Salt Lake Tribune: Utahns For Ethical Government Lawyers Sue In Federal Court - UPDATED

Godspeed to the UEG lawyers
UPDATED: Temporary restraning order granted; press conference set for 11:00 a.m.

Interesting development on the citizen's initiative petition front, according to this morning's morning's story in the Salt Lake Tribune:

• Suit demands secrecy for ethics petition signers.

In Tuesday's WCF article we assured our readers that Utahns for Ethical Government's (UEG) lawyers were prepared to go to court, although we confess that we had no idea they'd be doing it quite so soon. From this morning's Cathy McKitrick story:

One day shy of the deadline to turn in 95,000 valid voter signatures, attorneys who drafted a pending ethics-reform initiative filed suit in U.S. District Court, challenging the constitutionality of the practice of making petition signatures public.
David Irvine and Alan Smith, two of the key legal minds behind Utahns for Ethical Government, requested a temporary restraining order -- and permanent injunction -- to block the release of signers' names, addresses and, in some cases, their age or birth dates. Current state law allows their release as soon as county clerks have accomplished the task of matching names to registered voters.
"There's a provision in Utah's initiative statute that once you've filed your packets with the county clerk they become a public record," Smith said. "We're challenging the constitutionality of that statute. In effect it chills the First Amendment rights of those who signed the petition."

We'd expected that Utah Republicans who'd signed the petition would experience a certain amount of needling from GOP jack-boots operatives for having deviated from the Party Line. What we hadn't expected was that ethics reform-minded GOP petition signators, in doing so, would be mean-spiritedly accused of having committed the equivalent of an act of political treason:

"We want to protect those who signed our petition from being harassed," Irvine said, noting that some signed just because they thought that people should get to vote on the question.
"The [state] Republican Party has said it will target our folks," Irvine added. "We've had Republicans in Utah County saying 'if you sign you're not fit to run as a Republican.'"

Old-fashioned right wing socialist Brown-shirt Politics, anyone?

Godspeed to the UEG lawyers.

Sign the petition here:

• Utahns for Ethical Government

Please be patient, folks. The UEG website has been up and down this morning, (and over the past day or two as well), due to user overload (which is a positive omen for initiative supporters, wethinks). If you get a page load error the first time around, come back later and try again. Today's the last day for the gathering of signatures by the way, so for those who've dawdled... please be persistent... and don't give up until your electronic signature has been lodged.

Update 4/16/10 6:00 a.m.: The Salt Lake Tribune reports that U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups granted the UEG's request for a temporary restraining order to keep petition signers' names secret:

• Ethics initiative 'close' to making ballot

We also received an email from UEG representative Kim Burningham about thirty minutes ago informing us that despite intermittent crashes of UEG's website throughout the day, "yesterday also brought great 'highs,'" and "that there is far more news--and even more exciting--that will be clear at the 11 a.m. press conference this morning."

We'll keep our ears open, tune into this morning's press conference and report back with any new developments arising in connection with the UEG petition story.

Gotta admit the suspense is killing us.

Stay tuned, WCF readers.

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Supreme Court Ruling Ends Ethics Initiative Bid

"If a grassroots group like ours couldn’t qualify this initiative for a statewide ballot, I don’t think it can be done." - David Irvine, Utahns For Ethical Government attorney

Devastating news for supporters of the UEG citizens ethics reform initiative the morning, as the Salt Lake Tribune reports that the Utah Supreme Court has ruled in favor of corrupt business as usual in Utah government, and aids and abets the state legislature in making a mockery of the provision in the state Constitution that enshrines the right of the people to propose, adopt and repeal laws.  Here's the gist:

The Utah Supreme Court tossed a bid by Utahns For Ethical Government to get their rigorous ethics initiative on the November ballot, apparently dooming the effort for this election cycle.

The Court, in a one-paragraph order issued Tuesday, said that the district court should have granted the request by the Lieutenant Governor’s Office to dismiss the lawsuit.

The high court’s decision ends a protracted battle that began in August 2009, pitting the Utah Legislature against a group of former lawmakers and good-government crusaders who argued that the Utah Legislature lacked the necessary ethical guide rails and oversight.

The order, signed by Chief Justice Matthew Durrant, said a full opinion on the case would come later.

 Check out the full story here:

• Utah Supreme Court ruling ends ethics initiative bid 

"This is a huge disappointment, because the practical effect of the ruling … is that the statewide initiative right written into the [Utah] Constitution has pretty much been erased by statute," said David Irvine, an attorney for Utahns For Ethical Government and former Republican legislator. "We had hundreds of volunteers put thousands of hours into this effort and if a grassroots group like ours couldn’t qualify this initiative for a statewide ballot, I don’t think it can be done."

"It's a bad day for ethics in Utah. But what's new?" - Trib Reader

The floor's open for you post-morten comments, O Gentle Ones.

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

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.)

2013 Legislative Update: Utahns For Ethical Government Needs Your Help Now - Updated

An Urgent Utahns For Ethical Government (UEG) Call to Citizen Action

For the benefit of those Weber County Forum readers who'd like to participate in a little last minute political action as the 2013 Utah legislative regular session draws to a close, we're delighted to incorporate some useful material received yesterday evening from our friends at Utahns For Ethical Government, who've identified some still-pending bills which we'll urge you to either actively support or oppose. In this connection we've taken the liberty of adding  a couple of links to our own WCF article concerning one of these below-mentioned bills, i.e., Senator Stuart Reid's SB 66, which we briefly discussed yesterday.

Roll up your sleeves and gear up for action, O Gentle Ones, inasmuch as the "critters" up on Utah's Capital Hill are sitting on the edges of their seats even now, eagerly awaiting our readers' ever-savvy two cents' worth.

