WSU Special Event: "Grassroots Power Politics 101"

Technical training on ratcheting-up your political influence a notch or two

On Saturday, the Standard-Examiner published a fine editorial, urging the citizens of northern Utah to increase their involvement in the local political process, by attending their party's neighborhood caucus meetings on March 25 of this year. As the Std-Ex suggests, attendance at local precinct caucuses is one way to maximize your influence at the grass-roots level:

Since so few voters participate in respective party caucuses — as little as 2 percent, by one estimate — they have an out-size influence on the eventual general election — their votes actually matter more than those casting ballots in the primary and/or general elections. That’s why attendance at party caucuses is so critical to the eventual political makeup of county and state leadership.

Regardless of your political affiliation, you should become involved. The more people who are involved, the better, more responsive our government will be.

The Std-Ex is right. If you're interested in getting the maximum "bang for your buck" in Utah politics, your neighborhood caucus is the place to be on March 25.

In that connection, we'll up the ante, and provide a heads up on an event which is happening on the Weber State University campus tomorrow night, March 11, 2008:

"Power Politics 101 - Grassroots Politics: The Powerful Responsibilities of Delegates”

The folks at the WSU Political Science Department have assembled a fine panel to discuss topics which are fundamental to effective grass-roots politics; and we urge all Weber County Forum political wonks (that's everybody here, right?) to put this event on their calenders.

Latest Public-relations Ploy Backfires

Bumbling Boss Godfrey finds himself with egg on his face... again

A little over a week ago the Standard-Examiner published an article concerning a mysteriously "leaked" email, in which Mayor Godfrey had chastised Emerald City Council Chair Amy Wicks, for refusing to meet with him privately to discuss City Council business behind closed doors.

We followed up this article with our own discussion here, in which we examined Ms. Wicks' conduct and Mayor Godfrey's possible motives, and reached a general consensus among our readers, we believe, that Ms. Wicks' conduct, reflecting her well known commitment to open government, was quite praiseworthy, whereas the quality of Godfrey's behavior was "manipulative," at best.

This morning we now find a follow-up letter in the Standard-Examiner, concisely stating the savvy opinion of at least one reader, Riverdale's Irene Voit, mirroring the conclusions also reached in comments earlier on this blog. It's short, so we'll incorporate its text in full:

The March 1 news article, “A communication battle brewing in Ogden,” reported that Mayor Matthew Godfrey sent City Council Chairwoman Amy Wicks “a blistering e-mail” for refusing to communicate with him in private about “important municipal matters” or “to dialogue on issues.” She was accused of conducting all city business in the open during city council meetings or the twice monthly leadership meetings.

Way too often it seems that issues are decided or deals are made behind closed doors in Ogden and other municipalities. City council and planning commission meetings often seem to only serve the purpose of trying to give the appearance of legitimacy to some prearranged deal or decision. City councils and planning commissions were created to represent the interests of their constituents and to provide oversight over specific functions of government.

I commend Council Chairwoman Wicks for traveling the high road. I encourage all city council and commission members to follow her example. They should not meet privately with their mayors, developers or other people who wish to influence government behind closed doors or to “dialogue on issues.” Only in this way can there be the hope of restoring residents’ trust in local government.

If, as we suspect, Mayor Godfrey's motive in leaking the email was to discredit Councilwoman Wicks, we'll chalk up Godfrey's latest sneaky public relations effort as a flat failure in a long line of public relations failures. Kudos to Ms. Voit for seeing through Boss Godfrey's mendacious smoke screen, and for exerting the additional effort to submit her thoughts to the Std-Ex. Thanks also to the Std-Ex for publishing the letter this morning.

Godfrey's most recent public relations ploy has now apparently penetrated the public consciousness; and like most ham-handed attempts on Godfrey's part to manipulate public opinion, the latest effort appears to have backfired.

Comments?

Powder Mountain Update: Three Interesting Letters

Impending Civil War in formerly bucolic Weber County?

Three recent letters from Ogden Valley Forum for our gentle readers' perusal this morning, regarding the impending Powder Mountain corporo-fascist town-grab.

These following two deal with tactics of the fine folks of "Powderville," and Ogden Vally activists in general, regarding the question of how to deal with their overly-aggressive Powder Mountain developer neighbor in the interim post-passage of the non-retroactive HB-164:

3/3/08 letter to the Weber County Commisioners
3/5/08 letter to the Weber County Commissioners

We're hoping the Weber County Commission is listening closely. They have the opportunity this year to either be "heros" or "zeros," by simply considering whether to refuse to certify the "Powderville Petition," on the ground that they are sworn by oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution.

And somewhat miraculously, Ogden Valley Forum has also heard from one of the "Powderville Petitioners" with this masterpiece of politically-lame stupidity:

3/8/08 letter to the forum from one of the Powder Mountain Town Incorporation petitioners.

We don't know Terri (Theresa) Stearman ourselves, but judging from her letter, we swear she has to be a world-class airhead, with no comprehension of the requirements of democratic American politics. Having read her smarmy missive, we're once again highly sympathetic to the "Powderville" folks' impending plight, as they continue their fight against the prospect of corporate dictatorship.

