A Few Back-burner Items in Advance of Tomorrow's Municipal Election

The results of our online website ratings poll; and some belated info from Ward 3 candidate Stephens

OK folks. Now that we're on the threshold of tomorrow's critical municipal election, wherein the Emerald City Lumpencitizens are once again compelled to stand up for their conservative fiscal values and important institutions of our community, against an onslaught of greed-head real estate agents, developers, Godfrey Administration BIG SPENDERS and other filthy politico-corporatist trash, there are a few back-burner items that we need to bring to the forefront.

First, we're delighted to release the final result of that "Best Ogden Campaign Website Poll" which we put up in our WCF right sidebar a couple of weeks ago, Here we go:

Here are the final tallies, with 52 votes logged, in voter preference order:

Bart Blair 16 votes (overall vote percentage: 30%)
Jesse Garcia also 16 votes (overall vote percentage: 30%)
Susan Van Hooser 9 votes (overall vote percentage: 17%)
Patrick Dean 7 votes (overall vote percentage: 13%)
Doug Stephens 2 votes (overall vote percentage: 4%)
David Phipps (who's now disqualified) 2 votes (overall vote percentage: 4%)
Neil Garner 1 vote (overall vote percentage: 2%)
Mark "Stinky" Hains 1 vote (overall vote percentage: 2%)

It'll be interesting to correlate tomorrow's actual voter tallies with our readers' ratings of each candidate's website, we think.

And here's something equally interesting. Both Doug Stephens and Neil Garner each received at least one first place vote for their website, even though neither of then actually has a campaign site on the web. In that connection, we contacted Doug Stephens. He confirmed he has NO website, but he did send us this info, which we've incorporated into Doug's WCF Candidate Roster page:

• Information about Doug Stephens Candidate for Ogden City Ward #3

Pretty good informational stuff, we think, from our seasoned Ward 3 incumbent candidate, whom we're strongly endorsing for tomorrow's election.

Ogden Council Expects Marshall White Center Budget Veto

Time for a little gentle Municipal Ward 3 lobbying?

It seems ridiculous that we should entertain the idea of closing the pool. I see it as devaluing city assets.

Amy Wicks, Ogden City Council Chair
Ogden's City Council funds community center; mayor hints he's not done fighting
June 19, 2009

He [Godfrey] doesn't want low-income people to survive in this community. He should be fighting for it, not trying to get rid of it.

Joyce Frye, MWC supporter
Ogden's City Council funds community center; mayor hints he's not done fighting
June 19, 2009

The Salt Lake Tribune has now (at long last) picked up on the Marshall White Center story, and reports in this morning's Chris Smart story that Ogden council leadership expects Boss Godfrey to exercise his line item veto power, to strike MWC funding from the FY2010 budget, along with the council's carefully crafted public policy statement. Curiously, this result would leave Marshall White in precisely the same predicament which Godfrey intended from the outset, zeroed out of the budget and left entirely unfunded.

At some point it would probably make sense for Councilman Doug Stephens's Municipal Ward 3 constituents to begin the lobbying process, as he would be the logical swing vote to enable the council to override Godfrey's expected veto. Doug has demonstrated in the past his receptiveness to citizen input; and there's no reason to believe the same would not be true in this case. It goes without saying that Boss Godfrey will be predictably putting on the full court press himself, of course. Nevertheless, Doug has also proven in the past that he's fair and independent, and far from susceptible to being "played" as a Godfrey pawn. Above all, we believe, Doug Stephens has a strong dedication to doing what's morally and ethically "right." Doug can be contacted via the info on this page:

• Councilman Doug Stephens - Municipal Ward 3

It also goes without saying that any citizen contact should be decorous and logical ... (not that any of our gentle readers would ever behave any other way.) Doug is of course a no-nonsense guy, with an exceedingly low tolerance for rudeness and/or buffoonery.

If you do decide to contact Doug, be sure to include your true name, address and any other necessary contact information. That way Doug can be sure he's taking the pulse of the citizens whom he represents.

(And by the way... the developing reader discussion under the above-linked SLTrib article is becoming a mite lop-sided. Why not leave your own comments there, just to set the record straight?)

Have at it, O Gentle Ones.

Standard-Examiner Ogden Ward 3 Endorsement - Our View: Bitton for Ogden City Council

A WCF rant and a brief questionnaire

Tick, tick, tick, etc.

As the little digital clock doohicky in our right sidebar ticks down inexorably toward Tuesday's 2013 Ogden Municipal Election 7:00 a.m. polling date, we'll jump on the opportunity to shine the light on Ogden election politics once again this morning, by linking the "Fourth and Final" installment of the Standard-Examiner's city council endorsement special article series, in which the SE editorial board goes w-a-a-y out on a limb and (surprise of surprises) "picks" the political newcomer over and above the experienced 2-term Ogden Council incumbent, in the ever-important "North-side" Ogden Ward 3 City Council race.

To the Standard's credit they do "let 'the incumbent' down easy", shall we say?

This was a very competitive race. Both candidates are qualified to be on Ogden's city council. Doug Stephens, the incumbent, has served with distinction. Both of these candidates would likely have been endorsed in other council races. However, they are pitted against each other, and Bitton merits the nod. 

Click to enlarge image

Read up, folks.  It ain't every day that our home town newspaper throws a member of the Ogden political establishment under the bus:

• Our View: Bitton for Ogden City Council

As to our own opinion on the subject, we agree with the Standard up to this point:  Both Stephens and Bitton are highly-qualified candidates.

Here's where we differ, however. Although we agree that Stephens and Bitton are both top-notch candidates, unlike the Standard, we don't believe you need the S-E editorial board, or even a cranky blogmeister, to tell you what you're supposed to think. We believe, under the circumstances, that the Standard's posture in re council recos is extremely useless, self-centered and overbearing, and that the Standard ought to have refrained from making a reco in this very close race.