Here's the full  text of the UEG's March 7, 2013 Call to Action, folks, which we now furnish (in slightly edited form) without any further ado:

----o0O0o----

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: 
The Welcome and Unwelcome Bills

The Legislature is in its final 6 days, and a few ethics-related bills deserve your immediate support. Another bill, SB 66, deserves your opposition. Please contact your legislator now; otherwise it will be too late. Each is described below.

Urge Support of House Bill 78 (Republican Kraig Powell's bill) to improve disclosure 

Please ask your House legislator to support HB 78, which reduces the secrecy of legislative bills that are in process of development. HB 78 would require that when a request for legislation is made to the Office of Legislative Research, the legislator's name, the date, and a short title for the bill would be public information even if the content remains protected because it is in process and may change significantly. Such disclosure would provide more openness/transparency to the bill-making process and decrease the odds that citizens will be caught completely off guard by a bill that is introduced without warning in the final days of a legislative session.

Encourage Passage of Senate Bill 86 (Republican John Valentine's Bill for Review of Ethics Complaints) 

 Tell your state senator that you support SB 86, creating an Executive Branch Independent Ethics Commission. It is patterned on the Legislative Branch Independent Ethics Commission, so it is weak and will need amendments in the future, but it's a step in the right direction. It is a reaction to the potential ethical problems that have arisen with both Attorney General Swallow and Lieutenant Governor Bell.

  

Urge Release of House Bills on Campaign Contribution Limits

HB 311, introduced by Brian King (Democrat) and limiting the size of financial contributions to candidates, has been waiting in the House Rules Committee for HB 174, a similar measure by Rep. Kraig Powell (Republican), so that the bills can be merged into a bipartisan bill. Ask the House Rules Committee Chair and members to release these bills now--in time for action before the end of the session.

Ask Your House Member to Oppose SB 66 Tightening Referendum Requirements

SB 66, which tightens county and municipal referendum requirements, deserves your opposition. SB 66 has been passed by the Senate and has been maneuvered to bypass a House Committee hearing altogether, so it will move to the House floor for a vote without the benefit of the Committee debate and public input. We expect the bill to have a 2nd substitute introduced on the House floor that will try to reinstitute some of the worst provisions that were eliminated in the Senate. For instance, the 2nd substitute mandates that the required percentage of signatures be obtained in every geographic precinct (smallest unit of local government).

All versions of the bill make it more difficult for citizens to successfully place a referendum on the ballot to try to overturn a county or local ordinance. The bill requires a fiscal and legal analysis of the anticipated consequences of any referendum, which then can be placed in the voter information pamphlet without any corresponding right of rebuttal from the referendum sponsors. Such a requirement is missing from statewide referendum provisions. Although sponsors can appeal the accuracy of the analysis to the Utah Supreme Court, they must rebut the presumption of accuracy by "clear and convincing evidence"-an extraordinarily high standard for such a lawsuit.

The bill is being supported by the League of Cities and Towns and backed by pro-development groups who do not want to see their favorable land use and zoning changes subjected to challenge by voters.

PLEASE contact your House legislator immediately to convey your opposition to this bill in any of its various forms. All of them undermine the chance that citizens can successfully place a referendum on the ballot in county and municipal elections.

  

If you do not know the name of your own senator and representative, go to the bottom of the Legislature's home page and enter your street address and zip code, and hit Find. Next, you can find the phone numbers, email, and home addresses of your senator and representative by clicking, respectively, on Senate and then Roster and House and then Roster, both on the same home page. 

  

Thank you for being interested in your state government and for considering making your voices heard at this important time.

Kim Burningham, UEG Chair, and Dixie Huefner, UEG Communications Chair

Update 3/8/13 7:49 a.m.:  We've just now received by email, in the form of a 3/7/13 press release, more dire warnings from former Utah Republican National Committeewoman Nancy Lord's Utah lumpencitizen-friendly group, Save GRAMA.org, urging opposition to Senator Reid's Utah referendum-gutting SB 66 (as amended), which document we've now lodged in our WCF Archives:

• SB0066SO1 Is An Affront to the Citizens of Utah

Please read up, folks, and contact your legislators before Utah League of Cities and Towns lapdog Stuart Reid manages to sneak this bill to final passage in the Utah House of Representatives... without even so much as one single word of public comment.

We can' overemphasize the importance of your taking immediate action to Kill this Bill!

Open Letter From Our Friends At Utahns For Ethical Government

COURT RULES: UEG NEEDS YOUR HELP

Last week, Judge Todd Shaughnessy of Utah's Third District Court ruled that UEG had one year in which to gather initiative signatures (a win for us), while also ruling that e-signatures were not valid for initiative purposes (a win for the State). The judge held a status conference with both sides last Friday, and both we and the State will appeal the decision to the Utah Supreme Court within four weeks. This means UEG needs money now and is asking you to give (you can use PAYPAL on our website (Press the "Donate" button in lower right sidebar) or you can send a check to Kim Burningham at the address below). Please keep reading, because we're at an exciting turning point.

Before our appeal can be submitted, the State must give us a complete count of qualified and disqualified signatures and counting procedures used by county clerks in (1) the three Senate Districts where validity of some e-signatures (or some disqualified handwritten signatures) would have enabled qualification, and (2) the other 23 Senate Districts where the State has already indicated unofficially that we had sufficient handwritten signatures. We will be "auditing" the counts, and part of our argument on appeal is likely to be that counting procedures across counties lacked uniformity and therefore denied voters the equal protection of the laws. We are confident of ultimate victory and a place on the November ballot.

Our funds are depleted from our earlier signature drive and minimal operational needs. Our attorneys donate their time at no cost, but we must immediately raise $15,000 for court costs (we believe they won't be extensive) and initial preparation for a late summer and fall campaign, including a survey to assess voter perceptions and clearly identify our message (the bigger ticket item).