Remember folks, If "Powderville" achieves incorporation status, it will be appointees like the politically-naive Ms. Stearman who will be adopting "Powderville's" new city code and ordinances (drawn entirely at the whim of a corporate "incorporator"), and it will be appointees like she who'll be taking on the responsibility for the collection of taxes, and spending taxpayer money -- all without ANY input of the citizens who reside in her town. In other words, the citizens of this new company town will be politically-disenfrangised, and will have NO voice in the process of the operation of "their" new municipal government for at least another 1-1/2 years, while appointees like Ms. Stearman sit at the town helm.

Ms. Stearman complains that she might be "shunned" in the community in which she's now chosen to reside, after bouncing around the world for most of her life. Having spent much his own life growing up and living in the area we call "Ogden Valley," your blogmeister assures her that the results of her complicity in this developer endeavor could be even worse than even she now comprehends. Better for her to try to blend into the Ogden Valley community, we think. A word to the wise ought to be sufficient.

A Weber County Forum Tip O" the Hat to OVF reader Edentribe BTW, who kindly throws out the "olive branch" to the poor deluded Ms. Stearman, and also simultaneosly explains the realities of the current predicament:

Terri,
Thank you very much for communicating what you think and how you feel about this issue. I value your thoughts and it helps me to understand you as a human being, instead of just part of the "big, bad corporation".
I still cannot understand how anyone thinks it is okay to take away other people's fundamental rights. If incorporation is such a good idea, then we should ALL have an opportunity to vote on it. And of course we have to elect our officials. I will not be okay with this until I have real representation. I do not mean that the corporation "tells" me they are listening and representing me. I must have an actual democratic process.
Again, it is great that you have opened communication and I thank you for that.

If the Powder Mountain developer is smart, it'll accept Commissioner Dearden's kind suggestion to negotiate, and take the heat out of this problem.

Otherwise, we predict, it'll be Civil War in the formerly bucolic Ogden Valley.

Bishop Files for Fourth Congressional Term

Congressman Rob Bishop, that is... NOT that guy in a rumpled suit from your wardhouse

This morning's Standard-Examiner reports that U.S. House Representative Rob Bishop (R-Utah) has filed for re-election to his current seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Charles Trentelman presents some of Rep. Bishop's rationale for seeking a fourth congressional term:

Bishop said he is running again because, “there are still some things that upset me, and some things that I’m making slight, but sure, progress on.”
For example, he said he is concerned that the Democratic leadership of Congress has submitted a budget for the federal government that includes “about $200 billion more in domestic spending and still, in my estimation, not doing enough for the military, especially for the Air Force.
“The Air Force chief of staff said he needed $200 billion right now for infrastructure, and that’s the low end of the game,” Bishop said.
He said the lack of sufficient support for military spending is especially frustrating to him because Hill Air Force Base is in his district.
He said he is constantly attacked by representatives who don’t understand the needs.
“We have to move forward on the F- 35 and F-22, and the hard part is to get through to people who don’t have military in their district, who don’t realize that the Air Force is very technology intensive. You can’t do any ground action, they have to be in a plane and they cost a lot.”

Rep. Bishop would appear to be closely adhering to the same game plan which successfully kept the 1st Congressional District seat firmly in the grasp of former Utah congressman Jim Hansen (Bishop's GOP predecessor in the same office for 22 years): being a very good friend to the military -- Hill Air Force Base in particular.

Find more information on Rep. Bishop's official website.

We have yet to hear an announcement from any Demo challenger.

And what say our gentle readers about this?

Utah Continues to Avoid National Real Estate Bust

Real life lessons in real estate bubblenomics

By Curmudgeon

The front page top story in the Standard-Examiner today is this:

Stability seen in Utah homes
Foreclosure rates up, but still far below average for country
By JORDAN MUHLESTEIN

Utah’s foreclosure rate is slightly higher than a year ago, but far lower than the national average. Statewide, the percentage of loans in foreclosure was 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, up from 0.61 percent a year earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Thursday. The Utah rate was less than half the nationwide rate, which rose from 1.19 percent in 2006 to 2.04 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Nationally, more than one of every 20 home mortgages was delinquent during the last three months of 2007, the highest level in 23 years.

The rest of the story can be found here.

Utah has [so far] dodged the real estate crash and chaos that has engulfed much of the rest of the nation because Utah also dodged the real estate boom [aka "bubble"] of recent years. Wasn't it just a short while ago that advocates of the gondola/gondola and park sale for real estate development scheme were explaining to the rest of us ignorant peasants that Ogden had missed out on all the prosperity, and that building the gondola/gondola and turning the golf course into Mr. Peterson's vacation villas would trigger the same kind of real estate boom in prices they were seeing in Las Vegas and Arizona and California and Florida? That we too could become rich practically overnight by building the gondola/gondola and triggering a real estate boom here? Just months ago, wasn't it?

Wonder if Godfrey, Geiger & Gang will be making the same argument anytime soon....

Lumpencitizens Ordered to Pay Legal Fees and Costs

Harsh lessons for Emerald City citizen litigants

Bad news this morning in the Standard-Examiner for the 58 plaintiffs in the 2007 election lawsuit. As Ace Reporter Schwebke reports, Judge Parley Baldwin has issued a decision awarding the prevailing defendants $15,167 in costs and fees, under provisions of Utah Code Section 78-27-56.

