OGDEN — An Ogden state representative drew criticism after making light of Monday’s Women’s March on the Utah State Capitol in a now-deleted post on his blog.Check out Ms. McKitrick's full writeup, peeps:
Rep. Jeremy Peterson, R-Ogden, called the action, which drew an estimated 6,000 participants on a snowy day to the capitol, “The Potpourri Passion Protest” in a blog post that he later removed.
“I am sure this won’t be the last protest we see at the Capitol before the Legislature finishes its work in March,” Peterson wrote. “Lets (sic) hope the next one features symbols other than crudely named knit-caps.”
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| Vote Out the "Pansy"on the right! |
Here's Ms. McKitrick's full story, peeps:FARR WEST and PERRY — In Utah’s House District 29, Republican incumbent Lee Perry seeks a fourth two-year term, and Democrat Angela Urrea believes it’s time for fresh perspectives on Utah’s Capitol Hill.
“I’m trying to give people an alternative,” Urrea said. “Perry is a nice guy ... but I don’t agree with a lot of his positions.”
Her website, angelaforutah.com, points to a perceived disconnect between state lawmakers and the people they represent as the reason she decided to enter the political fray./blockquote
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Dee Events Center, Marriott-Slaterville City Offices, North Ogden City Hall, Ogden-Weber Tech College Health Tech Building, Ogden Valley Branch Library, Pleasant Valley Library, Roy Municipal Center, Weber Center, West Haven, Utah City HallQUESTIONS?
ROY — Who will become the next Weber County Commissioner? Voters who cast ballots in the June 28 Republican Primary will make that decision, and there are two opportunities this week to get acquainted with Caitlin Gochnour and Jim Harvey, the two candidates vying for the job.Check out yesterday's Cathy McKitrick story for full details:
* Ogden Liberty Forum Roundtable, 10:30 a.m. to noon Wednesday, June 8, at the Southwest Branch of the Weber County Library, 2039 W. 4000 South, Roy.
* Weber County Republican Women Debate, 7 p.m. Thursday, June 9, at the Southwest Branch of the Weber County Library, 2039 W. 4000 South, Roy.
“Records recently released by the Utah Attorney General’s Office clearly show what local activists long suspected — that the mysterious entity Friends of Northern Utah Real Estate, which was used to hide the origin of more than $20,000 in campaign contributions during Ogden’s 2007 municipal election, was operated by Blain Johnson, the local real estate attorney who was elected to the city council in that race.”Dr. Schroeder's entire October 10 statement, including attachments, is viewable here What an eye-opener, no?:
“The statute of limitations has expired, so [no legal charges] can be brought,” Schroeder said Tuesday, Oct. 20. “But it’s nice to have some closure on this. My goal has always been to get the story out there to anyone who is interested.”Bravo, Dan Schroeder!
OGDEN — The issues debated by Ogden’s District 4 council candidates reflected the city’s diverse needs, running the gamut from police pay to backyard chickens, graduation rates, multiculturalism, vacant storefronts, homelessness, and roads and sidewalks in disrepair.Check out Ms. McKitrick's full writeup here:
But candidates Daniel Gladwell and Ben Nadolski did not shy away from any question during the forum hosted Friday by the American Democracy Project at Weber State University.
While Ogden voters received their mail-in ballots last week, they still have a few more opportunities to hear from the candidates running for mayor and two council seats.Don't let the cat get your tongues...
- On Thursday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m., the Ogden Trolley District is hosting a Meet the Candidates town hall forum at 2604 Jefferson Ave.
- On Monday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m., Ogden’s two mayoral candidates — incumbent Mike Caldwell and challenger Sebastian Benitez — will face off in the Garden Room of Weber State University’s Alumni Center, 1235 E. 4100 South.
- On Oct. 28 at 10 a.m. Ogden’s mayoral and council candidates will debate at Ogden High School, 2828 Harrison Blvd.
OGDEN — One Ogden activist refused to take no for an answer in his quest to obtain government records related to political shenanigans that played out in Ogden’s 2007 mayor and city council races.Read the full Cathy McKitrick story. folks:
On Tuesday, Dan Schroeder scored a big win when Utah’s Supreme Court justices ruled in his favor regarding the release of records associated with a fundraising organization called Envision Ogden, former Mayor Matthew Godfrey and two city council hopefuls.
