What I Learned from President Reagan-Ronald Mortensen

What I Learned from President Reagan

Ronald Mortensen

"In 1986, I was a member of the advance team for the Reagan-Gorbachev meetings in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Once in Iceland, preparations were made. The schedule was approved. President Reagan and Gorbachev arrived. The meetings began.

And then something happened. The meetings continued late into the night. The schedule was thrown out.

Finally, after nearly two days, the meetings broke up. The leaders returned home.

The press reported that the meetings had failed.

However, we all know the end of the story. Because President Reagan held to his principles at Reykjavik, the cold war eventually ended and the Soviet Union dissolved.

President Reagan taught us to never compromise principles for temporary success.

I was there and I saw principle and integrity in action.

If I am elected, I will follow President Reagan’s example. I will work to achieve results based on principles and integrity– not on tolerance and expediency."

{Tyler says:} When relating this story to me, Ron told me what he thought was the single most important contribution that he made to this meeting in Iceland. It was late, and the delegation was hungry. Ron woke up a cook and had some sandwiches made. He delivered them to outside the door of where the negotiations were taking place. He knocked on the door and left the food.

Every cog is a piece of the larger gear and keeps the machine of progress moving smoothly. Ron has demonstrated to me that he isn't caught up in formalities. He has a doctorate, but I've not, once, been asked to call him 'Doctor'. Although, I've been in his company when others touted their own titles and degrees.

deseretnews.com | State must prevent ID thefts by illegals

When I started reading this article in the Deseret News, given the subject matter, I thought, 'Wow! I wonder if this guy knows about Ron Mortensen'? Then I got further into the article and saw a comment about the Citizens for Tax Fairness and I thought, 'He must know Mortensen'.

Well, the end of the article gives it all away. Or, if I'd looked at the name of the author from the start I would have realized that Ron Mortensen was the author!

deseretnews.com | State must prevent ID thefts by illegals

Davis County: Early Voting Schedule

Why vote early? If you're like me you wonder if life will throw you a baby boy, a little early, when you might, otherwise, be voting. Here is a modified schedule(removing past-dates) taken from the Davis County Website(pdf).

2006 PRIMARY ELECTION

EARLY VOTING DATES & LOCATIONS

Davis County Courthouse
28 East State Street #236
Farmington, UT
June 19 – June 23 (8:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.)

Bountiful Library
725 South Main Street
Bountiful, UT
June 20 and 22 (7:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon)
June 19 and 21 (4:00 P.M. – 8: P.M.)
June 23 (1:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.)

Layton Library
155 North Wasatch Dr.
Layton, UT
June 20 and 22 (7:00 A.M. – 12:00 Noon)
June 19 and 21 (4:00 P.M. – 8: P.M.)
June 23 (1:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.)

Mortensen: No government contracts for illegals

Chris Phares at the Clipper has done a good job of covering the, June 8th, illegal immigration event, according to Ron Mortensen. I saw him over the weekend to get a lawn sign for his campaign. He mentioned that there were few in attendance, but he did see Rob Miller and Brett Milburn both.

Mortensen: No government contracts for illegals

Salt Lake Tribune - Davis candidates battle to end

What are your thoughts about the race between Louenda Downs and Michael Deamer? I had an email exchange with Centerville Citizen that made me think that I'm not the only one disliking the prospects of electing one of this pair-or, either one. Dispite what I've said on this blog elsewhere, I think I may vote for Deamer. But, I'm holding off on any endorsement until I see Tuesday nights debate.

Salt Lake Tribune - Davis candidates battle to end

DCRW: Primary Debate

Davis County Republican Pre-Primary Debate on June 20th

The Davis County Republican Women and Davis County Republican Party will be co-hosting a pre-primary debate on June 20th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Davis County Public Library in Centerville (45 S. 400 W behind the Home Depot). Candidates up for election from Davis County in Republican Primary have been invited to participate in the event. Questions will come from members of the Davis County Republican Women and Davis County Republican Party officers. Due to time constraints, questions from the floor will not be allowed. The format for the evening will be as follows:

• 6:30 p.m. Legislative District 19 Candidates (Sheryl Allen and Marc Jacobs)
• 7:00 p.m. Sheriff Candidates (Bud Cox and Todd Richardson)
• 7:30 p.m. County Commission Seat B Candidates (Michael Deamer and Louenda Downs)
• 8:00 p.m. Legislative 20 (Paul Neuenschwander and Ron Mortensen)
• Several candidates will be available after the event for further questions.