For the benefit of those readers who'd like read Judge Baldwin's full text decision, we provide an online PDF version, straight from our storage site.

Interestingly, Judge Baldwin actually chopped the award nearly in half from the $29,000 originally demanded by defendants. Whether Judge Baldwin believed the defendants' cost bill was excessive, or he merely split the difference between the demands of the plaintiffs and defendants, we'll probably never know, unless the matter goes up on appeal.

Also very interesting is Mr. Schwebke's reporting that the defendants may be preparing to avail themselves of another bite of the apple under provisions of Rule 11 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, a code section that's aimed squarely at Utah lawyers who file and prosecute frivolous lawsuits. In this connection, we've believed all along that any costs and fees awarded for a frivolous filing in this action might ultimately be borne by Attorney Bernard's malpractice insurance, and not by a collection of plaintiffs unlearned in the intricacies of the law, lumpencitizen plaintiffs who retained an experienced attorney, remained mainly out of the loop, and relied upon council's presumably learned advice.

And we would have sworn, reading the flow of Judge Baldwin's written decision, that he was leaning toward letting everyone except plaintiff Littrell completely off the hook; and yet he nevertheless clobbered them all in the end. Read the memorandum yourselves, gentle readers, and ask yourselves why Judge Baldwin finally decided to issue the award against these secondary plaintiffs. Although this decision is probably technically within his judicial discretion, the result certainly doesn't seem just, under the peculiar facts of the case.

And we'll note one final curiosity, especially for those sharp-eyed readers who opened the above link to Utah Code Section 78-27-56, and noticed the citation came from a second party website (justia.com), and NOT from the state legislature's official online code service. There's a reason for that. Utah Code Section 78-27-56 no longer appears in the Utah Code, at least not in the online version, as far as we were able to determine through a quick search this morning. Whether it appears re-numbered as another code section we haven't been able to determine. But it's something both the plaintiffs and their attorney certainly ought to check out.

As for the prospect of appeal, we would strongly urge these plaintiffs and their attorney to continuing to pursue this matter at the appellate court level. Having taken it upon themselves to act as private Attornies General, we believe it would be a shame to drop the ball now, and leave future citizen litigants with bad precedent for well grounded future citizen-propelled litigation.

This case certainly grows interestinger and interestinger...

The Utah State Bar Publicly Chastises Senator Buttars

Will a John Valentine disbarment proceding come next?

Did everyone read yesterday's editorial piece in the Salt Lake Tribune yesterday, wherein the President of the Utah State Bar, V. Lowry Snow, takes GOP dipshit Senator Chris Buttars to public task for a nasty letter he wrote under State Senate letterhead to a sitting Utah District Court judge, attempting to intimidate him, labeling him a "liberal activist judge," because of a judicial decision he made earlier this year, ruling against a Buttars crony?

We'll resist the tempation to launch our own analysis on this, and once again refer our readers to the most-excellent Third Avenue blog, where once again the blogmeister thoroughly digests and analyzes the latest developments in this story.

Betcha five bucks that Senate President John Valentine, a Utah Lawyer who buried this problem in the legislature for at least two months -- if not six months or eight months -- is getting even more pointed non-public letters from the Utah State Bar.

Once again we wonder... when will it occur to Utah Republicans that Chris Buttars needs to be kicked to the curb?

And will Senator John Valentine be ultimately disbarred for his active acts of concealment of Senator Buttars' egregious misdeeds?

So many questions... so few answers.

All-round Apologies and Retractions

The Standard-Examiner and Weber County Forum fess up and apologize for leaping to unwarranted conclusions
We're only human, except for your blogmeister, who is a bona-fide and admitted space alien

By Curmudgeon

Since the topic in the lower article comments thread seems to have turned to a discussion of the Standard-Examiner's various policies, this seems like a good spot to point out the lead editorial in today's, Thursday's Std-Ex. It is a mea culpa and retraction of the Standard's editorial a couple of days ago blasting the state legislature for cutting the time allowed to submit petitions for referenda by six weeks. Only problem is, the legislature did not do that. The new dates do not apply to state referenda, only local ones. Mr. Porter's retraction and apology can be found here.

The correction and apology are fulsome, straight up, and appear in the most prominent slot of the print editorial page. [More on that in a bit.] And the apology is signed. Kudos to Mr. Porter and the Std-Ex for not burying all this in a brief note under "Corrections." Better not to have muffed it at all, but having done it, best to get it fixed, fess up and do it fast and visibly. The Std-Ex and Mr. Porter handled their gaffe well.

Except... when I went onto the free web page and clicked "Opinion" to get a link to the editorial, all that came up was today's second editorial, not the lead one, which was Mr. Porter's retraction and apology. Why the Std-Ex should have included that prominently [and rightly] on the pages of the print edition, but not on the web edition [except behind the subscription wall] escapes me.

Speaking of apologies and retractions, now it's my turn. Based on Mr. Trentelman's original reporting that the legislature had chopped six weeks out of the time to file referendum petitions, I posted a rant... and it was a rant... here denouncing the Republican legislative majority for having done what, it turns out, they had not done. The rant, which was wholly unwarranted, is hereby retracted and my apologies to the Republican leaders, and members of the House and Senate, for criticizing them unfairly.