David Reymann, a media law attorney, argued the case, which dealt with Utah’s Government Records Access and Management Act. The defending parties were the Utah Attorney General’s Office and the State Records Committee, which hears GRAMA appeals.
OGDEN — As of Tuesday’s unofficial vote tally, the two top candidates in this city’s At-Large council race — Luis Lopez and John Ogden — were separated by a mere 11 votes.And here's the full Cathy McKitrick writeup:
Lopez, the front-runner, received 926 votes, while Ogden ran close behind with 915. But their initial campaign finance reports revealed that Lopez raised $10,240 in donations and spent $3,620 while Ogden brought in no donations and spent $272 out of pocket.
OGDEN — In a 4-1 vote Tuesday, the Ogden City Council propelled the city forward on a transit path that had been scrutinized for more than a decade.Read the full story, folks:
The selected 5.3-mile route will connect the city’s Intermodal Transit Center at 2350 S. Wall Avenue to Weber State University, the Dee Events Center and McKay Dee Hospital by way of 25th Street and Harrison Boulevard. And Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was chosen over streetcar as the mode of transit, mostly due to cost. While a light-rail streetcar system would run about $220 million, BRT comes in around $60 million.
“There truly was a lot of good information for either mode and route,” said Bill Cook, executive director for the City Council. “But when it came down to it, it’s viewed that this route and mode are affordable and doable.”
Utah Transit Authority Project Manager Hal Johnson held out the possibility that BRT could actually serve as a stepping stone to streetcar some time in the future.Our take, Ogden Streetcar fanciers? Don't hold your breaths for an early revival. Stick a fork into it... if you take our meaning.
“Looking at BRT versus streetcar, there’s a bigger upside with the streetcar,” Johnson said. “But it’s going to be very hard to obtain in the local and federal funding climate that we’re in.” But by moving forward with this project, Johnson said it “sets some stones across the river so we can continue to progress . . . and this can evolve into something different and more as the community changes and evolves as well.”
Ogden Mayor's race starts to take shapeWe gotta hand it to M. Benitez, we'll observe. It takes a lotta guts for an Ogden City employee/contractor/underling to step up and challenge a sitting mayor (his boss) for his job, don'tcha think?
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| Sebasian Benitez, Mayoral Challenger |
OGDEN — A contender has come forward to challenge Mayor Mike Caldwell, a popular incumbent who is seeking a second term this November.Read up, Peeps:
While Caldwell has managed to advance the city with such an even-handed consistency and forward-looking vision that most offer up praise rather than criticism, this political newcomer said he can offer a whole new perspective.
Sebastian Benitez, a 52-year-old immigrant from Paraguay who speaks five languages and owns his own business, said he respects and admires Caldwell but after significant prayer felt compelled to join the race.
“I want to give Ogden residents a different option,” Benitez said Monday evening.
Reached Tuesday by phone, Caldwell said he welcomes the competition. “I look forward to the dialogue and debate. Its always healthier when you have a free exchange of ideas,” Caldwell said, adding that he “celebrates anyone who is willing to engage in the public process.”Even though he's playing the Mormon card, Mr. Benitez has his work cut out for him, wethinks.
OGDEN — Four northern Utah counties are paying members of the American Lands Council (ALC), a nonprofit formed in 2012 to help western states regain control of federally owned lands within their borders.Here's full story, WCF readers. We invite you to read up:
So far, 21 of Utah’s 29 counties have joined the organization — including Box Elder, Cache, Morgan and Weber, counties that each subscribe at the “silver level” of $5,000 per year.
Now the ALC and its president — Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan — have come under fire for allegedly engaging in a scheme to defraud local governments of taxpayer dollars.
On Monday, the Washington D.C.-based Campaign for Accountability filed a complaint with Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, calling Ivory’s claims “spurious” that contributions to ALC would result in federal lands getting transferred back to the states.
“We live in a state where nearly three-fourths of the land is federal land, and that has a huge impact on all of us — our schoolchildren, our families, our recreation, our economic development — all of those things are critical to us,” Weber County Commission Chairman Kerry Gibson said of the dilemma states west of the so-called “fault line” face because so much of their ground produces no property tax.Significantly, Commissioner Gibson twice refers to the federal government's "reneg[ing] on its promise," and failure to " fulfill the commitment that they made through the enabling act and through the Constitution to return those lands to state ownership,”
The ALC website, http://www.americanlandscouncil.org/whats_happening_in_my_state, displays a map of the United States showing the dividing line between eastern states that have very little federally owned land and those in the west that are drenched in red (signifying federal ownership) — Nevada being the biggest loser, with Utah ranking a close second.