“This event is the only chance for citizens to hear from candidates in this type of setting,” said DCRW President Trudie Biggers. “It will be interesting and informative to watch the candidates as they interact with one another. Members of DCRW in particular will be watching for those candidates who best represent the principles of the Republican Party Platform.”

The primary election will be held June 27th. All registered Republicans residing in the county may participate.

For more information about the event contact Trudie Biggers at 546-6835 or Don Guymon at 574-9461.

Place your random comments here

From time to time I get a comment from someone that shamelessly promotes one thing or the other. It's quite annoying, given that I am looking for comments that relate to the topic on which I post. So, Please place your random, self-promoting, comments here. I'm not interested in censorship, but do insist upon order!

Class dismissed.

Salt Lake Tribune - Residents debate new moniker for North Salt Lake

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet."

-- Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

North Salt Lake is considering changing it's name. This has been tried before starting in the 1870s, then in 1981. The driving force behind this idea comes from Lisa Watts Baskin who says that it is "confusing, misleading and unattractive."

I would think that more effort should be put into changing the city motto, "Where everybody is somebody". That we should need to remind others of such a thing as our own value gives weight to the argument that we might feel insignificant when compared to the behemouth on our south(Salt Lake City; for the benefit of those not from 'Orchard Hills') and the thyroid challenged city to the north(Bountiful). Why should we think that we are anything less than a pimple on someone else's back. If you ask me, this is the real reason behind a change of name for NSL.

The ongoing land debate between NSL and SL- driven by the ego-centric Rocky- is a late example of the phenomenon of North Salt Lake getting ignored.

I wouldn't have thought that I would make so many arguments in favor of a name change. It may be costly and, ultimately, unnecessary. The name has been there for a long time.

So what if Qwest can't find my house?

Salt Lake Tribune - Residents debate new moniker for North Salt Lake

Clippertoday:Mortensen proposes taxpayer recreation credit

Ron Mortensen is currently running for the House of Representatives-District 20. He has shown he is determined to pursue the Recreation District to get them to cut waste and reduce costs for citizens of Davis County.

Mortensen proposes taxpayer recreation credit

Sheriff should be concerned with public safety

A succinct but accurate letter to the editor has appeared on the Standard Examiner. The author, Rachel Cottle wonders, "Why is an incumbent sheriff attacking the character of his opponent? His campaign must be in trouble. Negative campaigning is for desperate candidates, and by all accounts it sounds like Sheriff Cox is getting desperate."

Sheriff should be concerned with public safety

Please Attend - The Negative Impact of Illegal Immigration

Ronald Mortensen

Candidate Meeting

The Negative Impact of Illegal Immigration

Location: Bountiful City Library Date: Thursday, June 8, 2006 Time: 7:00 pm

Ronald Mortensen, Ph.D., a retired Foreign Service Officer and Republican Candidate for the House of Representatives in District 20, invites you to a discussion on the negative impacts of illegal immigration.

While immigration is federal responsibility, many of the negative impacts of illegal immigration fall on Utah and its citizens. During this discussion, we will look at the epidemic of illegal immigrant driven identity theft that appears to be targeting our children and other issues that you may wish to cover.

By the conclusion of the evening, we will have identified the things that our elected state representatives can do to mitigate the negative impacts of illegal immigration.


BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Please take the time to click on the hyperlinks in the last paragraph for additional and important information on illegal immigrant driven identity theft.

According to a Brookings Institute study, Utah is an emergency gateway for illegal immigration. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Utah is a destination of choice for illegal immigrants due to our driver's privilege card, in-state college tuition for the children of illegal immigrants and the generally welcoming attitude of Utahns.

Following the march of tens of thousands for illegal immigrant rights, KSL-TV reported that there are an estimated 90,000 illegal immigrants in Utah with other media outlets setting the number at 100,000.