Another Weber County Democrat Throws His Hat Into the Legislative Candidacy Ring

Steve Olsen announces his challenge for Sen. Jenkins's District 20 Senate Seat

For the second day running, the Standard-Examiner announces the entry of a Democratic Party state legislative candidate into the 2008 Weber County general election race. Steve Olsen, of Plain City, has now thrown his hat into the ring as a challenger for Senator Scott Jenkins's Senate District 20 seat. More from this morning's Charles Trentelman story:

OGDEN — Steve Olsen, of Plain City, jumped the gun Wednesday, announcing his candidacy for the Utah Senate before filing even opens up this year.

Olsen is running as a Democrat for the seat representing District 20, which covers western Weber County. The seat is currently held by Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City.

Olsen hasn’t filed for the seat yet because filing doesn’t begin until 8 a.m. Friday in county courthouses around the state. The filing deadline is 5 p.m. March 17.

Olsen said he is running to try to shift the power in the Legislature, which he said has become so solidly Republican that it doesn’t respond to the people anymore.

“For many years, Democrats have talked about the need for balance in the Legislature,” Olsen said in a news release.

“The events of the last few years highlight this need more than ever. Private-school vouchers are only the most recent and visible example of how the Republicans on Capitol Hill have lost touch with the people of Utah.

“They knew that an overwhelming majority of Utah’s citizens opposed this scheme, but they rammed the voucher bill through anyway.”

Olsen ran unsuccessfully against U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop in 2006.

For the benefit of those readers who are unfamiliar with Mr. Olsen's political philosophy, we reprise this February 8 Weber County Forum article, which addresses a Steve Olsen guest commentary, appearing in the Std-Ex on the same date.

Here in the early going, it appears once again that Weber County Democrats are re-energized as we move into the 2008 election season. In that connection, we hope that local Democrats will fulfill their promise to field a full slate of capable candidates, in order to afford Weber County voters a full range of debate on all issues pertinent to the 2008 election.

We believe that robust political debate is the lifeblood of American democracy, and that in recent years at least, Weber County citizens -- and Utah citizens in general -- have been sometime short-changed on that. The absence of viable opposition allows political excesses, as we've sometimes painfully observed. We propose that the the existence of such opposition, on the other hand, keeps everybody straight, and is healthful for the body politic in general. It's always good for elected officials to know that strong opposition candidates are "breathing down their necks," in other words.

We thus welcome Steve Olsen into the 2008 race, and look forward to a lively Senate District 20 campaign. As we have often remarked here before, we love a good political scrap.

Note to All Cheapskates

Lots to chew over in the Standard-Examiner today

By Curmudgeon

OK, all you cheapskates. This morning, cough up a half a buck and buy a copy of the Standard-Examiner. Lots of interesting things in the paper today.

First, of course, the two articles Rudi quoted and linked to below.

Then an editorial taking the legislature to task for making it harder to challenge laws by referendum, calling the change retaliation for the defeat of school vouchers by referendum, and asking the governor to veto the bill. Cal's editorial cartoon on the topic is worth a look too.

Over in the business section, Mr. Schwebke has an article about MidCity's Clearfield project, the only one of the tree that seems to be still on track. Or so the developer claims, though construction has not begun yet. And it seems, they're doing feasibility studies to determine how large some elements of the project, like a public theater, ought to be. Imagine that: doing the research and getting the facts first. Will such a radical approach to planning make it's way to the crack Godfrey development team? We can only hope.

And, finally, there's an article on Mr. Southwick's intention to plead guilty in what another paper has called the largest financial fraud in the history of the state. The Std-Ex headline calls Southwick "a wanted man" though nothing in the story indicates he's on the lam.

So, lots to chew over in the Standard today.

Powder Mountain Update: The Legislature Takes the Coward's Way Out

The Utah legislature casts its vote unanimously for citizen disenfranchisement

This morning's Standard-Examiner reports on the State Legislature's solution to the HB-466 problem: The Utah Legislature has taken the coward's way out. Rather than pass a bill to fully cure the "unintended consequences" of last year's HB-466, a law which now leaves 150 or so Weber County citizens with the prospect of being politically disenfranchised, and living under the thumb of corporate dictatorship for the next two to four years, both chambers instead passed the watered down version, which basically "shuts the barn door after the animals have escaped."

Despite Senator Allen Christensen's eloquent plea (audio transcript 5:23), on the State Senate floor to amend HB-146 to include retroactivity provisions, his Senate colleagues turned him down flat for the second time in a row, passed HB-146 by a 25-0 vote, and then promptly trotted the bill back over to the assembled House, where it passed 67-0. As the 2008 legislative session draws to a close, the citizens of soon-to-be-incorporated "Powderville" are now left to fend for themselves; and meanwhile, the entire State Legislature, the very body which created the whole mess in the first place, will be no doubt patting itself on the back and congratulating itself for another "job" well done.

We'll incorporate a few selected quotes from today's Jeff DeMoss story:

Residents of Eden who have been involuntarily drawn into the Powder Mountain plans descended on the state Capitol Tuesday to express their concerns with the process.