So in that connection we'll once again refer you to our WCF candidate profile pages, to which we've devoted dozens of hours over the current municipal election cycle to rounding up all the best web links, articles and other materials to enable you to make your own best choices.  Make your own minds up, O Gentle Ones:

• 2013 Ogden City Council Candidates - Turner C. Bitton - Ward 3
• 2013 Ogden City Council Candidates - Doug Stephens - Ward 3

One more oblique side-note before we close up shop for the day and turn the floor over for your comments. Specifically, we're wondering how many of you, upon clicking the above Bitton endorsement link, caught the weird juxtaposition of these two weirdly-placed page elements, i.e., 1) the Standard's Bitton "un-paid" endorsement on the left, and 2) Stephens' "paid" campaign ad on the right:

Click to enlarge image

Here's a little quickie quiz, folks, lodged to elicit your ever-savvy impressions of how these jaggedly cognitive-dissonant page elements wound up side-by-side on the same page this morning:

• Pure serendipity;
• Savvy ad buying by the Stephens campaign;
• Despite the Bitton endorsement, the Standard "threw Stephens a bone"; and/or;
• All or none of the above. 

That's it for now, O Gentle Ones.

Please don't hesitate to offer your savvy answers to the above "questionnaire." 

Over and Out!

Primary Election Post-Mortem

Now that the smoke has cleared from yesterday's primary election, I suppose it's time to offer a few comments about yesterday's results, which were reported in real-time last night on this board. My web stats software registered over 500 page-loads between the hours of 7-11:30 p.m. last night, so I know many of you were following closely. Weber County Forum was really hopping as the vote tally rolled in.

First, however, I'd like to thank all the candidates who participated in this race. It was heartening, to say the least, to have observed so many citizens step up to the plate, and involve themselves in the municipal election, the most basic level of grass-roots politics.

I'd also like to give special thanks to those council candidates who took the extra time and effort to submit candidate statements and questionaire responses to this forum. I've received many reader responses, thanking me for the information that you folks provided here. WCF has also been linked by other websites too, for this reason. I believe the voters of Ogden city went into this primary election with more available information than ever before, in no small part because of your willingness to put forth your information on Weber County Forum.

And of course I'd like to congratulate the candidates who made the final cut: Jesse Garcia, Dori Mosher, Doug Stephens, Steve Larsen, Bill Glasmann, Kent Jorgensen, Dorrene Jeske and Donna Burdett.

And once again, I'd like to offer my hearty thanks to Bill Glasmann, who did not hesitate at my late-afternoon request that he phone in the vote tally from the council chamber at regular intervals last night. It was a lot to ask of Bill, I thought, as he sat amidst the pandemonium of last night's vote-counting; but he perfomed admirably, demonstrating that he does indeed have the blood of a true newspaperman flowing through his arteries.

For a nutshell wrap-up of the primary election, you can read John Wright's excellent report here.

And I'll hold off on my own analysis for now, except to say that I believe yesterday's results did reflect the strong grass-roots anti-incumbent sentiment that I've been writing about on this blog.

Although incumbents led in the vote-count in each of the contested races, none of them managed even to approach 50% of the tallied votes. Here's the breakdown of incumbents by council seat. Even Councilman Garcia, who can by no means be characterized as a member of the "gang of six," failed to receive a majority of the cast votes:

Ward 1 - Garcia 45%
At Large A - Jorgensen 40%
At Large B - Burdett 38%

Interestingly, Steve Larsen, Councilman Filiaga's hand-picked Ward 3 successor, (also the administration's favorite 'gang of six" replacement,) garnered only 29% of the votes.

And last night's "Cinderella story" was Doug Stephens, who "came out of nowhere" in Ward 3, besting Steve Larsen, who's been campaigning for over a year, in the ward that Mr. Larsen believed he "owned." I spoke by phone with candidate Stephens late last night. It appears he's been working quietly "behind the scenes" in Ward 3, and has managed to muster significant grass-roots support. Doug Stephens has solid credentials, and now appears to be the candidate to beat -- for Filiaga's seat. Check out his candidate information in the right sidebar, if you'd like to learn more about this strong contender.

All-in-all, It's going to be an interesting race, as we now move into the final sprint. I'll have more commentary on the general election as the horses run down the stretch, so keep on checking back.

Does anybody else have any thoughts or observations on what yesterday's primary results mean?

It's your forum, people. So please don't hesitate to chime in.

Don't let the cat get your tongue.

2017 Ogden City Elections Update: Doug Stephens v. Taylor Knuth - Updated

Vote wisely people, inasmuch as we learn your Ogden City Municipal Election mail-in ballots will go out in the mail today.

Here's today's timely Standard-Examiner story, concerning the upcoming Ogden City election, Peeps! The city council candidates for Ogden City Ward 3 will no doubt get a nudge, with this timely Standard-Examiner story, wethinks:

• Ogden City Councilman Doug Stephens facing challenge from Taylor Knuth

Added bonus! Check out each of these Ogden City Council Ward 3 candidates' respective online credentials here, via our 2017 Ogden City General Election Candidate Roster, peeps:

• Taylor Knuth - Ward 3 challenger
• Doug Stephens - Ward 3 incumbent

Vote wisely people, inasmuch as we learn your Ogden City Municipal Election mail-in ballots will go out in the mail today.

Update 10/16.2017: Please wait until after 10/26/2017 to mail in in your ballots, people, inasmuch as we've now learned from three Ogden City Council candidates that The Weber County League Of Women will be sponsoring Ogden City Coucil debates prior to that date!

Infrastructure Improvements & Traffic Citation Quotas

Kicking Off a Friday Morning Open Topic Thread

In hindsight, we'll admit that we were probably remiss in our failure to provide a reminder of yesterday's city council "Water Horizons Workshop," which was held last night in the council chambers, wherein Emerald City citizens were invited to offer their comments on the results of the council's recently completed water, sewer and storm sewer rate study.

According to this morning's Ace Reporter Schwebke story, however, it appears that some "30 or so" Emerald City citizens nevertheless did manage to attend this event; and yet only a handful of these registered any objections.

Perhaps significantly, Godfreyite insider and Friend of Matt (FOM) G-Train Wilkerson, owner of nine Ogden rental properties, was among the small minority of attendees who were not happy with the council's proposed water infrastructure upgrades. Exhibiting the very worst self-serving qualities of an urban landlord, Ms. Wilkerson reportedly lodged this comment about the impending encroachment on her rental business bottom line:

"'That’s a big chunk of money if the landlord has to pay the bill,' she said."

