Commissioner Hansen Not To Run For Reelection

Commissioner Hansen has telegraphed his intention to return to the private sector. His leaving opens the question of what we want most in our County Commission, but let us not forget the good job he tried to do as we look forward.

Commissioner Hansen distinguished himself from the old-guard by donating a good portion of his income to charity, making the point that his job paid too well. I, for one, would have preferred charity for charities sake, rather than giving only to make a political point.

His energy to change attitudes towards taxation seemed diminished after he had been on the job for a while. Maybe he realized that much of his rhetoric fell on deaf ears when it was aimed at his cohorts? Maybe he thought his campaign rhetoric had been wrong? Let's say that he demonstrated a willingness to listen to ways to save money at the county, but he lacked the strength that comes from being an outsider. I wonder how well a blue-dog Democrat would do in his position? I've been told that they would meet criteria that a Republican cannot. They are notable outsiders in Davis County. They are difficult to "fool"--at least they claim as much. I mean, who would join a losing party and then turn around and act the lemming? Is there really a difference between Republican and Democrat in Davis County except that one party wins, while the other languishes?

Commissioner Hansen has been responsible for the on-the-job training that both Downs and Millburn have received. How much their attitudes towards fiscal responsibility have changed since they were elected?

I haven't forgotten the time that the Utah Restaurant Association proposed that Counties pitch in for the cost of advertising for Utah restaurants. I quickly emailed the commission, and had an almost instant reply from Commissioner Hansen expressing his concern that the county not be forced to comply in this regard. That made it into a bill that was considered by the legislature. How fortunate were we that A) Our county paid enough attention so as not to volunteer to subsidize the advertisements, and B) they put forward the right kind of lobbying effort to stop a bill that would force the subsidy, and C) the legislature did not fall into the trap and pass the bill. In this regard, Alan Hansen did very well in my eyes, and I'll be sad to see him go.

Salt Lake Trib: Davis Commissioner Hansen won't seek re-election

RAP Rant

Joshua thought it so important that I get straightened out on my views that he posted this rant to my post about the RAP tax. (It appeared twice, so I deleted the superfluous one) I'll let it stand on its own without comment from me.

"If you are that anti-tax why then do we pay our public officials with tax dollars? Public officials that you support. Why do we have any community services at all? Are you opposed to parks? Youth Sports and other community sponsered events? Should we do away with road maitenance or the fire and police departments? No no no, I am sure you consider those "needs". Basic civil services right? Well I am being taxed for them, yet I have never had NEED of the fire department, nor the police. I own a 4 wheel drive vehicle so I really don't care if the roads are bad. Why don't the private individuals who want those services pay for it and leave my money alone. I have no kids so i have no NEED for public education anymore yet they steal my money and tax my property to pay for it. HOW DARE THEY?! Those tax and spend liberals! The fact of the matter is this, we are taxed, where that tax money goes is a whole other question. Personally I would much rather see bright a new beacon of culture and sophistication grace my county then yet another strip mall, or another subdivision. Working in the real estate field I am stunned every day how much government assitance is given to "private sector" projects. For once it would be nice to see a project that is solely for the people have a chance to get up off the ground.

Oh, and anyone who is TRULY a fan of Shakespeare wants it forced on everyone. It goes with the territory. Reading a couple of sonets and seeing plays doesn't create a Shakespearian Dramturge. However his is always the first name to be pulled to try and make oneself sound cultured. The Bard worship doesn't impress anyone into thinking you really are "pro-arts". And thats okay, you don't have to be. The world is full because of all types in it.

You have a group of people in this area who want to do something great, who want to share their gifts with all around. They need a proper place to do it in. You wouldn't ask the firemen to try and do what they do with out trucks and a station. We obviously don't ask our mayor and city council to operate out of the basement of the mayors home. This group wants to give back to their community the best way they know how, they have tried for years to figure out on how to do it alone, and have gotten about half way there. All they are asking is for everyone to pitch in 1 penny for every 1 dollar you are going to spend fo eight years. That is less then the change you will lose in your sofa or in cleaning out your car. 1 penny at a time to build a place that ALL residents would be proud to have in their community. It is sad when we can't muster up even that amount of generosity of spirit to affect change for good in our communities because of fear-mongers, decrying "legalized plunder" and "tax and spend liberals". I would have you know on an interesting side note that the people who are highest up in this group are FAR FAR from liberal democrates. They are as ultra-conservitive republican as I have ever met. They just happen to be able to see the world for what it is and not what they want it to be."

Vouchers: On Out-Of-State Money

I'm seeing a lot of anti-voucher ads on television. You might be asking, where is all this money coming from? You see, some months ago, criticisms of Parents for Choice were prolific about out-of-state money going into the organizations coffers.