“A few large landowners will be able to tax us and enter into financial arrangements for which we will bear the liability in the long run,” said Darla Van Zeben, one of the organizers of a movement against the development.

That's obviously okay with the State Legislature. Once again, the Legislature has turned its back on the "little people."

And we just loved this comment from Representative Brown, whose hopelessly flawed HB-466 caused the whole problem in the first place: “The issue is the law is what it is,” Brown said. “Whether it’s good or bad or flawed, we can’t change laws in the middle of the stream. For everyone who benefits, someone gets hurt.” Remarkable statement from a sitting Utah State Representative, we think. What's important we guess, at least from Rep. Brown's standpoint: At least those developers who took advantage of the legislature's admitted error won't be the ones who get hurt. And of course this whole travesty doesn't actually impair the fundamental civil rights of Representative Brown's own constituents themselves. We also wonder what exactly people Like Rep. Brown believe they should be expected to do, as their primary legislative obligation, if not to correct the effect of bad laws -- especially bad laws that are of their own making?

We believe Senator Christensen hit the nail precisely on the head with this:

“Some people in this body don’t have the political will to back up and admit there was a wrong, and we should right it,” said Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, who apologized for voting in favor of HB 466 last year.

“I had no idea it was wrong at the time,” he said. “I think it flew past all of us.”

And what say our gentle readers about all this?

Fighter Pilot Embarks on Civilian Combat Mission

First Demo candidate announcement in the Legislative District 8 race

Just as we speculated earlier this week, this morning's Standard-Examiner confirms that retired Air Force combat fighter pilot Don Bell has entered the House Legislative District 8 race under the Democratic Party banner, for the seat now occupied by Republican State Representative Gage Froerer. From the tone of the current conversation, we predict this contest will be a lively one. We incorporate here a few snippets form this morning's Marshall Thompson story:

“While the people of District 8 were being abused by horrific property taxes, my opponent was ineffective and participated in a propaganda campaign for 5 months against true property tax reforms,” D-Bell wrote. “It is time to hold him, and the special interests he represents, accountable for the ineffective leadership and representation. My opponent has represented his own business interests and those of his cronies in the Realtors Association and development industry, while neglecting his constituents.”

Froerer, who runs a real estate business in Weber County, said Bell is exaggerating and the people of District 8 won’t believe the claims.

“He’s very selective in what he points out there,” Froerer said. “I think the people know the efforts I’ve put out on property tax reform, voting rights and the Powder Mountain deal.”

Froerer has sponsored legislation and amendments that would retroactively change a loophole in a law that allows developers, like Powder Mountain, to incorporate as a town without letting future residents vote or elect the first town council. The law at the center of the debate, House Bill 466, passed unanimously through the Legislature last year.

D-Bell said he would be running as a Democrat in Weber County because of the local party’s strong stance on campaign finance reform in Utah. He said, if elected, he won’t accept any gifts and will only accept campaign donations from individuals for under $250.

D-Bell criticized his opponent for spending nearly $50,000 on his 2006 campaign and getting too many donations from real estate interests, but Froerer said that’s not accurate.

“One of his (D-Bell’s) problems is that he tends to invent numbers that don’t correspond with reality,” Froerer said.

If voters want to see his finances and contributors, Froerer said, they can go to the State of Utah reporting system at https://ucrs.utah.gov/.

Being the curious type, we navigated through the state's online reporting system, and these are the figures reported for Rep. Froerer's 2006 campaign:

Totals: Contributions: $61,552.46; Expenditures: $47,477.69; Balance: $14,074.77. A list of Froerer's 2006 contributors is viewable here.

Close enough for government work, we guess. We suspect this will be a highly-interesting race.

Powder Mountain Update: Weber County Commission Delays Vote on Powderville Application

The County commission responds to the anger and angst of the lumpenpeople

By Curmudgeon

Just up on the Salt Lake Tribune website: "Powder Mountain Town petition postponed for more discussion", per Kristen Moulton.

OGDEN - Opponents of the proposed Powder Mountain Town won a minor victory this morning when the Weber County Commission delayed the developer's petition to form a town until the commission, developers and opponents sit down and talk.
Commissioner Craig Dearden said he wants to find out if Powder Mountain's owner, Western America Holdings, is willing to compromise with residents of the Eden area who don't want to be part of the new town.
"I don't know where it's going to go, but I thought it was worth a shot to . . . see if we can come up with a solution that might work," Dearden said.
Powder Mountain spokeswoman Lisa Davis said the developers are happy to accommodate Dearden's request.
"We've been proactive in soliciting public opinion," she said, pointing to a series of public meetings and one-on-one sessions between resort representatives and residents.
"Hopefully we'll have a good, productive discussion," Davis said.
Darla Longhurst-Van Zeben, whose home would be in Powder Mountain Town, said the delay is a good idea. But she doubts Powder Mountain owners will give residents what they want: the ability to opt out or the right to vote for town council members if they're forced into the new town.

Seems to me the Republican establishment, or elements of it facing re-election this year, are beginning to scramble to find a way out from under the mess their developer owned and operated legislators created when they snuck the Developers' Dream Act through late in the session last year. My my my, will wonders never cease....