Better, we suppose, that the citizens of Ogden (including Ms. Wilkerson's tenants) should continue to limp along with a hopelessly dilapidated water system (and stinky water), in order to protect Ms. Wilkerson's profit margin.

We'll add that we've occasionally criticized our city council, for their slavish acquiescence to Boss Godfrey's agenda, and their failure to enact programs and ordinances on their own initiative. It's in this connection that we congratulate our city council for their forceful and focused effort to bring these long overdue infrastructure upgrades to a stage of near fruition. They did this all on their own, without so much as an iota of help from our Precious Boss Godfrey.

And in view of Representative Hansen's newly revived Traffic Citation Quota Bill, which would ban numeric ticket quotas all over Utah, the naysayers are already lining up their opposition; and this morning we find two editorial page items from folks who believe it's quite alright to use traffic citations as a major source of municipal revenue:

First we'll highlight this morning's Op-ed piece by Roy City police chief Greg Whinham whose main argument revolves around the strange proposition that without numeric quotas, his officers will refuse to enforce the traffic laws because -- get this --"traffic enforcement is not fun." The undercurrent to this, of course, is that Chief Whinham believes the officers under his command are unprofessional; which is a helluva strange theme to be hearing from the man in charge of an urban Utah police agency, we think.

Secondly we were astounded by this Doug Stephens letter, in which the author suggests, with an apparently straight face, that Representative Hansen's legislative effort, which will be brought before the Utah state legislature for the second straight year, is some kind of defeated mayoral candidate revenge.

We're going to assume, unless and until we're proven wrong, that this particular Doug Stephens is NOT the Doug Stephens who is a presently-sitting council member on our Ogden City Council, for we KNOW that nobody on our council could possibly be so ill-informed.

That's it for now gentle readers. The floor is open. Feel free to discuss any of the above stories, or treat this thread as open topic.

Standard-Examiner: WSU Tells Ogden a Streetcar System is Desired

Added bonus... a further demonstration of the Council's commitment to diligently examine all options regarding the Streetcar matter

Despite the nay-saying posture of the Standard-Examiner editorial board late last month, it looks to us like the Ogden Streetcar Project got a significant shot in the arm during Thursday night's special on-WSU-campus council work session, in which "Weber State University officials" made it clear to the city: "They really (really, really, really) want a streetcar system":

• WSU tells Ogden a streetcar system is desired

We're also particularly impressed by the expressions of commitment from several of our Ogden City Council members. Here's a strong quote from Doug Stephens:

Councilman Doug Stephens suggested that the city and the university need to come together to send a message about how important the project is.
"This is very important to us. We need to say it to Mr. Jones in North Ogden," who may not understand why the city would spend money on a project he would never use, Stephens said.

Council Chair Gochnour's quote ain't half bad either:

Gochnour assured the WSU higher-ups at the meeting that the council, at least, is unified in wanting to see the streetcar system materialize.
"There's a point where we have to just get moving," she said.

And as an added bonus... and a further demonstration of the Council's commitment to diligently examine all options regarding the Streetcar matter, check out this Standard-Examiner online guest editorial piece, signed by ALL SEVEN Ogden Council Members:

• Response to streetcar editorial

Too funny. First time within memory that our council has been unanimous on anything, yes?

That's it for now O Gentle Ones.

Who'll be the first to chime in on this topic?

Two More Filings For the 2009 Emerald City Council Race

Ward 3 incumbent Doug Stephens currently stands unopposed

The Standard-Examiner hard copy and digital editions report this morning that the field of 2009 Emerald City council candidates continued to be filled out on Tuesday. As everyone expected, Ward 3 incumbent Doug Stephens has thrown his hat into the ring for a second go-round; and political newcomer Bart Blair has filed for the At-Large Seat B slot.

And yes, we googled. Is it possible that Mr. Blair is the same Bart Blair who manages Ed Blair Chevron at 30th and Monroe?

As for the Ward 3 council seat, we're hoping that other Emerald City citizens will declare their candidacies within the seven days which remain open during the council filing period. We've learned the hard way that it's not a good idea for a council candidate to run unopposed; and we believe it would be helpful for Mr. Stephens to endure the rigors of a second contested council race, just to re-familiarize himself with his constituents, and to renew his understanding of the reasons they elected him to serve on the council in the first place.

Comments, anyone?

Standard-Examiner: Stephens Officially Wins Ogden City Council Race, Bitton Concedes

Reluctant "kudos" to the "Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors", the overall "Big Winners"

The Standard-Examiner reports that Ogden City election officials have pressed out the last remaining wrinkle in the 2013 Ogden City Municipal Election races, as Mitch Shaw reports that the remaining 471 provisional and absentee ballots have been counted, and that two-term Ogden Ward 3 incumbent Doug Stephens has prevailed by a vote of 603 to 487, while challenger Turner C. Bitton has gracefully conceded defeat:

• Stephens officially wins Ogden city council race, Bitton concedes

Congrats to our old pal Doug for his election to a third council term, and a giant Weber County Forum Hat Tip to Mr. Bitton, who ran a thoroughly energetic and well-fought campaign.

Further kudos (albeit reluctant ones) to the Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors, which donated the usual 1500 bucks to Stephens, along with the other three prevailing council candidates Bart Blair, Neil Garner, and Marcia White, proving once again, now that latest Ogden Municipal election season draws to a close, that election-wise, "Realtor Cash is King" in Junction City, just as always, making this greedy real estate development lobbying group, once again...

2013 Ogden City Municipal Elections Special Voter Guide PARODY - Updated

Providing a voice to Ogden City government fat cats

Mark Who?

Hi there everybody!  I’m one of those people you’ve probably NEVER heard of.  Now, I’m NOT one of the little people who work hard, pay taxes, and basically struggle under the bloated weight of overweening, overpaid bureaucracy.

No, I AM one of those bloated, overweening, over-paid bureaucrats!  In fact, you might say I’m at the very top of the big, steaming pile!