If each of the 1,000 supporters who read this memo would give $15, we would have what we need. We know that this is an unlikely rate of return, but please prove us wrong! If only 300 of you would give $50, we'd also make our goal. We leave it up to each of you to do the math, but please do not ignore this request. No Super PACs have asked if they could adopt us - we're strictly grassroots.

Please give as generously as you can. You may pay by using PAYPAL on our website, or mail a check to Kim Burningham at 932 Canyon Crest Drive, Bountiful, UT 84010. Make checks out to Utahns for Ethical Government. Contribute what you can NOW.

As ever, we appreciate your support in time, money, and understanding of the need for legislative ethics reform. This is a critical time to combat inertia and demonstrate citizen support for our efforts. We must prepare our appeal and be ready to move forward when the Supreme Court rules. Your help now will be important to improved ethical safeguards in the future.

Sincerely,

Utahns for Ethical Government

Kim R Burningham, Chair

Executive Committee: Sheryl Allen, Vik Arnold, Rob Ence, Dixie Huefner, David Irvine, Craig Johnson, Tom Sakievich, Alan Smith, Carmen Snow, Karl Snow

The Deseret News Kickstarts a New Discussion About Two Citizens' Initiative Petitions Which Are Well Worthy of Your Attention

Arrange to affix you signatures to the Utahns for Ethical Government and Fair Boundaries Redistricting Initiative Petitions via the contact information listed below:

The Deseret News carries a good editorial this morning, once again touting the Utahns for Ethical Government (UEG) citizen legislative ethics initiative petition drive, which we've been promoting here on Weber County Forum for the past few months. Lois M. Collins's lead paragraphs provide the gist:

It doesn't matter whether the debate is taking place online in the comments accompanying a news story or in a debate at the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics.
When the topic under discussion is an initiative that would reform ethics rules for the Utah Legislature, both sides throw off heat and passion.
The initiative, a 21-page handbook of behavior being put forth by a group called Utahns for Ethical Government — which includes some former lawmakers among its ranks — has opponents saying that it goes too far and pries too deeply into lawmakers' business.
The group, which hopes to gather enough signatures to put the measure to voters in the 2010 election cycle, counters most of the criticisms at Utahethics.org, where you can also read the proposal for yourself. I hope people will do precisely that.

For the benefit of those WCF readers who've not yet signed the petition, here are the the two centrally-situated Ogden locations where you can sign a petition:

Joyce Wilson (Weber County)
979 27th
Ogden, UT
801-941-1613

Ogden-Weber UniServ (Weber County)
939 25th St
Ogden, UT 84401
801-399-3746

During our last discussion of this topic, by the way, several of our readers brought up the subject of the Fair Boundaries Redistricting Initiative, another separate grass-roots-oriented citizen effort designed to set up a fair and independent redistricting commission and eliminate an obvious conflict of interest: elected officials drawing their own gerrymandered voting districts. In that connection we'll take this opportunity to broaden the discussion, and direct our readers to the fairboundaries.org website, where a wealth of information about this second citizen's initiative is available. In addition, the website provides the following contact information of individuals in Weber County who can assist you in arranging to place your signatures on this latter petition:

Elizabeth Barboza, 909-615-2433, ebarboza@aol.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Trent Alvord, 801-394-7697, trentalvord@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Weber State University Wildcats Football, Volunteer Contact: Mark Sage, mark@fairboundaries.org

If there's anyone with our WCF readership, by the way, who has either of the above petitions available for signing, please post your contact information in our lower comments section, or send it to us via our right sidebar email link, so that we can add it to the information we've posted above.

Now that Emerald City election issues are for the most part resolved, it's a good time to focus our attention on other pressing political matters; and in our opinion there now no other matters more worthy of our readers immediate attention than the two citizen's initiative measures listed above.

That's it for now, gentle readers.

Who will be the first to comment?

Two More Possible Roadblocks to the Utah Citizens Initiative Process

The Good News: The Utahns For Ethical Government's (UEG) ethics reform petition is NOW AVAILABLE FOR SIGNATURE ONLINE!

There are couple of more citizens' ballot initiative stories this morning in the northern Utah press which are well worthy of note. From this morning's Salt Lake Tribune:

As ethics-initiative backers scramble to gather enough signatures to place their measure on November's ballot, opponents hope to make it easier for some of those names to disappear.
In a statement last week, Utah's conservative Sutherland Institute labeled the measure put forward by Utahns for Ethical Government "dangerous" and asked lawmakers to streamline the name-removal process for folks who signed but changed their minds.
On Saturday's Red Meat Radio show on 630 AM, Sen. Howard Stephenson said he would file a bill today to do just that.

Read all about it here:

• Ethics initiative battle heats up

And that's not the only SL-Trib story reporting on the efforts of the forces of the status quo to thwart citizen efforts to impose real ethics reform upon our Utah legislature. The Trib also reports on a second proposed measure which could create a potentially serious roadblock to citizen initiative efforts in Utah:

A bill that would remove the time constraints under which the Utah Supreme Court must act when dealing with citizen initiatives and referendums is on its way to the House floor after unanimously clearing the House Judiciary Committee last week.
HB112, sponsored by Rep. Brad Dee, R-Ogden, would allow Utah's high court to set its own timetable when reviewing citizen-led legislation.
"It leaves the initiative process in place," Dee said, "but gives the court the opportunity to deliberate and it does not require, based on any statutorial time limit, that they must make that decision and curtail their deliberations."
Dee says the bill would affirm the Legislature's commitment to separation of powers between the branches of government.
But citizen-led legislation fans see it differently.