Hotel/Wading Pool Project Put on "Temporary" Hold

Midtown Village developer battens down the hatches in hope of riding out the recession

This morning's Standard-Examiner has the latest update on the Midtown Village at The Junction hotel/waterpark project, which Orem developer Larry Myler has now reportedly put on "temporary" hold, due to currently unfavorable conditions in the financial and real estate markets, which essentially means the developer has run out of money. From Ace Reporter Schwebke's story, buried on the Business Page at the back of today's newspaper:

OGDEN — It may be several months before Midtown Development presents a formal proposal to the city’s Redevelopment Agency for a possible $115 million downtown hotel and waterpark, Mayor Matthew Godfrey said Monday.
A downturn in the national economy is making it more difficult for projects like the proposed Midtown Village at The Junction development to obtain financing, Godfrey said.
“It’s made them (lenders) very conservative,” he said.
As a result, it could be months until economic conditions improve, allowing the Midtown Village project to move forward, Godfrey said.

And here we'd believed all along the main problem was those 275 missing parking spaces for which Dave Harmer has been searching during these past few weeks. Oh my.

And there's more. At the foot of the article the Std-Ex's Ace Reporter ever-so-gently gently mentions another Larry Myler project which has been likewise put on hold, this one apparently in mid-construction:

A slump in the economy has also temporarily halted construction on a $100 million luxury condominium project that Midtown Development is building in Orem, said Midtown President Larry Myler.
Several subcontractors have filed liens against the property to receive payment.
Myler said Monday he is hopeful that work will resume on the project within the next several months. [Emphasis added]

The Deseret News also had a story on Myler's Orem project in yesterday's edition, from which we glean a sampling of the several interesting reader remarks from the comments section beneath the D-News article:

Concerned Citizen: Does anybody remember that the CITY paid for the parking garage to be built? Does anyone remember that the developer got that for FREE? Now we pay the bond with taxes so the developer can continue to build a building that doesn't make economic sense, because he has connections at OREM City. Who is going to organize a movement to hold them accountable?

Orem is not Alone!!!: This is the same developer that wants to build the same project in Clearfield, and the same builder that wants to build the 14 story hotel in downtown Ogden. Can you imagine the people of Ogden having a 14 story downtown hotel stop construction half way through the process. It will be Ogden City mall all over again. Good luck Clearfield and Ogden, Mylers coming North.

Another Orem Resident: The big question is? Who on the city council approved this disaster - and WHY?

So many questions... so few answers.

And is it just us, or are there others among our readership who think the Emerald City taxpayers may have inadvertently dodged a bullet in re this project?

Just Who the Hell Do The People Think They Are?

Stealth legislation shortens time for circulating referendum petitions by six weeks

By Curmudgeon

Well, this one flew under the radar. Charlie Trentelman reports today in the Standard-Examiner in his Wasatch Rambler column that on Friday, the legislature passed Senate Bill 54, which shortens "by six weeks the time people challenging a law have to file petitions demanding a vote." Meaning a referendum, such as the one that overturned the legislature's school voucher law. "By god," the legislators seem to have decided, "we can't have the peasants getting uppity like this and telling us that we can't do to them what we want to do to them. Imagine, overturning our school voucher law by referendum. Just who the hell do the people think they are?"

Trentelman's full column, which deals with other related matters as well, can be found here.

Waiting for HB-466 Remedial Legislation: Will the Current Legislature Repeat Last Year's Blunder?

With three days remaining in the 2008 legislative session, your blogmeister grows a mite nervous

It's already the end of the end of the 2008 Utah legislation session, gentle readers, as Capitol Hill reporters Park and Demoss report in this morning's Standard-Examiner story. It seems like only yesterday that the legislature launched its annual 45-day session, which is even now drawing to its usual fevered close. Remember the old folke-ax... "Time flies when we're having fun." And as the final gavel falls at the end of this session a short three days hence, many bills will inevitably die undeliberated, (as is always the circumstance in our part-time legislature), without ever being brought before both legislative chambers for votes.

As per usual, there remain truckloads of legislation still pending in the legislature, including two bills which we've been watching very closely here on Weber County Forum -- both of which involve what we'll gently call "The Powderville Problem." Namely, there is the newly-amended SB-25 (which contains a retroactivity provision), and HB-164 (which does not.)

Alas, it was early last week when we lauded House Representative Froerer for successfully amending SB-25, to include the retroactivity provision. And what is the status of this -- and the other bill now? It's anybody's guess, we guess.

From the State Legislature's website:

HB-164 status
SB-25 status

Perhaps our gentle readers can soon decipher the meaning of the above gibberish provided by the Legislature's site. One thing is certain in the meantime however: neither of these bills has made its way to a vote in either the House or the Senate. And with three days remaining before the final gavel, let's just say we're growing a mite nervous.

Interesting comments from Senator Allen Christensen from today's Std-Ex article:

As for the last three days, Christensen said, the most important thing is to maintain focus and not rush things through. The hectic final hours of last year allowed legislation to get through that has resulted in the Powder Mountain Town incorporation battle, he said.

“Nobody caught it. I did not realize the unintended consequences, and they were big. Hopefully, we don’t make mistakes like we did on a couple last year.

Query: Will history repeat? Will this year's bumbling legislature manage to bring the 2008 session to a final close without ever correcting the problems of last year's HB-466?