Let me introduce myself.  My name is Not Mark Johnson or N. Mark Johnson for short.  I’m Ogden City’s Chief Administrative Officer or CAO. 

I’m not the mayor, the fire chief, the police chief, the city council, or any of those small fry.  I’m all those peoples’ BOSS!  Elections may come and go, but whoever wins, all the other birds sit underneath ME in the pigeon coop!  In fact, I just CANNED the airport manager in favor of MY long-time, triple-dipping CRONY!  That’s my idea of smooth operation: YES-MEN!  Now it’s YOUR TURN to keep smooth operation in Ogden.  If you vote for MY people, I won’t have to SPUR anybody into obedient compliance with my edicts!  The people I suggest below are ALREADY TRAINED to do what I want! 

Kick In, You Suckers!  HAHAHAHA!

But first, if you have any friends in surrounding cities, you know that Ogden City water bills have been jacked up so high, they SOAR above the rest!  Maybe you’ve wondered why?  Well, it turns out that for every $1 of water money that comes in, 17¢ comes straight to the general fund, i.e. to ME!  You know how hard it is to raise TAXES around here?  Well, who needs all that STRESS!  I just get the elected nitwits to raise the WATER BILLS and I get 17% of that extra money, and NOBODY complains!

A few years ago, we put in a new water tank at the top of 36th Street that is FIVE TIMES as big as the STATE ENGINEERING standards said we needed.  Why so big? Because I got, and continue to get, 17% of all that WASTEFUL SPENDING!

And take my LATEST SCHEME!  We got the city to BORROW $20 million we didn’t even NEED in the water fund!  Then, we put the money RIGHT BACK into the BANK, along with the $30 million that was ALREADY THERE!  Next, we raised water bills to pay the INTEREST!  Right off, I get 17% of those higher water bills!  Then, we paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees to the bankers and consultants who came up with this SCAM! 

And that’s not even the BEST PART!  Once the new city council gets seated, we’ll wait a little while, and go “HEY!  Guess WHAT!  We just DISCOVERED $50 million in the BANK that we must have SAVED due to our incredible EFFICIENCY!!  So how about we use that money for some NEW PUBLIC BUILDING we NEED!  It’ll be like getting the new public building for FREE!  You can tell all your VOTERS how GOOD of a job you are doing!” 

HAHAHAHAHA!!!  The city council will be bleeding you people dry and kissing both sides of my butt for making them look so good!  It’s easy as PIE I tell ya!  Easy as PIE!  HAHAHAHAHA!

Ok, I had to stop and take a pill.  My doctor told me not to get so hyperventilated at work.  Ok, take a breath, N. Mark.  Take a breath.  That’s better.  Well, here are my recommendations.

At Large Seat B

VOTE FOR! Bart Blair

Bart Blair

Bart Blair came to office four years ago from the oil industry.  Actually, he was a GAS STATION CLERK … at his DAD’S gas station!  You can still buy your beer and cigarettes from him most weekdays at Blair’s Chevron here in town.  It was this level of skill and experience that landed him the position he currently holds of Ogden City Council CHAIRMAN!

HAHAHAHA!  Yeah, RIGHT!  Actually, I got him that job MYSELF!  You see, Bart came to office a young, naïve little boy, and I turned him into the rapidly-aging, reflexive BUTT KISS that he is today!  This guy NEVER votes against the bureaucrats.  He’s been raising your water bills the whole time he’s been in office!!  Vote this guy back in!!!!

VOTE AGAINST! Courtney White

Courtney White

This candidate, Courtney White, is the most blatant case of FALSE ADVERTISING I’ve ever SEEN!  The guy’s name is WHITE, but he’s OBVIOUSLY a MEXICAN!

Taking a page from the former mayor’s playbook, do you really think more Mexican markets, gangs and graffiti is what this city needs!  Come on! Get serious!

But if that’s not bad enough, this guy is a free enterprise NUT! He DOESN’T LIKE the millions of dollars this city hands out to our FAVORED CRONIES each year!  Courtney believes in imaginary, non-existent things, like unicorns, elves, and the free market in Ogden!  He’s against all our corporate welfare and payoffs, and wants to CLEAN it all UP!  One of my golfing cronies said he doesn’t have a problem with having a Mexican CLEAN something UP, but NOT like THIS!!  Hey, this election, do ME a favor and make sure COURTNEY WHITE’S political career is ALL WASHED UP!

Wards 1 & 3

VOTE FOR!  Neil Garner and Doug Stephens

Garner & Stephens

These two fine men, Neil Garner and Doug Stephens, have been painstakingly trained to do what I want, and they ALWAYS do what I SAY!! 

These are your INCUMBENTS!  They’ve been raising your water bills reliably.  And you people on secondary water – they voted in a scheme to JACK your rates EVEN HIGHER than EVERYONE ELSE! 

Yeah!!! Both of these guys came into office as intellectual lightweights.  And now, if you’ve ever met them, you know that after years in office they are so addled they can hardly chew gum.  But they have enough function left to nod “yes” when the vote comes.  YES!!  YES!!!  Reward these men for jacking up your water bills and making me a happy man!!  Re-elect them!!! 

VOTE AGAINST!  Pamela Stevens and Turner Bitton

Stevens & Bitton

These people, Pamela Stevens and Turner Bitton, are new.  They are down to earth.  They listen.  They want to serve the public good.

For Pete’s sake DON’T vote for people who are THAT IRRESPONSIBLE!   I know what the city needs, not YOU!  Please, please, please DON’T vote for these people!

At Large Seat A

PICK ONE YOURSELF!  Marsha White or Stephen Thompson

White & Thompson

I haven’t had time for my city bureaucratic gnomes to find out about these people, Marsha White or Stephen Thompson, so I can’t say who will be the most dutifully servile to the needs of the CITY, and by that I mean servile to the needs of ME!!!!

But I do know that Marsha White has gotten a truckload of money from the REALTOR association, some of our most reliable CRONIES!  So judge THAT for yourself!