Read the full story here:

• Initiative efforts may face obstacle

What's painfully obvious is that opponents of serious, citizen-driven ethics reform in Utah are sweating bullets, and pulling out all the stops in order to prevent the angry lumpencitizens from finally having their way with our out-of-touch legislature. And in that connection, here's a new development that's likely to ratchet up the tension of the powerful and privileged at least a few more notches:

We're pleased to announce this morning that the Utahns For Ethical Government's (UEG) ethics reform petition is NOW AVAILABLE FOR SIGNATURE ONLINE!

• Sign the UEG Ethics Petition electronically right here

You know what to do, gentle readers. If you haven't already signed the petition... do it NOW... and do it online.

(Links to the full complement of active Utah online initiative petitions are also available here, and in our WCF right sidebar, btw.)

Update From Our Good WCF Friends at Utahns for Ethical Government

Get ready in November 2012 to vote in favor of the most significant improvement in Utah ethics/election law EVER!

News is a mite slow again today, so we'll fill up the info gap with an update from our good WCF friends at the completely awesome Utahns for Ethical Government (UEG) website:

• August: End of Summer update

The UEG definitely has the very most top-notch litigation lawyers in Utah, so poor ole Gary Herbert and his crooked neoCON buddy Greg Bell will be definitely screwed, if they continue to try to thwart the "Will of the People."

Get ready in Novenber 2012, people, to vote in favor of the most significant improvement in Utah ethics/election law EVER!

As an added bonus, check out this eye-opening YouTube video:

• Utahns for Ethical Government - The Fight isn't Over

Don't be sleepy schmucks, Utah voters!

Put our sleazy current so-called Utah GOP legislative "leadership's" feet to the fire!

Keep on fighting!

Salt Lake Tribune: ACLU Joins State Ballot Access Case

UEG also plans to file an Amicus brief in support of electronic signatures

For those lumpencitizens still wondering whether the ACLU is relevant in Utah, we find evidence that the Utah ACLU Chapter is indeed alive and well. This morning's Salt Lake Tribune reports on a fascinating legal development which will no doubt affect the ongoing UEG citizen's ethics reform petition drive, which has been a topic of discussion on Weber County Forum over the past six or so months. Here's the lede from this morning's Cathy McKitrick story:

The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah will represent aspiring candidate Farley Anderson as he takes his electronic-signature battle to the state Supreme Court on June 2.
In March, Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell rejected Anderson as an independent candidate for governor because a small portion of his required 1,000 signatures were gathered online.
Anderson initially planned to represent himself, but Attorney Brent Manning of Salt Lake City-based Manning Curtis Bradshaw & Bednar LLC will now argue his case before Utah's high court on behalf of the ACLU.
"I took this case with the ACLU to support and affirm the proposition in this state that access to the ballot should be fair and equal to all -- not just the powerful who are affiliated with political parties," Manning said during a Monday news conference at the ACLU's Salt Lake City office.
Karen McCreary, executive director of Utah's ACLU, said the case raises significant legal issues that impact every Utah voter.Lt. Gov. Bell based his rejection of Anderson's candidacy on a written opinion from the state Attorney General's Office, maintaining that Utah's petition process is solely paper-based.Manning will argue that Bell overstepped his authority.

In the interest of efficiently marshalling their own legal resources, UEG lawyers have so far refrained from filing their own lawsuit to challenge Lt. Governor Bell's stated policy of rejecting electronic citizens' initiative petitions; but it appears now that the pendency of the Anderson matter has forced the UEG's hand:

Utahns for Ethical Government -- backers of a broad ethics initiative aimed at reforming conduct of state lawmakers -- plans to join in by filing a friend of the court brief in support of electronic signatures.[...]
"We will tailor our arguments specifically to the initiative statute," said Alan Smith, an attorney who helped draft UEG's measure.

According to Ms. McKitrick's story, the appellant in this matter will tackle Lt. Governor Bell's position head-on, and will rely upon provisions of Utah's Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, which broadly authorizes the use of electronic transactions as substitutes for paper ones:

In 2000, Utah lawmakers enacted the Electronic Transaction Act to allow electronic signatures to be used for a multitude of government services. Statutory definitions were also amended to allow electronic writings to substitute for those on paper.
"The process we followed with the lieutenant governor was all electronic," Smith said. "The AG's opinion ignores that reality."

We've been standing by eagerly waiting for the legal fur to start flying on this issue; and it appears that the action starts on June 2.

We'll be following developments in this case closely and will report back as this case moves along. But in the meantime forks, we're furnishing a link for those readers who'd like to put their signatures on a hard-copy petition, while the issues surrounding the electronic versions are sorted out in court. Straight from the UEG website, here's a list of locations where you can affix your signature to a paper petition:

Weber County
• Joyce Wilson (Senate District 18) 979 27th Ogden, UT 801-941-1613
• Ogden-Weber UniServ (Senate District 18) 939 25th St Ogden, UT 84401 801-399-3746
• Lou Shurtliff (Senate District 19) 5085 Aztec Dr Ogden, Ut 84403 801-479-028 lmshurtliff@comcast.net
• Dr. Ed Allen’s office 3860 Jackson Ave. Ogden, Utah

Oddly enough, we'll note that this is the first time within memory that we've ever been in agreement with Ed Allen on any significant political issue, by the way. So just for kicks, why not drop by Dr. Allen's office this afternoon to sign a petition... and tell him Rudi sent ya's?