Now, it is Utahn's for Public Education (anti-voucher) getting all of the out-of-state funds. (i.e. 1.5 million dollars from the National Education Association.)

Where are those critics now?

RAP:NSL And Farmington Have Good Priorities

Kudos go to the city councils for North Salt Lake and Farmington who recently refused to put the RAP tax on Novembers ballot.

Keep up the good work! Special Interest groups ought not to receive taxpayer funding.

The "Bountiful" Recreation Center

This is just so much water under the bridge now that its hardly worth mentioning except for its educational value. I was having a conversation the other day about the Bountiful Rec Center and was informed that the pool is always crowded with people and that it could have been made larger.

My question is--you know how you come up with the perfect thing to say a week later. My question is this, How many of those crowding into the pool live in the Bountiful area? How many live in one of the other four cities? There is a law of proximity here. Those closest to the center will gather there the most. Bountiful has enough residents to fill the facility of its own accord. Some would say that Bountiful is central to the five cities, but there is still a better way to place a pool. Centerville is central to itself. North Salt Lake, Woods Cross, West Bountiful all could have had their own smaller pools. Each of these cities would have been better off dividing the 23 million dollars five ways and building five 4 million dollar facilities. I wonder if that is why North Salt Lake city was the only one to vote against the tax--My city is, as a whole, is furthest from the facility.

It looks like Bountiful figures as the big winner in this tale.

Fairness Doctorine: The End Of The "Long Tail"

I'm not going to talk about the immigration--now dead--bill here. What I will mention is what Steve Uruqhart, so expertly, summarized on his latest post.

The after effects of a killed bill.

Because the U.S. Senate has been burned by the public it could not serve, it will likely retaliate by severely limiting free speech by the new media. This means that local bloggers like me, that haven't said word one against the actions of a few Senators, will suffer--that is unless we in the new media can unite against the onslaught. Urquhart laid out the strategy in this way.

"Magnanimous in victory, the people must do two things. First, the people should lift the Senate, help it dust itself off, and send it on the right path, by embracing Senators who engage directly with the people. It’s a new thing to them. Efforts should be generously rewarded. On the other hand, the first Senator who makes any motion toward silencing the dialogue should be stepped on immediately."

To those who would impose a bastardized "fairness doctorine" on bloggers, take note. We are not going to take this sitting down. Those of us that formerly kept clear of the immigration debate will join with immigration pundits and form something greater, and more potent than has ever been seen before.

What those that tried the jam down of the failed immigration reform did not realize is the power behind "the long tail". What lawmakers must soon learn is that the new media is born out of infinite variety. Any attempt to limit, restrict, or grant the power of the new media to an ordained elite will result in a deadly whiplash.

If the Senate thought that the outcry of a few political junkies was bad, just wait until they excite the ire of every little narrowcaster out there.

Voter's Shoot Down Pool

Right now I'm pining for an alternate universe in which the citizens in this County base decisions on what makes a better government, instead of a bigger pool. Recently, North Ogden residents voted no on an initiative to expand the swimming facility for the city.

Rightly so.

That being said, I'm still the go-to place if you want information on the South Davis Recreation Center. I beg of anyone to tell me whether a used boondoggle is a better boondoggle. I'm not sure I can wrap my head around that concept.

Foul, Reeking, Pollution

My family went to Hatch park last night and encountered a foul-mouthed teenager that made me cringe. Those were not words I wanted to teach my kids.

How many times does approaching a person and asking them kindly to stop just lead to more profanity, or ridicule?

I didn't ever find out if my politely asking would have ended the infraction because the kids stopped swearing before I could get over to them.

On a similar note, the Davis County Health Department has banned smoking in public. (Golfers remain unprotected by Daddy-County Health).

We don't ban the exhaust from automobiles, and we don't ban refineries.

What do you think?

Do Unions Help Anyone?

17 out of 900 Davis County employees have joined a union, the U.A.G.E. which represents government employees from Salt Lake through Ogden. The question is, is this helpful to county employees and the county itself?

Unions seem to be a dinosaur that has outlived its usefulness. Of course, government can be antediluvian too. My reading says that unions can save a persons job if it is in jeopardy, raising the point that some jobs may not be worth saving--a government job worth saving? Unions can negotiate higher wages, or it can do what it has done for unionized teachers and pit the administrations best interests against those of the teachers. Which is why school administrators count themselves among the number of teachers, when the legislature is passing out 'teacher' raises.

Unions participate in politics in a very partisan way, entrenching its members in political movements that may not enrich anyone but the union.