Those who support illegal immigrants argue that these are good people who take jobs that Utahns won't do. They contribute to the economy, pay taxes, enhance the state's diversity and deserve to be given a path to citizenship.

Those opposing illegal immigration cite national security concerns that come from a porous, uncontrolled border and a disregard for the rule-of-law. They point out that illegal immigrants suppress wages, take jobs that many of our young people and other citizens would do, drive up the crime rate and increase the cost of health care, social programs and public education.

Proponents of Utah's in-state tuition law argue that it is unfair to make the children of illegal immigrants pay out-of-state tuition at our colleges and universities. After all, they were brought here by the parents and shouldn't be made to pay for their parents illegal acts. The Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce strongly supports in-state tuition and argues that it will prepare these young people to be leaders in our business community.

Opponents note that even if a students who are illegally in the United States graduate from college, they will still not be able to legally work in the United States. They also argue that Utah's in-state tuition program opens the state up to potential litigation from American citizens and legal immigrants who have to pay out-of-state tuition. Finally, they point out that Governor Mitt Romney vetoed an in-state tuition bill that was passed in Massachusetts arguing that it was not appropriate to reward illegal acts.

It has been widely reported that wherever there are large numbers of illegal immigrants, identity theft becomes a major problem since they require Social Security numbers and other documents in order to obtain employment. In fact, a rather limited, 2005 investigation by the Attorney General's office revealed that 1,800 Utah children under the age of 12 had their Social Security numbers stolen. When applied to the entire population, tens of thousands of Utah's children may well be the victims of identity theft.

Last year, bills were introduced in the legislature that would have repealed Utah's in-state tuition provision, ended the issuance of driving privilege cards and required employers to verify employment eligibility and Social Security numbers. None were considered by the full body of the Senate or the House.

The Perfect Poll: Security via Solicitation

I just realized the security of an online poll depends on one thing. Affiliate Marketing. Take the following poll question which I think is impervious to tampering. Pay specific attention to the second line.

"Is President Bush a good President?

Click here and get a free laptop."

No self-respecting hacker, worth his keyboard, has the guts to click on such a thing. So, all the Clipper needs to do to improve their polling is offer to give away something big that spawns other big offers, and so on, and so on...

But, if they want to know what hackers think, they can keep doing what they do best.

Ron Mortensen:Avoiding the appearance of evil

Ron Mortensen is running an interesting campaign for the House of Representatives in that he won't accept campaign contributions from special interest groups. This accomplishes two things. First, he can't be said to be under the influence from any group. Second, Mortensen sends a clear message that he will be frugal with taxpayer dollars as well.

Spending by Candidate can be found here. Those who want to help by dedicating some time to Ron's campaign can can send an email to protectfamilies@gmail.com

Ron Mortensen

Clippertoday:Inside Story-Manipulation of online polling hurts all of us

Treasure the Clipper

The Clipper is an amazing paper!

No, really! I am astounded when I do read it. One never knows what can, and will, be printed in it's pages. Let me offer one example.

Rolf Koecher at the Clipper wrote an article about me last week without contacting me for comment. He did seem to have talked to one other party regarding the incident (Rob Miller), but did not quote anyone else. The article was about an opinion poll that pitted Dannie McConkie against Bret Millburn and Rob Miller. I would think that a balanced reporter would also have tried to get a comment from Millburn after writing, "In a Monday afternoon conversation with Rob Miller over this incident, he told me he had seen an outpouring of support from all quarters — not just from those in Davis County — judging from the huge volume of e-mail he had received over the poll." There was not a single statement from Millburn in the entire article!

Two is not a few?

Apparently, the Clipper has had more incidents than this. (italics are mine)

"The company that hosts our Web site manages sites for well over 100 newspapers across America. They’ve had few problems in their other markets — except for here. So we’ve asked them to beef up their security measures a second time. "

If I'm to understand the above paragraph correctly, other markets haven't been without incident regarding security. They've had "few" problems elsewhere. The implication is that we've had two incidents with security on the Clipper website. What was the first incident? If we've, actually, only had this one incident, then it is impossible that we have had more problems than other markets that have seen "few", not zero, incidents. It seems to me that our market isn't that different at all.