Update 5/25/10 6:12 p.m.: We're delighted to flesh out the above writeup with this UEG press release, received via email a few minutes ago:

• Utahns for Ethical Government Supports ACLU of Utah in Electronic Signature Issue Before Utah Supreme Court

Standard Examiner Editorial: Utah GOP Fails Ethics Test

Don't let the special interests stop this grassroots effort

Fantastic editorial in this morning's Standard-Examiner, published in reaction to the Utah GOP's recent adoption of a resolution opposing the Utahns for Ethical Government (UEG) legislative ethics reform initiative. This strong SE editorial pulls no punches:

The Utah Republican Party is officially opposed to a legislative ethics initiative that will be on the ballot next fall if sponsors can get the required number of signatures.
The irony is that it's quite likely most Utah Republicans support the initiative. Polls tab the initiative at about 85 percent support. Our former Republican state legislator and governor, Olene Walker, is a supporter.
We're not surprised that the Republican leadership in Utah opposes ethics reform. Republican leaders in Utah's Legislature have spent decades creating a legislative ethics cesspool that is simply an embarrassment. Even the most basic ethics standards are ignored in Utah. Advocates for ethical government have attempted each legislative session to implement standards but legislative leaders refuse to entertain serious ethics reform. The best "ethics reform" we get from the Utah Republican-dominated Legislature are feckless, timid proposals that protect the powerful and keep legislators smothered with freebies and campaign cash that they can spread around at will.

The SE editors then reel off the list of ethics reforms which are included in the initiative, and move on with a pitch encouraging voters to sign the initiative petition:

These are not radical proposals. Most states already have them. They are common-sense guidelines for ethical behavior in government. They promote honesty and integrity and keep our legislators accountable to their constituents, rather than lobbyists and others with lots of cash.
The Legislative leadership likes their freebies. It's apparent they'll do everything they can to stop popular ethics reform, including a likely court challenge if we enact it via a popular vote. Utahns need to ask their Republican legislators why their party has a problem with good government. And please, sign the ethics initiative petitions. Don't let the special interests stop this grassroots effort.

(For those readers who haven't yet signed the petition, by the way, petition locations are listed here.)

The editorial finishes off with a reminder. Don't forget, gentle readers, about tomorrow's ethics reform initiative-centered WSU special event:

For those who wish to learn more about the initiative, there will be a debate Monday in Ogden at 11:30 a.m. at Weber State University's Shepherd Union Wildcat Theater. Former Republican legislator Kim Burningham will speak in favor of the ethics initiative, State Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, will speak in opposition to it. The debate, open to all, is sponsored by the Richard Richards Institute for Politics at WSU.

Danged fine editorial, as we said. Frankly, we couldn't have said it better ourselves... although we have been doing our very best.

The floor is open.

Who will be the first to comment?

New Article: Big Anti-HB477 Rally Tomorrow at the Capitol!

We sincerely hope you'll all mark your calenders and plan to attend

Here's an irgent missive we received late this afternoon from our friends at Utahns For Ethical Government. Various anti-HB477 groups will be gathering tomorrow for a noon rally at the State Capitol:

Friends and Supporters,

We urge all of you to attend a RALLY at the CAPITOL tomorrow, Tuesday, March 8th at NOON to oppose the government secrecy embedded in HB 477 (amendments to GRAMA, the Government Records Access and Management Act). A big turnout is needed. (The Tribune announced the rally on p. 1 of today's paper.)

We urge you to send an email message (in your own words) urging the Governor to veto the bill. Go to his comment website at www.utah.gov/governor/contact/

Here is the message we sent:

Dear Governor Herbert:

UEG urges you to veto HB 477, a bill that severely restricts public access to legislative information. For a Legislature that keeps saying that disclosure and transparency are enough to ensure good ethics, HB 477 is the height of hypocrisy.

1) The bill was rushed through in the final days of the Legislature, and it is unlikely that even all legislators know all that's in the bill.
2) The bill reverses the evidence standards and requires members of the public to demonstrate by a preponderance of evidence that the information should be disclosed. Instead, the government should still be required to demonstrate why the information should not be made public.
3) The bill increases the costs of obtaining documents by allowing indirect and administrative costs to be charged to those seeking the documents, further burdening the right to access public information.
4) The bill provides excessive protection to texting and instant messaging even when they contain important legislative information that the public has a right to access.

In short, this bill is a severe restriction on the public's right to know and reduces the concept of freedom of information to a mere shell of its former self. It deserves a quick veto. Utahns for Ethical Government is a nonpartisan coalition of Republicans, Democrats, Independents and unaffiliated voters who are are committed to meaningful legislative ethics reform.

We sincerely hope you'll all mark your calenders and plan to attend:

Be There!!!

WSU Ethics Initiative Debate Report - UPDATED 2X

Your WCF Blogmeister resumes the task of showing up at a public event, taking notes and dutifully reporting

Just got back from the WSU-sponsored debate, where "venerable" State Senator Lyle Hillyard (29 years of service as Cache/Rich County's state senator for life) squared off with Utahns for Ethical Government's (UEG) lawyer Alan Smith in the Shepard Union Wildcat Theater for a vigorous debate on the pending citizens' UEG Legislative Ethics initiative.

(The Debate Moderator, btw: Nolan Karras, who happens to be yet another distinguished Ogden home-boy.)

Just to put it all in perspective, Alan Smith was the lead attorney in drafting the UEG initiative language.

Although the house wasn't exactly packed (I'm guessing there were about fifty folks in attendance), the ratio of state legislators to regular lumpencitizens was fairly high. We counted at least 5 Utah legislators whom we recognised in the audience (including State Senator Greiner) although we do confess there may have been some whom we couldn't pick out of a police lineup, even if we had our spectacles on.

Anyway, in the interest of brevity we''ll avoid posting our copious notes in chronological sequence, and instead distill it all down. Here are a few of the issues which were raised at today's sometimes lively debate, paraphrasing:

1) Gifts to legislators: Senator Hillyard: "WSU Gave me a bottle of water today, which might be interpreted as a "gift" under the initative language."

Alan Smith's response: Nope. A bottle of water from WSU is regarded as "a gift of negligible value under the proposed legislation." Touche.

