headline: "Connecting resort towns - Colorado gondola has cut down on traffic, pollution."

Today's story reports on last month's secret fact-finding junket, during which Mr. Schwebke took a long cross-country plane-ride with a cramped cabin-full of rabid and unrepentant Emerald City Godfreyites -- folks like Mel Kemp and Dave Hardman -- for the purpose of getting up close and personal with several actual gondolas, deep within the Idaho and Colorado backwoods.

Ace Reporter Schwebke applies his usual probing style and critical-thinking skill to today's story, of course. And in our incessant effort to be the most useful blogsite in all of northern Utah, we obligingly link Mr. Schwebke's eagerly-awaited Sunday morning masterpiece here.

We pledge to update this article with links to the rest of Mr. Schwebke's articles in this series, just as soon as they become available on the web. We'll also add that we'll be sitting on the edges of our seat with abated breath until next Tuesday, chewing on our fingernails, wondering what went wrong with the gondolist sales-job in Cortez, Colorado.

And who wants to begin this morning's discussion? Who among our gentle readership will chip in their own two cents, prior to departing this morning toward the neighborhood ward-house?

Family Vacation -- Yeah, That's the Ticket!

Mayor Matthew Godfrey’s vision for an Ogden gondola system received a lift during a recent trip to Italy and Austria to meet with the world’s leading manufacturers of aerial tramways. "I learned more than I ever expected," said Godfrey, who returned Tuesday from a weeklong visit to Europe. "We took them our plans. They had huge insight."

Standard-Examiner
Godfrey visits expert tram works
March 16, 2006

City Council Chairman Jesse Garcia said he was unaware of the purpose of Godfrey’s trip to Europe. “I was told it was a family vacation,” he said. “What bothers me is that the gondola is not a done deal.”

Standard-Examiner
Godfrey visits expert tram works
March 16, 2006

Hello, my name is Tommy Flanagan, and I'm a member of Pathological Liars Anonymous. In fact.. I'm the president of the organization! I didn't always lie. No, when I was a kid, I told the truth. But then one day, I got caught stealing money out of my mother's purse. I lied. I told her it was homework -that my teacher told me to do it. And she got fired! Yeah, that's what happened! After that, lying was easy for me... Yeah, that's the ticket!

SNL Transcripts
Pathological Liars Anonymous
1989

OK! Maybe that was a "little over the top." Frankly, though, it's hard to tell truth from fiction in Ogden City government these days. The point is simple, however. Mayor Godfret LOVES secrecy and stealth. He's the Ogden City "secret government man," after all.

He told everyone he was going on a "family vacation." Then he arrives back, triumphantly announcing he was actually cruising Europe with Chris Peterson.

Sheesh!

Ask yourselves why Mayor Godfrey chose to tell a "little white lie" at the outset, about the nature and purpose of his European trip.
Everyone knows he's a gondola-freak. Who could fault him if he'd just told us up front that he was going to Europe to check out gondolas?
But, no...

I don't know about our gentle readers, but I'd feel a hell of a lot better about this if he'd been straight with everybody about this. When somebody lies once, how can they expect anybody to believe a word they say again?

Seems to me there's something "fishy" here (sniff, sniff).

Comments, anyone?

Update 3/17/06 10:59 a.m. MT: The Standard-Examiner has a followup story this morning, in which Mayor Godfrey defends his secret European gondola expedition.

"It’s never been a practice in this form of government to need permission of the other body to conduct business," Godfrey said.

Translation: "I'll do anything I damn well want; and I don't have to inform anybody -- especially the Council, nya-nya-nya; and so there." (Sticks out tongue)

Alas, there's no longer such thing as common courtesy in our Brave New MattGodfreyworld.

Well? What say our gentle readers about this?

Cool and Sexy or Just Plain Lame?

We received an email this afternoon from another of our gentle readers, the full text of which we'll quote here:

I assume you have seen this morning's paper. I had no idea--did you?--that the entire Mayoral Vision is based on the concepts of coolness and sexiness. This for some reason had not come through for me, but we have now been told. Bottom line, the raison d'etre for the Hub is to make Ogden cool and sexy---Godfrey is quoted as saying so.
A cooler and sexier word than "Hub," they obviously cannot imagine.
Well, how're we gonna feel, years down the road, saying, "I'm from Ogden, a cool and sexy town. And we owe it all to [cool and sexy] Matthew Godfrey." [Emphasis added.]
I am sure you will revise your previous opinions of him because of this.

We want to graciously thank another gentle reader for yet another great missive, and once again remind you all that this is truly your blog.

For those of us who've read the dozens of fawning Standard-Examiner articles on the "hub" concept, it should come as no surprise that a self-interested "clique" of people in this town think the appellation, "The Hub" is a really "cool" and "sexy." Matt Godfrey takes all the credit for this creative idea; and he nary utters even a sentence in public or private without pointedly mentioning "The Hub," even in mid-stutter!

Cool & Sexy?

But let's face it. When you look up the words "cool" and "sexy" in your online search engine, Matt Godfrey isn't exactly the first cool and sexy image that comes up, if ya know what we mean (and we think you do): 

Well... here's the link to the article to which our gentle reader refers, which makes reference to a Las Vegas Ski Show which Godfrey recently attended on the Ogden City taxpayers' dime:

• Mayor: This is the place

A word of caution: Some people actually consider this site to be totally cool and sexy, believe it or not!

There are also plenty of other "uncool, unsexy" folks egging poor old Matt Godfrey on, we think, like these guys, for instance.

We wish these "visionaries" would all build their gondolas on their own dime, quit sticking out their "tin cups" in the taxpayers' faces, and leave "cool and sexy" Matt Godfrey to his main elected job -- policing our gang infested neighborhoods and fixing up the friggin' streets, sewers and water infrastructure in Ogden, until he's summarily voted out of office in 2007. Matt Godfrey suffers severe cognitive dissonance, methinks, when anybody calls him "cool"... or "sexy." Sheesh!

And what say our gentle readers? Is Godfrey a cool and sexy local icon, or what? Was he rolling out the c-notes like a kingpin when he went to Las Vegas last month with the "cool & sexy" ski guys? Or is he just a wannabe mo-mo schmuck from Harrisville who merely wanted to stay in his room and call his mama every five minutes?

Godfrey:  Cool and Sexy or Just Totally Lame?

You be the judge.

Don't let the cat get yer tongue...