By joining with other counties, Gibson said the western problem is finally beginning to gain some traction.
“This is an issue that’s discussed at every single National Association of Counties meeting we attend,” Gibson said.
That separation of east and west shows where the federal government reneged on its promise, Gibson believes.
“They [the federal government] stopped in the 1970s ... and did not fulfill the commitment that they made through the enabling act and through the Constitution to return those lands to state ownership,” Gibson said. (Emphasis added.]
Anne Weismann, executive director of Campaign for Accountability, said her nonprofit opened its doors about a month ago as a watchdog organization that uses research, litigation and aggressive communications “to expose misconduct and malfeasance in public life and hold those who act at the expense of the public good accountable for their actions.”Our take? Even with the best of intentions, Commissioner Gibson and his gullible Commission colleagues have bought Rep. Ivory's flim-flam "hook, line and sinker."
Weismann had harsh words for Ivory, likening his marketing tactics to trying to sell people the Brooklyn Bridge.
“He’s been going around to the western states selling the idea that if you give money to his organization, states can pass laws to restore federal lands to states,” Weismann said of the land transfers she and others believe would be unconstitutional.
OGDEN — In odd-numbered years, residents get the chance to either run for municipal office or cast votes to determine who will occupy some of their city council seats.Check out the full story, Weber County Forum readers:
And in two Utah cities — Salt Lake City and Ogden — mayors come up for re-election this year as well. In January, Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell announced that he would seek a second term... With municipal primaries scheduled for Aug. 11, Top of Utah municipal candidates have from Monday, June 1 to the following Monday, June 8 to file for office with their respective cities.
“I think 12 years is as long as somebody should serve in that position,” Wicks told the Standard-Examiner. “I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot, and that maybe it’s time for some new blood. We don’t have term limits but I’m going to impose those on myself.”Ward 4's Councilwoman Caitlin Gochnour will not be running again either:
During those dozen years, Wicks said that several pieces came together to improve economic opportunities in Ogden, make it safer and expand amenities that draw people in and enhance quality of life in the city.
“I’ve enjoyed serving Ogden, and getting to know a lot of great people who are doing great things for the community,” Wicks said.
One task Wicks views as a loose thread is the inability to search minutes on the city’s website.
“I’ve been bringing that up for a couple of years now, and have been told it’s part of the website revamp,” Wicks said.
But in her book, that’s not acceptable.
“I hope that whoever fills my shoes will work in the spirit of transparency and inclusion of all members in the community,” Wicks said.
Caitlin Gochnour, who is finishing her second term representing Ogden’s Ward 4, told the Standard-Examiner Thursday that she would not run for re-election.Ward 2's Councilman Richard Hyer will be looking for a second term:
“It was a really hard decision, and it will be difficult to step away from so many projects that I care so much about,” Gochnour said. “But I personally believe in term limits, self-imposed in my case.”
Gochnour said she now has a heightened appreciation for the democratic process: “It’s an opportunity for regular citizens like me to participate.”
Ogden City Council Chairman Richard Hyer said Thursday that he intends to file next week for a second term. Before getting elected to the Ward 2 council seat in 2011, Hyer served 16 years on Ogden’s Planning Commission.Ms. Mckitrick also puts the focus on newcomer Council hopeful, Luis Lopez:
“I do enjoy serving the citizens of Ward 2,” Hyer said, “and I think I’m helping to make sure the city services get equally balanced throughout the whole community, and that the north end is getting some recognition.”
Luis Lopez, director of the Community Education Center at Weber State University, will likely be among the first to file for Ogden’s at-large council seat being vacated by Amy Wicks, who is finishing her third term this year. Lopez is hosting his first campaign event on Saturday (May 30) from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Sonora Grill, 2310 Kiesel Ave., Ogden. There, he intends to unveil his website, luislopezforcitycouncil.org, and candidate Facebook page, Luis Lopez for City Council.Ogden City residents who might be interested in throwing in their own hats for available elected Ogden City seats can find the information they need for candidate filings via the Ogden City website:
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