2) Legislative priorities: Hillyard: Ethics Legislation is a time consuming and "tedious" process, and it should take a back seat to matters such as balancing the budget during these tough economic times. It takes time to craft a perfect legislative ethics bill.

Mr. Smith: If the legislature won't enact serious ethics reform, the lumpencitizens will do so themselves, thus saving time and effort for our legislature for what Senator-For Life Hillyard regards as "the important things."

3) Branding state legislators as "felons." Hillyard: The proposed ethics law would brand a violator like me as a "felon."

Alan Smith: Nonsense. Even if enacted, the new Ethics Commission would only be advisory. The ethics commitee would have NO prosecutorial authority.

There's more to report, including a good mix of questions from startilingly smart WSU students and a couple of WCU instructors.

Please let us know if you'd like to have this fairly sparse story "padded out."

Update 12/1/09 8:10 a.m.: The Standard-Examiner carries a front page story this morning, reporting on yesterday's debate. Read Dan Weist's writeup here:

• Utah debates ethics reform

The Salt Lake Tribune's Kathy McKitrick (a Std-Ex alum) is also all over this story too:

• Ethics debate roils at forum

Update 12/1/09 9:47 a.m.: For the sake of helping out with the UEG initiative petition drive, we'll highlight this reader comment which appears in the comments section beneath the above linked Std-Ex story:

Public Response to Initiative Lukewarm in Weber County
I am one of the Weber County volunteers for Utahns for Ethical Government. There are only a few of us, and at the rate signatures are being collected now, we may fail to get the number needed to get this initiative on the ballot. We need your help. Since there are 20 signature blocks on each petition form, it would be easy to collect that many from your family and friends during when you see them over the holidays. If you would be willing to collect a few signatures, or to volunteer in this effort in some other capacity, please call me at 801-645-3592. -Rick Bolin, Ogden

All this talk of putting the legislature's feet to the fire will amount to nothing but hot air, if the petition fails to garner at least the requisite 97,000+ Utah citizen signatures.

If you're in favor of this initiative, why not give Mr. Mr. Bolin a ring? Like all grass roots efforts, this one depends on the broad participation of ALL the concerned citizenry. Odds are that any one of our WCF readers could gather 20 signatures from friends and family, we believe.

Salt Lake Tribune: Utah Election Reformers Pull back From 2012 Target

Added Bonus: Year end greetings and and a status update from our friends at Utahns for Ethical Government

Late last month we breathlessly linked this Bob Bernick story and reported that "there's now a movement afoot to alter the rules regarding the nomination process in Utah, a movement which would avoid the predictable intransigence of the Utah Legislature altogether, and bring Utah into conformity with other "caucus/primary" nomination states through a more "grass roots" oriented means."

According to this morning's hot-off-the-press Salt Lake Tribune story, our enthusiasm may have been a mite hasty, as the Trib is now reporting that the "push to change Utah’s nominating process... is being put on hold for now, but backers say it could be back in 2014.":

• Utah election reformers pull back from 2012 target

The University of Utah's Kirk Jowers, provides the gist:

Kirk Jowers, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, said his group remains convinced that something needs to be done to boost Utah’s voter participation, and that changing Utah’s unique convention system for nominating candidates could do that.

But looming deadlines and tough standards to get on the ballot make it difficult to get the ballot initiative before voters in the coming election year.

“It seems the most prudent course is to give ourselves enough time to see if the Legislature can take some actions to help our state get back to where it should be” in terms of voter participation, Jowers said. “If not, we’ll obviously keep all options open for 2014.”

As we said in out earlier article on this topic, "We'll be standing by. This one will be fun [and interesting] to watch."

Added Bonus: And speaking of citizen-driven ballot measures, here's a link from our friends at Utahns for Ethical Government, the last grassroots group to successfully engineer a statewide citizen initiative petition drive to place grass-roots oriented legislation on Utah ballots:

• Holiday Wishes and Year-End UEG Update

Gotta add that we're pleased to observe that the folks at UEG and Jowers' Alliance for Good Government organization seem to be cooperatively pulling in tandem.

Breaking: Utah Supreme Court Rules in Favor of E-signatures

We're going to take a wild guess that Lt. Governor Bell and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff will soon be eating crow in the UEG Petition matter

The Deseret News delivers what's likely to be "hot off the press" good news for proponents of theUtahns for Ethical Government (UEG) Citizen's Initiative Petition, with the following story which reports that the Utah Supreme Court issued a decision this morning declaring "electronic signatures valid for candidate petitions":

• Utah Supreme Court rules in favor of e-signatures

Although this morning's story refers only to "candidate petitions," it's likely that that this decision will also benefit the UEG group's ongoing citizens initiative petition signature gathering effort, inasmuch as the Court has apparently ruled that Utah Lt. Governor Bell "overstepped his bounds as the state's chief election officer," in rejecting Appellant Anderson's "so-called e-signatures" on the basis of Lt. Governor Bell's argument that "Utah's elections operate on a "paper-based system."

Inasmuch as that's the same basic argument Lt. Governor Bell has used in support of his rejection of the 10,000 or so already-submitted UEG ethics reform petitions, we're going to take a wild guess that Lt. Governor Bell and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff will soon be eating crow in the UEG Petition matter, that the Court's decision will be interpreted broadly to include citizens initiative petitions, and that the UEG group will soon be moving forward to bolster it's paper-based signature gathering effort with a renewed online effort to finally gather the requisite 95,000 signatures necessary to place robust ethics reform on the ballot for the 2012 election.

We'll definitely keep you posted on this as the situation develops, but for now we'll speculate that there'll soon be some fine dining in the Utah Government Executive Branch Offices up there on Capitol Hill:

Justice Served... Yum!

So what say our gentle readers about all this?