Just for fun, we've placed a new poll in our right sidebar. Perhaps our readers will let us know what they think about the prospects of the legislature's passage of proper remedial legislation.

Anybody want to comment about this?

Yesterday's News Today

Two interesting stories stories to clear out the weekend cobwebs

We'll get the ball rolling this morning by digging into our queue of this past weekend's articles, stories we didn't post yesterday because we had the temerity to take the whole danged day off. Sunday's Standard-Examiner was a banner day for Ogden Valley, with two robust articles, reporting on the ongoing trials and travails of the fine people who are our "countrified" Weber County neighbors to the east.

The first article falls under the headline "As Ogden Valley sees tremendous growth, Huntsville embraces its ‘Mayberry’ image", which we think might have been more appropriately entitled " Huntsville residents kiss the Mayberry USA lifestyle bye-bye."

The second article, a fine Marshall Thompson biographical profile piece, shines the Std-Ex spotlight on Ogden Valley resident Don Bell, a citizen activist up-and-comer, who's become a front-line figure in the Utah property tax reform movement. Bell has been a familiar figure on Capitol Hill this legislative session, volunteering his time as a citizen lobbyist, in an effort to persuade individual legislators to enact meaningful tax reform this year. Bell is also the publisher of the Utah Wingmen for Property Tax RE-FORUM ( REFORM ) blog; and regular Weber County Forum readers will no doubt remember his sometimes cranky, but always knowledgeable comments on the subject of tax reform, right here Weber County Forum. Rumor also has it that the retired Air Force combat fighter pilot is now back in his Huntsville hangar, loading up a whole new planeload of political ordnance to drop on the Utah legislature during the 2009 session. Further rumor even suggests that he's toying with the idea of imminently throwing his hat into the political ring. We do believe that Don Bell is a name to be watched, and that the appearance of this article in yesterday's Std-Ex edition may well signal political announcements to come.

As an added bonus, we provide this handy link to Ogden Valley Forum, whose blogmaster posted a full article on these same topics last night.

Happy Monday morning, denizens of WCF. Don't hesitate to offer your two cents here, once the Monday morning double lattes take hold.

Finally... a Council Chair with some "Sack"

What a relief from the extremely "passive" former council chair Garcia
Although we've been preoccupied all day with real life business, we didn't want the day to slip by without at least mentioning today's Standard-Examiner story, in which it's reported that Emerald City council chairwoman Amy Wicks refuses to meet with His Corrupt Little Mayoral Ass, Boss Godfrey, one-on-one, in private consultations behind closed doors. So irate was the Little Emperor on Nine that Wicks wouldn't obey the imperial command to meet with him "privately," to receive the usual rubber-hose beating that he usually inflicts on people dumb enough to meet with him alone in his 9th floor throne-room, that he wrote a blistering email, and then promptly leaked it to the The Godfrey House Proganda Organ's Ace Reporter Schwebke, who, as per usual, gave the story a disgusting and slavish pro-Godfrey spin.

Our initial impression of Schwebke's "tattletale" story was completely right we think. And here are our first initial objections:

1) It's not right for the highly-abusive Boss Godfrey to insist that ANY woman on the city council meet with the "visionary" Him privately at all. From the last reports we've heard, the last female city councilwoman who tried that, left the meeting in tears. Good for our very classy and alert current council chair in this instance, we think, How many of our gentle readers, we ask, would like their female mothers, sisters, daughters and cousins -- and elected female council reps (nice women like Amy Wicks) -- to meet meet alone alone with the slobberingly aggressive Attack Dog Boss Godfrey in private session?

2) We also believe Councilwoman Wicks was entirely correct when she made her most recent public statement as quoted in today's article. The City Council is Emerald City's independant and co-equal legislative deliberative body. Read what Chairwoman Amy Wicks actually said:

"Wicks also said she prefers to discuss issues with Godfrey during the city council and administration’s joint leadership meetings held twice a month.
“The leadership meetings have a set time and agenda,” she said. “The more people you keep in the loop, the better.” 'Wicks also said she prefers to discuss issues with Godfrey during the city council and administration’s joint leadership meetings held twice a month.
“The leadership meetings have a set time and agenda,” she said. “The more people you keep in the loop, the better.”

Right on, Amy! It's about time we had somebody with some "sack" sitting in the Council Chair position, we say. And it's time Boss Godfrey got called on his 8-year pattern of sidetracking independent and legitimate city council deliberations, and arm-twisting Emerald City council people in Boss Godfrey's back room. We certainly got no complaint about that with outgoing council chair Jesse during his two years as Emerald City council Chair, BTW. Let's just say that we consider Council Chair Wicks to be a breath of fresh air.

And what say our gentle readers about all this?