In conclusion, remember that I make at least 3 times the median income of the rest of you SUCKERS not counting all my PERKS!  So I’m smarter than you, and I KNOW what YOU NEED!  Remember, vote YES for ever-increasing rates and fees!  Vote YES for Ogden City, by voting for MY candidates on NOVEMBER 5th!

Update 10/25/13 8:00 a.m.: I cracked the whip at my gnomes and they FINALLY did a little research on those two nobodys running for At Large Seat A (soon to be vacated by that dimwit Susie who sounded kinda scary when she campaigned but has ended up being putty in my hands). What the gnomes discovered is this...

Marcia White used to be on the board of a liberal terrorist organization called Equality Utah that wants EQUAL RIGHTS for all the LGBT folks. Now personally I don't care one way or the other about the queers but I get queasy when I think of council members who might have their own agenda -- any agenda!

Anyhow, I can probably live with White's agenda but NOT with Stephen Thompson's agenda which is WORKER'S RIGHTS!!! He's a former FIREFIGHTER, for cryin' out loud! That means he'll want more pay and decent working conditions for ALL the firefighters, and undoubtedly the cops too, and maybe even the garbage collectors and ditch diggers and office clerks. And MORE dough for all those dumb city slaves means LESS dough for me and my loyal bureaucrats! Not to mention the developers and construction contractors and real estate speculators who are always SO VERY NICE to me whenever they come up to my office and we close the door and share our mutual appreciation.

SO, kids: DON'T vote for Stephen Thompson! Hold your nose if necessary and just vote for Marcia White, whose last name stands for keeping the money where it belongs, in the hands of us WHITE COLLAR bureaucrats!

Standard-Examiner: Ogden City Votes to Eliminate Private (Secret) Straw Polls

Added bonus: Final 2013 Ogden City Municipal Election campaign finance disclosure tallies

According to this morning's Standard-Examiner story, and as a followup to our earlier Weber County Forum writeup, "[s]ecret votes will no longer be a part of the Ogden City Council's officer election process. In a special meeting held Monday afternoon, the council voted unanimously to do away with a "straw poll" voting system it had been using when selecting the chair and vice chair positions on the council. The council put the new election process to use on Monday, nominating and electing council members Richard Hyer for chair and Caitlin Gochnour for vice chair:

•  Ogden city votes to eliminate private straw polls

A Weber County Forum Tip O' the Hat to the Ogden City Council for finally getting around to doing what they ought to have done years ago.

"Also at the meeting, Blair, Neil Garner, Doug Stephens and Marcia White were sworn in after winning their council races in November," Mitch Shaw further reports.

Here are the official results, gleaned from the Ogden City website:

• City Council Special Meeting Agenda Results

Now that our 2014-16 Ogden City Council is sworn in, and Council "leadership" has been chosen, we think the timing is right to post the final 2013 campaign finance tallies, to wrap up our WCF  2013 Ogden Municipal Election coverage.  Here is a table, incorporating the Fourth Set of Campaign Finance Disclosure Statements, submitted by each Council candidate on or about December 5, 2013: 

Office	12/5/2013	12/5/2013	Cumulative	Cumulative
Candidate	Contributions	Expenses	Contributions	Expenses
Municipal Ward 1
Neil K. Garner	$0	$1,229	$2,550	$2,575
Pamela Stevens*	$0	$0	$0	$25
Municipal Ward 3
Turner C. Bitton	$550	$0	$10,355	$9,696
Doug Stephens	$0	$1,708	$6,150	$5,744
At-Large "A"
Stephen D. Thompson	$39	$183	$2,445	$2,442
Marcia L. White	$850	$6,307	$18,339	$16,003
At-Large "B"
Bart Blair	$0	$1,209	$1,875	$1,338
Courtney Jon White*	$0	$0	$320	$290

* Disqualified

Best wishes to our new Ogden City Council, which appears to be firing on all cylinders (at this point, at least).

Ogden Municipal Election Special: 2013 Ogden City Municpal Election Game On!

Exercise your voting rights, O Gentle Ones... "Use 'em or lose 'em!"

Unless you're an Ogden City resident who's been living under a rock, you're "wise" to the fact that Ogden City Municipal Election Day rolled around just a few minutes ago, coincidentally with the final down-tick of our "snazzy" right sidebar election count-down clock. Yep, the polls opened at 7:00 a.m. this morning, and will remain in business until 8:00 this evening at all Ogden City voter precinct polling places.

Here's hoping you'll all make it over to your local polling location to cast your ever-important votes. Although the "killjoys" of the Ogden City Administration have summarily removed some of the excitement from the faithful exercise of you "civic duty," by enforcing those nit-picky Utah campaign financial disclosure rules, and thus disqualifying two candidates from two of the four prevously "contested" races, we still have four fine candidates running in two still-fiercely contested races, namely, second-time candidate Stephen D. Thompson and first-timer Marcia L. White in the At Large "A" contest, along with two-term council incumbent Doug Stephens and challenger  Turner C. Bitton, who are fighting it out tooth and nail in the council Ward 3 race.

And try to look at it philosophically, Ogden City lumpencitizens.  Unlike some some other Utah folks in some other Utah communities who won't have the opportunity at all to choose their own municipal elected officials for the 2014-16 term this morning, you at least have some choice in the matter, however pared-down those choices may be.

Oh yes.  As an added bonus, we'll incorporate this image of the flyer we received just this morning by mail, from the Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors, (a wholly-owned subsidiary of the "Biggest  and Baddest PAC in the Land"), which donated the usual 1500 bucks to candidates Bart Blair, Neil Garner, Doug Stephens and Marcia White, just to give you a little something extra to think about as you enter the voting booth today, and to add to the overall mirth and merriment of your voting experience

Click to enlarge image

This verbiage reads like a press release straight out of de facto Mayor  Mark Johnson's Economic Development Department, dunnit?

Still unsure about the location of your Ogden polling place, despite our placement of a link above (which you probably neglected to "click")?  Let that be no obstacle to the exercise of your civic responsibilities, as you can almost effortlessly obtain the location of your designated polling place (among other tidbits of important information) right here:

• Vote.Utah.Gov Voter Information Page

Try it; you'll like it

Exercise your voting rights, O Gentle Ones.  "Use it or lose it," as the old saying goes.