Update 6/22/10 4:26 p.m.: The Utah Supreme Court now has today's written decision posted to its website. Click the link below to read the raw legalese:

• Anderson v. Lt. Gov. Bell

Although we haven't had the time to fully digest this opinion, after our admittedly superficial first reading, it's obvious that the Utah High Court relied fairly heavily in its decision upon the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, which broadly allows electronic signatures in most "transactions," except in those instances where the legislature has specifically banned such transactions.

Update 6/23/10 9:24 a.m.: The Standard-Examiner carries its own version of this story this morning, which includes encouraging excerpts from an interview with UEG lawyer David Irvine, who indicates that the UEG group will "put that Internet petition option back on [their] website as quickly as [they] logistically can.":

• Group to revive online petition / Utahns for Ethical Government to seek signatures

Significantly, UEG lawyers are optimistic that the Utah High Court's decision is broad enough to support a renewed UEG online drive:

...the state's lawyers' arguments against Anderson's appeal "are the same arguments they have put forward against validating our online initiative signatures," Irvine said. "And the court very clearly found no merit in their reasoning."

When the UEG online petition feature is re-enabled, we assure you that our gentle readers will be the first to know.

Deseret News: Ethics Debate Heating Up Online

UEG petitions await your signatures at two centrally-situated Ogden locations

Interesting and informative Deseret News article this morning, reporting on the latest developments regarding the Utahns for Ethical Government (UEG) citizen legislative ethics initiative petition drive, which we've been hawking here on Weber County Forum for the past few months. Bob Bernick Jr.'s lead paragraphs provide the gist:

Want to know more about the citizen legislative ethics initiative?Utahns for Ethical Government — the initiative sponsors — and legislators who oppose the measure are sparring through online conversations, allegations and responses.
You can read the 25-page petition online at utahethics.org.
At that site you can also read a response from UEG over what it calls "misinformation" that has been "taken out of context" from the petition itself and from seven public hearings held around the state to get residents' input.
Meanwhile, at least two legislators — Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, and Rep. Lorie Fowlke, R-Orem, both attorneys — have written their own legal analysis of the initiative, pointing out what they say are numerous unconstitutional, illegal or otherwise problematic elements in the proposed new law.

This morning's story provides links to two initiative opposition memos, one of which links doesn't work. For the benefit of our gentle readers, here are functioning links to the Hillyard document, and the Fowlkes document respectively. We're sure that those of you with a taste for obtuse legal jargon and chain of of consciousness rambling will find these papers to be much to your liking.

For those of you however who like it short and to the point, we encourage you to read the UEG's 25 issue point and counterpoint brief, as it appears on the UEG webpage page linked above, and which we'll present to our WCF readers in easily-digestible pdf (and printer-ready) form. We believe this document handily covers all the major points.

What's obvious is that initiative opponents are attempting to obfuscate and confuse the issues. As you'll discover from a reading of the above-linked pdf document, it really ain't so complicated as the initiative opponents would lead you to believe.

And for those Emerald City/Weber County residents who've been anxiously waiting to put your signatures on an actual UEG petition, we're delighted to this find further pertinent information. According to information which we've gleaned from the UEG website, petitions await your signatures at the two following centrally-situated Ogden locations:

Joyce Wilson (Weber County)
979 27th
Ogden, UT
801-941-1613

Ogden-Weber UniServ (Weber County)
939 25th St
Ogden, UT 84401
801-399-3746

What are we waiting for, WCF readers?

Let's all put our ethically-challenged legislature's feet to the fire, and make plans to sign the petition this week.

Salt Lake Tribune: Initiative Group Rolls Out Final Push

If ever Utah citizens are to put their legislature's feet to the fire and enact strong Utah legislative ethics reform, the time to do it is RIGHT NOW!

It's been a while since we last provided a writeup on the pending citizens initiative petitions which are circulating through Utah even now, so we'll put the spotlight on this morning's Salt Lake Tribune story, to again return the topic to the Weber County Forum front page:

• Initiative group rolls out final push

From this morning's story:

On the steps of the State Capitol, and underneath a threatening March sky, Utahns for Ethical Government announced its last big push --- a "march to the ballot."
The grassroots group now has less than six weeks to finish gathering the 95,000 signatures needed to place a broad ethics reform initiative on November's ballot.
Strategy includes a revamped Web site, a television ad and Saturday gatherings scheduled at local libraries from noon to 3 p.m. More information can be found online at www.utahethics.org.
"The citizens deserve a real opportunity for real ethics reform," said UEG Chairman Kim Burningham, comparing the Legislature's ethics package -- which lawmakers have rolled out over the past six weeks -- to a "crust" of bread.

The Utah legislative majority of course which has dropped all pretense of standing for robust ethics reform during the current legislative session, continues its unsavory war against the citizens of Utah, and is also "doing its part" to undermine the UEG Citizens' Ethics Reform Initiative:

Initiative proponents now find themselves facing steep opposition from a majority of Utah's lawmakers who have denounced their effort.
Just an hour before UEG's noon announcement, House members approved Sen. Howard Stephenson's SB275 in a 50-24 vote, which makes it easier for petition signers to remove their names [from petitions] after having second thoughts.

With six week left before the petition submission deadline, we agree that it's time to get into gear for that "last big push --- a 'march to the ballot.'"

So once again, here's the link to the now-revamped Utahns For Ethical Government website, where those readers who haven't yet signed the UEG petition can do so in electronic form. And for those cautious readers among us, those who'd still prefer to do it the old fashioned way, you'll find a hard-copy petition locations module in the right column of the same page (and at the bottom of the page), with convenient county-by-county contact links.