No online poll is perfect but this is the worst I've ever seen. The least the Clipper Poll could do is record IP addresses when votes are cast so to prevent duplicate votes from the same machine. This is already done by other online polls.The Clipper has repeatedly demonstrated it's own mediocrity in it's reporting. It seldom gives all parties a fair hearing. It should at least try to give those it opposes the credit that it gives itself.

Clippertoday:Inside Story-Manipulation of online polling hurts all of us

Separated at Birth: Presidente Fox and President Bush's Radio Address

I talk about the fact that I don't post pictures to my blogs here. But I've been jealous of Ethan at SLSPIN that I couldn't participate in any 'Separated at Birth' Memes until now. Notice the similarity between Presidente Vicente Fox (rendered as ASCII below), who is visiting Utah to not talk about immigration reform, and President Bush's latest Radio Address on Immigration reform. It's uncanny!

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The Clipper Online Poll

I have had a few assumptions regarding the state of Utah political thought.

First, there are more Democrats in the blogosphere than Republicans. Second, there are more Republicans who will vote than Democrats. Third, online insta-polling is flawed.

Thinking I knew enough, I sabotaged the Clipper online poll.

It was always my intention to make this known, but not for the reason that I am now. I knew that the results of the poll could not be trusted and I knew many across the divide knew that as well- but they weren't saying anything about it as long as their guy was winning. I figured two things would happen if ballots were stuffed in Milburn's box. First, that the ballot stuffing would be recognized and exposed. Second, that one or more people would retaliate and that Miller's box would become very full. At this point I thought that the poll would be seen as a loss, the results in question, and shutdown.

On the last point I was very wrong.

The poll was shutdown but, somehow, the results of that poll seem to be held inviolate. I wish to apologize to any whose opinion has been changed, or not, as a result of my manipulation. What I did may not have been illegal, but it was wrong. Just because a process is flawed does not mean that trust in that process should be violated without regard. It was not my intention to swing favor in the direction of any one candidate (I placed a number of votes in McConkie's box with that in mind), but I did swing favor and I feel awful about it. I ask of any that read this to not let a tainted poll show a candidate's quality, but let the candidate's themselves show it. It wasn't "cheating", for any one candidate, it was monkeywrenching for none.

Revealing my part in this charade was supposed to be satisfying. It has been anything but that. It has, however, been entirely voluntary. If I did one good thing, in the end, it was to come clean anyway.

kutv.com - Halfway House Refuses To Take Capitol Hill Rapist

A halfway house refused the serial rapist, known as the 'Capital Hill Rapist', who had served 16 years for 13 rapes and five attempts, but Davis County Jail is under contract with the Feds to hold him. I don't mean to sound cynical, but at least we get full reimbursement as opposed to 1/2 the cost that the State gives.

kutv.com - Halfway House Refuses To Take Capitol Hill Rapist

Ashdown: Right Medium-Wrong Message

Needed Reform

Consider how earmark reform could be expedited by the use of collaborative software (like Wikipedia) in crafting legislation. Congressional staffers would make changes to legislation in a medium that would be transparent to the public. Pete Ashdown is using Wiki software in formulating talking points for his campaign. The examples below(pdf) illustrate how transparency is needed to reform the Legislative branch. On this point Ashdown is spot-on.

"...In 1997, Jason Alderman, a staffer for the late Rep. Sidney Yates (D-Ill.), had an altercation
with a policeman after being stopped for walking his dog without a leash in Meridian Hill
Park in Washington, D.C. Alderman later got language added to a House appropriations bill
ordering the National Park Service to build a dog run at the park “as expeditiously as
possible.” Rep. Yates was unaware of the earmark until it appeared in a column by the late
journalist (and CAGW co-founder) Jack Anderson."

"More recently, a staffer held up passage of the fiscal 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Act after
he added an obscure line to the 3,000-page bill that would give the chairmen of the
Appropriations Committees and their staff assistants the authority to access the income tax
returns of any American. The language was discovered only hours before the original vote
was scheduled and Republican leaders had to convene a special session to remove the
provision."