The polls are now open, people! Get on down and...

VOTE!

Added Bonus: We've also set up a separate thread for later this evening, by the way, (we've pre-set it to automatically post @ 7:30 p.m.), with a link to the Ogden City Recorder's Office "boffo" live online vote tally software, so you can follow tonight's vote count in real-time. Therefore, be sure to check back here later.

And in the meantime... the floor is open for your intra-day election related comments.

Hot Off the Press: 2013 Ogden City Election Candidate Financial Disclosure Statements (First Set) - Updated

Money isn't everything in municipal politics... but a fat campaign warchest helps a heckuva lot

With the 2013 Ogden City Municipal Primary looming a little under six days hence, we're delighted to provide a glimpse of the first set of campaign financial disclosure statements of our nine Ogden City Council candidate hopefuls, which were duly filed with the Ogden City Recorder's Office by 5:00 p.m. yesterday, pursuant to applicable provisions of Ogden City's Campaign Financing Disclosure ordinances, which arrived on the heels of the Ogden City Council's 2009 campaign finance reform.  

"Cash is King" in politics, as the old saying goes; so click the highlighted links below to discover which candidates are Ogden City's fund-raising "royalty," at least at this juncture:

Candidate	Contributions	Expenses
Municipal Ward 1
Neil K. Garner	$0	$25
Pamela  Stevens	$0	$25
Municipal Ward 3
Turner C. Bitton	$4,698	$3,734
Doug Stephens	$3,800	$2,312
At-Large "A"
Sheri Morreale	$1,000	$997
Stephen D. Thompson	$1,868	$568
Marcia L. White	$10,015	$3,384
At-Large "B"
Bart Blair	$0	$25
Courtney Jon White	$80	$32

Our compliments to candidates Marcia White, Turner Bitton and Doug Stephens, who've already put together particularly impressive "ground games."  Money isn't everything in politics, of course, but as we've learned the hard way in Ogden City municipal politics, and  looking at the the "big picture," a fat campaign warchest  helps a heckuva lot. 

Special thanks to Ogden City Recorder Tracy Hansen, a model of helpfulness and efficiency, who worked late, graciously furnishing the above reports early yesterday evening.

Plow through these reports, O Weber County Forum political wonks; and whatever you do, please don't keep your cranky opinions and comments to yourselves.

Update 8/8/13 10:00 a.m.:  Interesting discussion developing over at the Ogden Ethics Blog, where blogmeister Dan Schroeder questions the propriety of Mayor Caldwell's $500 donation to the Marcia White campaign. So whatddaya think, O Gentle Ones?  Even though such a donation is completely lawful, is it ethical?  And even assuming it is ethical, is it politically proper?

City Council Notes: Ogden Considers Water Bonds for More Than $18 million - Updated

With three Ogden Council incumbents running for re-election in the 2013 Municipal Election, it'll be fascinating to observe where the Council goes from here, won't it?

A cool $18 28 mil in the bank

As a followup to last night's Ogden City Council work session, wherein the Ogden City Council discussed the prospect of issuing a total of as much as $21 Million in new bonding to fund a proposed Ogden water treatment plant and various storm water projects, the Standard's Mitch Shaw breaks the bad news to its print readership that the Council has set a hearing on July 30, 2013 to consider going even further into hock, even though Ogden City already has a total of at least $18 28 million (in "emergency money," so-called) currently sitting idly in its water and sewer funds:

• Ogden considers water bonds for more than $18 million

Ogden City water utilities watchdog Dan Schroeder hits the nail squarely on the head, wethinks:

The elephant in the room here is that the water and sewer funds have approximately the same amount of cash, just sitting there, probably earning only about 1 percent interest,” Schroeder said. “According to the projections that (Ogden water rate consultant Lewis, Young, Robertson & Burningham) made last year, the cash as of now should be over $18 million. For the life of me I can’t figure out why anyone would borrow money at over 4 percent interest when they have the same amount sitting there in the bank earning only 1 percent.

Apparently at least some math-capable Ogden Councilmembers are also on the same page as Schroeder: "Council members Amy Wicks, Susie Van Hooser and Doug Stephens asked Laura Lewis, with LYRB, the same question," Mr. Shaw reports.

“I’m not proposing that we suck the fund dry. But if we have a lot of cash on hand, it might make sense to come to some sort of compromise where we aren’t bonding for so much,” adds the ever level-headed Councilwoman Wicks.

With three Ogden Council incumbents Bart Blair, Neil Garner and Doug Stephens running for re-election in the 2013 Municipal Election, it'll be fascinating to observe where the Council goes from here, won't it?

"Do the Math," LOL!

Update 7/10/13 12:03 p.m.:  Via the ever-diligent Ogden political watchdog Dan Schroeder, we now learn that the cash balances are actually "$11 million in the water fund and $17 million in the sewer fund," so it's a cool $28 million total which Ogden City has "parked" (nearly interest-free) in these respective City "emergency slush funds." Moreover, inasmuch as the new prospective bond is expected to be for $18.4 million, our ever-wise City Council "critters" could actually "forego the bond [entirely] and still have about $10 million left as a cash cushion against future emergencies."

Go figure, heheheh....

A Clear Choice in Ward 3

This morning's Standard-Examiner has a John Wright story clarifying the political positions of the Ward 3 council candidates on three hot-button Ogden issues.

As to the Recreation Center project, candidate Doug Stephens takes the common sense position of the Ogden townsfolk, "I think the private money needs to take the initiative there instead of having the taxpayers bear that burden," he said. In contrast, Steve Larsen, Mayor Godfrey's hand-picked gang-of-six recruit, believes running up the public debt another $18 million, and guaranteeing it with 100% of the BDO lease revenue for the next 20 years, in reliance on the performance capability of a couple of small-time and possibly flaky lessees, is a good bet. Otherwise Ogden city will go "belly-up," Larsen says, in a truly odd (and possibly bizarre) non-sequitur.