And for the benefit of those readers who'd like to take a look at the full array of citizen petitions on the 2010 Utah citizens' "grass roots smorgasbord," check out our handy WCF archive link below:

• Pending Utah Citizens' Initiative Petitions

Time's running short, O Gentle Ones. If ever Utah citizens are to put the legislature's feet to the fire and enact strong Utah legislative ethics reform, the time to do it is RIGHT NOW!

Standard-Examiner: Panic Over Ethics Reform - UPDATED

Our home town newspaper issues a strong citizen call to action

By Curmudgeon

In all the discussion over the Standard-Examiner's less than stellar reporting on the campaign, don't want to lose sight of the fact that the paper ran another good strong editorial yesterday morning on the drive for a citizens' ethics reform initiative:

• OUR VIEW: Panic over ethics reform

From the editorial:

Some Utah legislators are already screaming that the sky will fall if voters decide next year to take matters into their own hands and implement tough legislative ethics reform.
House Majority Leader Kevin Garn, R-Layton, claims that lives and reputations can be ruined if the initiative is passed. He adds that if the initiative is passed, it will be tied up in the courts for years.
That sounds to us more like a threat. Witness the hysteria from state Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, who calls the initiative an attempt to suspend free speech and basic rights.

The editorial provides a link to the referendum proposal by Utahns For Ethical Government and summarizes the proposed ethics reforms. And the SE concludes:

We support these measures.... To sum up the initiative's goals, it only requires that legislators not use their political clout to receive gifts or personal, political and business advantages. In other words, it requires our elected officials to conduct themselves with high ethical standards.... Unfortunately, in the Legislature, these standards have been replaced by a favortism and trading system where privilege trumps common sense.
It was... necessary for Utah citizens to do what the Legislature simply won't do: enact serious ethics reform.
We urge Utahns to sign the initiative petition when they have the opportunity to do so.

The whole editorial --- and the petition --- are worth a serious read.

Update 9/15/09 7:30 a.m.: In response to Curmudgeon's earlier query, the Std-Ex provides a Utahns For Ethical Government press release online this morning, informing its readers that the UFEG will be holding a number of public hearings within the next several weeks, including this one in Ogden:

Tuesday, September 29, 2009--7-9 p.m. (An optional 8th hearing)
Weber County
Mound Fort Middle School, Media Center
1400 Mound Fort Drive
Ogden, UT 84404

We urge all WCF readers to mark their calenders and plan to be in attendance.

ACLU of Utah Files Amicus Brief In Utah Supreme Court Arguing That Ban On Electronic Signatures In the Initiative Process Is Unconstitutional

It's about time that the ACLU got involved in this landmark litigation, wethinks

Encouraging development in the Utahns for Ethical Government citizens initiative case.  

Yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, along with cooperating attorneys David C. Reymann and Chad R. Derum, filed an amicus curiae brief to the Utah Supreme Court in the case of Utahns for Ethical Government v. Clerks for All Counties in the State of Utah. In its brief, the ACLU of Utah argues that a ban on counting electronic signatures in the initiative process violates the Utah Constitution.

“We are heartened by the Utah Supreme Court’s willingness to hear from the ACLU of Utah on this critical issue,” said John Mejia, Legal Director of the ACLU of Utah.

“A ban on electronic signatures in the initiative process is not just a burden for some out-of-state Utahns, but a complete exclusion from participation.“

Click the link below for full details, including links to the ACLU's amicus curiae brief (it's a humdinger):

• ACLU of Utah Files Amicus Brief In Utah Supreme Court Arguing That Ban On Electronic Signatures In the Initiative Process Is Unconstitutional

It's about time that the ACLU got involved in this landmark litigation, wethinks.

BYU Prof: Ethics Reform Initiative About Accountability

Added Bonus: A gentle reminder of Tuesday's upcoming Ogden public hearing

There's an excellent Salt Lake Tribune story this morning on the topic of the proposed ethics reform initiative which would create a code of ethics for the Legislature and a commission to review ethics complaints against lawmakers. Don Meyers's lead paragraphs provide the gist of it:

Provo » In Brad Agle's mind, there's one word that sums up a proposed ethics reform initiative: Accountability.
Agle, a professor at Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management, said the initiative -- which would create a code of ethics for the Legislature and a commission to review ethics complaints against lawmakers -- makes legislators accountable to the public. And, he said, that seems to be upsetting some of them.
"If there's some uproar, it's because people do not want to be accountable," Agle said in a standing-room only hearing on the initiative at the Provo City Public Library on Wednesday night. Utahns for Ethical Government scheduled the hearing for residents of Utah, Wasatch and Summit counties.

Some legislators of course, such as Senator John Valentine, are screaming like banshees at the prospect of being reined in by citizen-driven ethics reform, just as Professor Agle predicts:

But Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, said he saw a different tone to the initiative: Punishment.
"The idea is to punish legislators," Valentine said, his voice showing emotional strain. "As someone who has spent 21 years serving the state, and losing significant income because of it ... I feel like myself and my colleagues are on trial."

It's long time legislators like Valentine, of course, those who've enjoyed years of unrestricted benefits and perqs, who've drawn the citizens' ire. And if they don't like the new ethics reform which will result from this grass-roots citizen effort, we're sure there are many other Utah citizens who'd be gladly fill their legislative seats, happily abide by the highest ethical standards and helpfully assist legislative fat-cats like Valentine find the Utah Capitol Hill exit doors.

And while we're on the topic of this encouraging ethics reform inititative, we'll once again incorporate this Utahns For Ethical Government press release, which informs us of the upcoming UFEG public hearing which will be held in Ogden on Tuesday:

Tuesday, September 29, 2009--7-9 p.m.
Weber County
Mound Fort Middle School, Media Center
1400 Mound Fort Drive
Ogden, UT 84404

Once again we'll reiterate our plea to all WCF readers to mark their calenders and plan to be in attendance at this most important event.