I'll say it again. Who is helped by unions?

Hatch Skate Park Update

Last night, I had a conversation with a 15 year old skater that I know through the Boy Scouts of America. As it turns out he, and a bunch of his skater friends, attended Tuesday nights NSL City Council meeting in which the fate of the park was discussed. He tells me that the skate park will be moved to behind the tennis courts and fenced in. He seem pleased with the result but thought it might even be better if the city were to charge a yearly fee to those that use the skate park. That way, only those who are interested in skate boarding will go there, and that would hopefully cut back on the crime and drug dealing that, he says, goes on there. He's actually been afraid to go skate boarding there because of the gangs that will target skaters, and vice-versa.

Incidentally, I was called bigoted the other day because I said that Bountiful citizens were right to question the location of a skate park. As if location is unimportant as a consideration. If I'm a bigot because of my concerns that I'm happy that label.

Bigot? Is that all you've got?

NSL May Close Skater Park

Bountiful tried to put in a skate park, but didn't due to active citizen/neighbors. Now Hatch Park in NSL may close because of the problems of vandalism and a general disruption of the peace.

We hate to say we told you so.

A Casual Meeting Of The Minds

I had a meeting last night with some folks involved in various groups. When I say 'some', I mean only five, but all of these are luminaries in their own organizations, so it was interesting. I was asked to come as a blogger, although I represent no specific interests other than my own. You might say that I am my only hope for a hero.

If it sounds like I'm being vague about what happened there, and whom attended its because I am. I'm hearing a lot about evil conservative conspiracies, and although I don't put any stock in most of those theories, I'd still like to be a part of one.

So, if you're concerned that you might be the subject of a conspiratorial probing, or have had millions of dollars invested in your destruction, then I probably talked about you last night.

Boooohaah!

On the other hand, this meeting wasn't held in a darkened parking lot, in the shadows. We had one representative from each organization. Citizens for Families, Citizensfortaxfairness.org, Eagle Forum, and DavisParents.org.

Have a look at some groups that are very open about their purpose.

Restaurant Spending Bill Withheld

SB68S01 got withheld by its sponsor on Wednesday, meaning that it probably won't go into law. The Utah Restaurant Association wanted the legislation to force counties to pay up on "tourism" taxes collected from Restaurants that is supposed to go towards tourism. The URA doesn't think counties are spending that money correctly. They even question whether the restaurant tax is a fair tax at all.

Let me stop right here to say that the restaurant tax does not equal a "tourism" tax. Many Utahns eat out as part of their regular routine. We don't leave the state every time we want our restaurant fix! And, the URA is probably right to question the fairness of the tax. If, in taxing restaurants, all that occurs is that the money is recycled back into restaurant hands, it would have been better to leave that money with the dining patrons in the first place. Likely, restaurants would adjust prices upward if a tax were removed. But it is far better for everyone if the money charged doesn't make its way through the intestinal tract of government first.

Clipper:Restaurant Bill No Longer On The Menu

SB194: Partisan Races For School Boards?

It seems that state and local school board elections will become openly partisan. They were partisan before, but people had a hard time nailing it down as such because they saw the word "nonpartisan" next to the candidates name on a ballot. Senator Bramble, chief sponser of the bill, got it completely wrong when he said that SB194 would result in "more visible campaigns", referring to a new party and special interest involvement.

Getting advocacy groups like the pro-voucher Parents for Choice in Education involved in school board races, Bramble said, would be "a very positive outcome. That's what we're hoping for."

I'm afraid that Parents for Choice already contributed in this election cycle to the "nonpartisan" R. Chris Barden who competed for the state school board. His campaign could not have been more "visible". Visibility is what $35,000 from PFC buys you. In reality, the bill will result in certifiably partisan campaigns because people will no longer be fooled into thinking that these candidates are beholden to no ideology.

We didn't need a bill to tell us that, but it helps. Special-interest didn't need this bill in order to participate in the process.

The voter should understand that partisan is as partisan does.

Desnews:Partisan Races For School Boards?

Happy Milton Friedman Day!

A couple of quotes, relevant to some intense debate we've seen in blogoland.

On Education Vouchers

"I want [education] vouchers to be ... available to everyone. They should contain few or no restrictions on how they can be used. We need a system in which the government says to every parent: 'Here is a piece of paper you can use for the education purposes of your child. It will cover the full cost per student at a government school. It is worth X dollars toward the cost of educational services that you purchase from parochial schools, private for-profit schools, private nonprofit schools, or other purveyors of educational services. You may add from your own funds to the voucher if you wish and can afford to.'