The Muni Bond Market Appears Ready to Tank

An example of what happens when you've got a lot of people with their fingers in the cookie jar

Hard times ahead for Ogden's borrow and spend mayor. From yesterday's Los Angeles Times story:

"The credit crunch is taking a heavier toll on the municipal bond market, a favored sector for individual investors.
Yields on tax-free muni bonds surged Thursday for the 12th straight session as many buyers stayed away. That's bad news for California, which plans to sell bonds next week to raise $1.75 billion for infrastructure projects.
The annualized yield on an index of 40 long-term muni issues nationwide tracked by the Bond Buyer newspaper jumped to 5.33% on Thursday, up from 5.20% on Wednesday and the highest since 2002. The yield has rocketed from 4.74% five weeks ago.
A Bloomberg News index of 20-year California general obligation bonds sported a yield of 5.16% on Thursday, up from 4.63% five weeks ago.
Bond yields rise as the market prices of the securities drop -- a sign that investors are balking at putting their money into the issues.
In many cases, muni yields are above what taxable U.S. Treasury issues pay, an unusual occurrence. A 30-year Treasury bond pays about 4.51%.
Yet "there are very few buyers out there now" for munis, said Bob Fields, an expert on the market at bond giant Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach.
The normally low-key muni market, where states, cities and other municipalities borrow to fund their operations, has suffered a series of punches since late last year that have left investors wary. [...]
"Many muni bond analysts emphasize that the main problem facing the market is excess supply at a time when nervous investors are conserving cash. Supply and demand are "deeply out of balance" in the muni market nationwide, according to a recent report from Municipal Market Advisors, a Concord, Mass.-based research firm. [...]
"Still, default worries may grow as the economy weakens, some analysts caution. The result could be that investors demand even higher yields on muni bonds to compensate for a perceived increase in risk, said Jim Lynch, head of Lynch Municipal Bond Advisory in New York. "There should be no rush to buy here," he said."

Interesting related story from The San Jose Mercury News: Vallejo bankruptcy could have far-reaching impact. From that story:

"Experts say Vallejo's case undoubtedly will raise speculation about municipal bonds that cities use to fund facility improvements and other activities because the once-certain guarantee of profitability will suddenly look poisonous to investors. [...]
"If bond holders are hurt by a bankruptcy, then future lenders will probably put constraints on elected officials' ability to make promises while in office that must be paid after they leave," said CPA Marcia Fritz, vice president and treasurer for California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility, which advocates for pension reform.
"It's almost a relief that it's finally coming to this in Vallejo because it will be an example of what happens when you've got a lot of people with their fingers in the cookie jar," she said. "I saw this coming years ago."

Yes, gentle readers, impending municipal bankruptcies are just another factor which will likely affect the marketability of municipal bonds in an already shaky bond market. Percipient municipal bankruptcies of course introduce the "wild card" of "uncertainly" into the bond market -- a market which is normally played by only the most cautious and prudent investors -- a market which is allergic to surprises.

We do hope our mayor and city council/RDA board are keeping a close eye on developments in the Muni bond market, which is showing all the signs of a market preparing to tank. Perhaps it's time to back off on the grand plots and schemes... maybe just a little bit?

We thank gentle reader Danny for this morning's initial heads-up on these stories. Definitely something to think about as Emerald City's grand plotters and schemers barrel on full speed ahead, borrowing and spending like madmen.

Comments anyone?

The Salt Lake Tribune Comes Out Swinging

Senators Valentine and Buttars take some severe editorial heat
Added bonus: "Good stuff" from the Utah blogosphere

We'd like to put the spotlight on this scathing editorial in this morning's Salt Lake Tribune, on the subject of ethics in the state legislature. Here are the blistering opening 'graphs:

If anyone in Utah still believes that there's nothing rotten in the state of Utah's legislative branch, then they haven't been paying attention for a long, long time. Perhaps they'd rather hold to the belief that their lawmakers are as ethical and honorable as they keep claiming they are.
Well, many of them aren't, folks, and we take no pleasure in saying so.
But the stench of corruption around the Capitol from all the self-dealing, bullying, power-grabbing, hate-mongering, lavish lobbying and slavish payback, is strong enough to make the eyes smart and the nostrils burn.
Strong words, we grant you. But after it was revealed that Senate President John Valentine had ignored a gross ethical breach by Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, until, many months later, it was reported in this newspaper, we believe we're in no danger of overstating the ethical vacuum and sense of entitlement that pervade Capitol Hill today.

Yes, once again the bumbling Senator Chris Buttars is at the center of the controversy du-jour. State Senate President John Valentine's in the thick of it too. Read the full editorial here.

Senator Valentine can't imagine what the problem is. All Buttars did, after all, was send a threatening letter to a sitting Utah District Court Judge who'd ruled unfavorably against one of Buttars' cronies... on official Utah Legislature stationary... while serving as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee... you know, the committee which screens judges who are appointed to the Utah bench. This was no big deal to Valentine of course, who takes the remarkable position (with a completely straight face) that Buttars can shield his egregious misconduct behind the protections of the First Amendment. Hoo-boy.

And for some background on Senator Buttars' most recently-exposed political blunder, which the ethics-challenged Senate President John Valentine reportedly kept buried for at least two months, check out this short article collection from the The Third Avenue, where you'll find some exceptional analysis and commentary on the subject.

So how about it gentle readers? Anyone want to comment on ethics in the State Legislature (if any,) this bright Weber County Friday morning?

Don't let the cat get your tongues.

Update 2/29/08 3:35 p.pm MT: Another good update from The Third Avenue. The young Utah lawyer who runs this blog is very politically astute, we think. And he's definitely on a roll, in re this story.