Stephens is firmly on the record in his opposition to eminent domain abuse, whereas candidate Larsen, Wal-mart fan extraordinaire, is willing to "fudge" on his principles, and tread on the property rights of the common townsfolk, so long as it yields he and his neoCON money-grubbers a few more dirty tax dollars for the Ogden City government big-spenders. His ultimate dream, of course, is to pave over the entire Ogden downtown, and fill it with box-store parking lots -- like the town of his dreams -- Riverdale. He "loves the poor folks," he constantly reminds us, so long as they're willing to be forcibly cleared out of their homes and businesses whenever giant corporations like Wal-mart arrive in town, looking for a "free lunch."

For some reason the "gondola plan" remains a political issue, even though such a plan doesn't actually exist . Candidate Stephens takes the logical, common sense position on this: "If I had to make a decision today, it probably would be not to support it because I don't have the facts," he said. Larsen, of course, loves the non-existant gondola plan. "Nobody will come to Ogden on (commuter rail) without the gondola and the rec center," he said. No, I am not making this up; that quote is right there in the John Wright article, I swear. Besides, the gondola is the mayor's pet project; and the constantly-groveling Larsen never disagrees with anything the mayor promotes.

Could the choices in the Ward 3 race possibly be more clear? The voters can choose between Stephens, who exudes prudence, fiscal responsibility and common sense. His opponent, the ever-cluless dreaming and scheming Steve Larsen will make the ideal Matt Godfrey sock-puppet.

And what say our gentle readers? How many of the townsfolk who live outside of Ward 3 envy the folks there who will have the pleasure of saying "no thanks" to another potential "rubber stamp?" Don't be shy; and don't let the cat get your tongues.

Stop the Presses! Boss Godfrey APOLOGIZES to the Council For His Latest Blunder

"It was not an effort on the part of us to hide something," Godfrey spokesman John Patterson says... with a completely straight face

There's a first time for everything, we guess. Ace Reporter Schwebke reports this morning that Godfrey administration officials issued a public apology at last night's city council work session for their major budget-busting screw-up on the administration's Dining Car/Tourist Information Center. Frankly, we don't recall the Godfrey administration ever apologizing for anything before. Seeing is believing:

OGDEN -- Members of the administration apologized to the city council Thursday night for a snafu involving about $80,000 in cost overruns for the conversion of a rail car into a downtown information center.
"Sorry about this one," John Patterson, the city's chief administrative officer, told the council during a work session. "It was not an effort on the part of us to hide something."
Mayor Matthew Godfrey admitted that mistakes were made in determining how to fund the cost overruns.
"People made judgment calls that were wrong," he said during the work session.

Can we see by a show of hands how many among our gentle readership believe that Boss Godfrey and his henchmen weren't "trying to hide something?" Alternatively, we wonder, how many of our readers believe that this is merely the latest example of the old Boss Godfrey "Bait and Switch?"

And we just loved Councilman Stephens' quoted remarks and query:

City Councilman Doug Stephens said he believes the rail car information center will benefit Ogden.
However, he's concerned that the public may perceive that the council wasn't on top of the cost overruns.
"Citizens want to know, were you guys (council members) asleep at the wheel?"

Who will be the first lumpencitizen to provide Councilman Stephens the possibly painful information he seeks?

Have at it, O Gentle Ones.

Standard-Examiner: 25th Street Business Association Wants Height Limits Raised

We urge the Council to reject this proposal outright, and to refrain from again revisiting this already-decided issue, unless and until some tangible proposed project comes along

The Standard-Examiner reports this morning that anti-historic preservation forces are again on the move to compromise the historical integrity of Historic 25th Street, with a new proposal, spearhead by hyper-activist 25th Street Business Association President Steve Conlin, to increase building height limits on Historic 25th Street across the board from 45 feet to 55 feet:

• 25th Street Business Association wants height limits raised

Although we'd assumed that the prospect of raising height limits across all of the Historic 25th Street District had been rejected once and for all by the Council in October of 2008, Mr. Conlin makes it quite clear that he's ready to waste the time of the Council and the public, by girding for battle on this issue once again:

"I don't think we are going to get this passed without a big fight. But I think it's a fight the 25th Street Business Association is willing to take on," said Steve Conlin, president of the association.

Kudos to Councilman Stephens for his savvy take on the issue:

City Councilman Doug Stephens questioned whether it is prudent to change the height ordinance, as there is no building project on the table for 25th Street that requires the height extension.
"We need to protect the historical elements of 25th Street and provide a method that 25th Street can attract business into that area and be successful," he said. "If there is no project coming forward, is it necessary for the council to be reviewing this ordinance?"

Councilman Stephens hits the nail on the head. Absent some new proposed project which might justify Council consideration of an individual zoning variance tied to a specific project, it would be pure folly for the City Council to open up what earlier proved to be a highly contentious can of worms once again.

We therefore urge the Council to reject this proposal outright, and to refrain from again revisiting this already-decided issue, unless and until some actual property developer is willing to put something tangible on the table.

Standard-Examiner: How Tall Is Too Tall On Ogden's Historic 25th Street?

Mr. Schwebke's article reveals a couple of interesting new twists

25th Street Business Association President Steve Conlin's proposal to raise Historic 25th Street's building height limits from 45 to 55 feet is back on the Standard-Examiner front page this morning. Read Mr. Schwebke's full story here:

• How tall is too tall on Ogden's Historic 25th Street?

Mr. Schwebke's article reveals a couple of interesting new twists:

1) Somebody obviously believes the stakes are high enough that our city council can't be trusted to run their own meeting, so the taxpayers will be paying an unnamed sum for a professional facilitator to "facilitate" the November 4 dog and pony show:

OGDEN -- The city council has hired a professional facilitator for a Nov. 4 work session at which a controversial request to increase building height limits on Historic 25th Street will be considered.
Information regarding how much the city council will pay facilitator Pam Gardiol, president of Gardiol & Associates, was not available Thursday because a contract hasn't been finalized, said Janene Eller-Smith, a policy analyst for the council.
Gardiol, a former chairwoman of Ogden's planning and landmarks commissions, said her experience in those two positions has aided her as a facilitator. "It helped me be impartial," said Gardiol, who declined to say how much she is being paid by the council.
Gardiol has served as a facilitator for the city of Seattle, the Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake County and other entities.