...creating a Class-based society

"Empowering parents would generate a competitive education market, which would lead to a burst of innovation and improvement, as competition has done in so many other areas. There's nothing that would do so much to avoid the danger of a two-tiered society, of a class-based society ... "

On Government Waste

"Many people complain about government waste, but I welcome it. ... [W]aste brings home to the public at large the fact that government is not an efficient and effective instrument for achieving its objectives. One of the great causes for hope is a growing disillusionment with the idea that government is the all-wise, all-powerful big brother who can solve every problem that comes along."

There is a PBS Documentary on him that, in Utah should be airing on January 31st at 2:00 AM.

That's no typo. Don't forget to nap before hand, or you could use one of those new-fangled recording dealies.

Hat tip to Larry Kudlow, John Stossel, and Paul Krugman.

Why I Should Never Gamble

I'm buying lunch today for a fellow blogger, who blogs at Centerville Citizen, known to the blogosphere as WP.

The reason for my generosity is a bet that I lost in regards to the last election. I wagered that P. Chris Barden, who ran against Kim Burningham for the School Board, had taken no money from Parents for Choice.

The reason that I was so overly confident, in this regard, was that Barden had already declared several thousand dollars worth of individual contributions--Well over $35,000. Parents for Choice did not get listed on his tally at the time. I didn't think a campaign for the School Board would get much more money than that.

However, in January, Parents for Choice listed Barden as having received about $35,000 from them. Also, Bardens reporting now confirms these figures.

This means that Barden got a grand total of $62,438.16 in campaign contributions. Compare this to his opponent--$16,025.37.

Of course, if Barden would now be beholden to anyone, he owes himself at least $11,995.17 worth of favors.

Update: I had a great discussion with WP on a variety topics. There is a lot upon which we agree! In answer to a question from Allie in the comments. No, I was unable to pay for lunch. I did try, though.

More on what we discussed later.

Davis Mayors Pass On Principles

Remember, at the Davis County Republican Convention, when Dannie McConkie opposed imposing a $10 fee? In fact, the entire Commission voted the fee down.

That was before the Convention.

Remember that Sunset, Clinton, Bountiful, West Bountiful, and South Weber agreed to take no action, or opposed a fee hike?

That was before an election.

Now that North Salt Lake has joined Clinton in opposing a fee, where are the principles of the other Mayors?

Principles have gone where they are wont to go after an election.

Out the window.

Mayor Schaeffermeyer::Got To Like Her Style!

I like NSL's mayor, Shanna Schaeffermeyer. Even if I can't yet spell her name.

She stood up for NSL, fighting a commitment to Legacy Highway, by saying, "For our city, it's pushed so far west that we won't use it."

Contrast that with Centerville's Mayor. Mayor Russell got duped into letting UDOT plan a major artery through town, and downtown. Main Street to be precise.

We need mayors in Davis County that will stand up for the interests of their cities, when the overall goals of the larger state are harmful.

P.S. I hear that Mayor Schaeffermeyer has been holding the South Davis Recreation District board to a higher standard as well.

It doesn't hurt at all that she can't have a seat on the board.

She has a voice. And, she uses it.

Davis County mayors pass transportation resolutions

Clean money: Reform would leave candidates beholden to no one

In May, I posted on an idea that one candidate was implementing to not take campaign contributions from special interest groups.

It didn't work--possibly because he didn't have enough cash in his coffers.

Now, I see this article in the SLTrib proposing State money be given to campaigns that promise to not take private money.

Would it work?

2006: The Best and Worst ideas in Davis County

Best

• Running an campaign with no Special Interest money--This concept needs to be picked up by more candidates. What better way is there to keep special interest from influencing a candidates judgement than keeping money out of the equation?
• Citizen Bloggers that question the Candidates--Many have done this, but few have gone the extra mile that this anonymous individual has.
  
• Early Voting
• Blogging Politics--Special thanks goes to my guest bloggers: Natalie, and Allie for bailing me out while I was away.

Worst

• 37% tax hike--There are two reasons this is a bad idea. First, it was a lame-duck commission that passed it. Second, the tax increase, itself, could not be justified.
• Twenty-one(21) years of defrauding the School district--Need I say more?
  
• Running an campaign with no Special Interest money--It turns out that running without Special Interest money may not win elections in the real world.
• A poorly implemented online poll--The Clipper gets all the credit for this one.
• Hacking a "poorly implemented online poll"--I, and my anonymous adversaries, will take the credit.
• A NSL Name change--Can an idea that never came to fruition be a bad idea? Yes!

The jury is still out on whether a lawsuit against the school district was beneficial. I think the parents may have taken things too far with fake stories, and inflammatory comments, but it did shed some light on a government body that could do with some light.