2) With an apparent eye to the difficulties arising two years ago, when the Windsdor Hotel project developer submitted garish and zoning non-compliant plans for the Windor Hotel remodel, Mr. Schwebke refers to this protective language contained in the new proposed ordinance:

The amendment under consideration by the city council would prohibit existing buildings on 25th Street from being increased in height through rooftop additions or additional stories unless:
• Documentation is presented establishing that additional height is within the limits of the building's historical construction.
• The addition is not visible from the front of the building or from the sidewalk on the same side of the street or across the street.

Although we've already gone on record as opposing a reopening of this can of worms, we'll defer for the time being to the common sense and diplomacy of Councilman Stephens, who believes there's no harm in taking another look at the issue:

Councilman Doug Stephens questioned whether it is necessary to change the height ordinance, as there is no building project on the table for 25th Street that requires the height extension.
"That doesn't mean we shouldn't go ahead and review it," he said. "The height ordinance isn't going away, so it behooves us to talk about it in a work session. It's prudent for us to gather information to analyze the importance of the height ordinance."

As a consequence we'll be standing by with great interest as ordinance amendment proponents lay their new evidence on the table on November 4, all the while harboring the gut feeling that a blanket height limit amendment is not a sufficiently prudent approach.

Scott Schwebke Fleshes Out the Boss Godfrey 2010 Budget Veto Story

Added bonus: Supplementary supporting documents

By Dan S.

Scott Schwebke's article on the budget veto, which WCF reported yesterday, is now up on the Standard-Examiner web site.

In addition, the S-E has posted a fascinating 13-page memo, outlining the mayor's legal arguments. It'll take some time for us all to digest this, but here are a few points:

1) The mayor is trying to veto the policy language on the MWC, Lorin Farr Pool, and golf courses without vetoing their actual appropriations. Whether he can do this is legally questionable, because his line-item veto applies only to appropriations. The memo cites some case law (from other states) on this question. However, putting aside the legality question, this tactic will make it harder for the council to find the votes to override the veto.

2) The mayor is claiming that the council must take a single up-or-down vote on overriding his veto, rather than separate votes on the three separate policy items. (His reasoning on this makes no sense to me at all.)

3) The mayor gives multiple reasons why he believes the policy language is illegal in the first place, under state law. We've heard most of these before. If the council doesn't override his veto, these legal issues will probably be moot for the time being. But make no mistake: The mayor is claiming here that he has the unilateral power to dispose of city recreational facilities, and that the council can do nothing to stop him.

Editor's addendum: A coupla added points:

1) Godfrey's memo also cites and relies upon a 1978 Utah Supreme Court decision, Martindale v. Anderson, an electronic copy of which we just happened to already have available on our storage site.

2) Notably, Mr. Schwebke also reports that the matter will be set for next week's Tuesday council calendar, although a possible override vote may not actually happen before early August:

The veto is set to be officially presented to the city council at its meeting Tuesday, said Bill Cook, the council's executive director. However, a vote on the veto won't likely occur until the council's Aug. 4 meeting, he said.

Although Mr. Schwebke doesn't provide information to account for this delay, we'll assume the time lag is intended to provide time for the Council's attorney, Mr. Hall, to review Mr. Godfrey's Gary Williams neoCON rants legal arguments and to prepare his own counter-memo.

Significantly though, the projected August 4 veto override date falls well beyond the July 15, 2009 municipal election filing deadline.

So, as we see it, that's just one more reason, we think, for civic minded Ogden Ward 3 residents to seriously consider filing for the Ward 3 council seat, in which council incumbent Doug Stephens presently stands unopposed. Our view is that it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a hungry Ward 3 council challenger or two looking over councilman Stephens' shoulder, (or breathing down his neck, as the case may be.)

Who will be the first to comment?

Election Day: The Polls Are Open

A rare opportunity to elect a veto-proof majority of fiscally conservative council grownups

Here we go folks. Our sidebar countdown clock has clicked down to zero. The glorious day we've all been anxiously awaiting has now arrived. Your neighborhood polling places will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; and with a little diligence on our part... and if all goes well, we Emerald City lumpencitizens will show up en masse, repeat the same type of grass roots sweep we accomplished in the last non-mayoral municipal election in 2005, and elect a new slate of fiscally conservative grownups to reinforce the sensible council majority we already have.

With strong independent candidates like Bart Blair, Jesse Garcia, Doug Stephens and Susan Van Hooser on the ballot, we have an opportunity for the first time ever to elect a veto-proof majority to our already strong council. This is something we'll definitely need during the next two years, as our Big Spending Mayoral Administration cranks up its anticipated full court press to implement the long list of yet-undelivered projects Boss Godfrey promised his cash contributor cronies since at least as far back as 2007.

Once again, we strongly endorse Blair, Garcia, Stephens and Van Hooser. With community-minded citizens like these on the council, there's little danger that our wonderful town will be sold down the river to the greed-minded, fly-by-night real estate development hustlers, who've once again invested so many thousands of dollars in Boss Godfrey's "Bulldoze the Golf Course and Turn Ogden into a Giant Kiddie Amusement Park Ticket."

In closing, we'll highlight a fantastic photo sent to us yesterday by one our gentle readers. It shows an Ogden City-situated campaign lawnsign planted in the yard of one of our more creative Ogden neighbors. As you head off to the polls this morning (torches and pitchforks in hand,) we hope you'll all etch this image indelibly into your minds:


We'll keep this thread open through the day folks, for election day news and other election-topical updates. If problems arise during today's balloting, we hope our readers will check in with their real-time comments and reports. During the last election, Weber County Forum served as an online clearing-house for information relating to the dirty tricks which were being perpetrated by Godfrey campaign operatives; and we'll be happy to serve the same function again, if necessary, during today's election.

The polls are now open, people!

VOTE!

We'll also set up a separate thread later this evening, by the way (we've preset it to automatically post @ 7:30 p.m.) , with a link to Ogden City Recorder's Office live online vote tallies. In the meantime... the floor is open for your intra-day election comments.