A chink in Ashdown's armor

Ashdown's strength is is his familiarity with technology-despite what he says about himself, "...I don't view my expertise on tech as the big motivator for swing voters in Utah. I think the fact that I'm a native Utahn who has run a business for over a decade here is." (Pete Ashdown Chat - July 15th, 2005.) A candidates business success is not a big differentiator in Utah politics anymore since Governor Huntsman has taken to the stage. In fact we have many business men and women involved heavily in Utah politics. However, Ashdown's technical prowess is unsurpassed. Where Ashdown begins to fail is in choosing to be a Democrat.

Take, for example, Ashdown's stand on a couple of issues.

"The death penalty is not a deterrent for violent crime. It has also been used in cases where innocence was proven later. We can let someone out of prison, but we can never give them back life. If it is not a deterrent and there is potential for a grave nonretractable mistake, then I see no reason to continue its use in America.

It should also be noted that in spite of the extended use of the death penalty in the United States, our country does not have lower criminality rates than other countries where it is not in use. According to a study conducted by the Taiwan government, the United States annually witnesses as many as 6.32 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, whereas countries such as Spain (1.08) or Japan (0.58), which do not use the death penalty, have dramatically fewer murders. (Japan does have a death penalty, but it is systematically commuted to a life sentence.) In fact, only the Russian Federation (18.07) has higher murder rates. This tends to prove that death penalty does not dissuade people from commiting crimes. Other approaches should be considered to solve our criminality issues.

The financial cost of executing a prisoner in the United States has been shown repeatedly to be far higher than life imprisonment. All issues of deterrence and morality aside, the financial cost is not worth it."

Yesterday, we saw sentence passed on Zacarias Moussaoui-Life without parole. We must, at a nexus such as this, consider the message that is being broadcast by this act. Not on an individual basis, but to groups such as Al Qaeda. Is it this? In Moussaoui's words, "America, you lost. I won." The death penalty would have sent an unwavering message to those who attempt to destroy human life. Financial costs aside, it is innocent human life that Ashdown should want to protect.

Ashdown would also like to see America's military presence in Iraq go to a vote of Iraqis. "The answer to Iraq is simple: let the Iraqis vote on how long they want the US to stay, then do what they say." Perhaps the Iraqis should also vote on whether they want the insurgency to stay in Iraq? Ashdown also proposes that we might move into Kuwait if the Iraqis ask us to leave. Before doing so we, certainly, should put that to Kuwait for a vote too!

Anyone else would be better?

I feel as much as anyone that there ought to be a better person for Senator than Hatch. But, Urqhart isn't running anymore. I don't believe that a candidate should gain my vote because I don't like the other guy. I'm still looking for my candidate.

Blogswarm: Everybody's doing it

Blogswarm (n): A million monkeys typing while Shakespeare sleeps.

The people at Exoro have come up with a novel idea. It is simply this. To start Utah's first blogswarm. The thing that I'm not sure about is whether I like being lumped in with everyone else. Am I opposed to getting nuclear waste in my backyard? Yes! I don't even care whose waste it is, I don't want it here. In fact I think the best argument against the storage of Nuclear waste in Utah is that it must be transported across the country to get here. That is as large a target for a terrorist attack that I have considered. But, I have nothing original to contribute to the argument. I recieved two emails from Utah Policy.com. The first email said this, "If we generate a groundswell, we could earn recognition from some of the nation’s power bloggers, consequently introducing your blog to a large new audience. " Okay, so I'm actually supposed to be blogging about this important issue because it will bring national attention to me? What about the cyclops fish? What about the fact that I blog on local issues, and don't need, or want a national audience?

The second email was even more enticing.

"If you are able to post tonight we will try to link to it in tomorrow’s UPD." Now, I'm really tempted. I mean I probably write one good post for every ten, and Golden Webb rarely links to me. I kind of enjoy the challenge, really. But, this is as close to a sure-thing as I've ever gotten from Utah Policy.com. Maybe I'm just being too difficult. I should just throw in with the rest and start typing. It's too late now.

I've got to say, though, that I read one exceptional post at Utah Planner's Corner on the topic. Maybe this blogswarm thing really does bring out the creative spirit in it's participants?

Clippertoday:LETTERS - Three cheers for McConkie

Every once in a while it is fun to link to something ridiculous. Today is one of those days!

Consider the following points as you read the letter below.

First, Citizens for Tax Fairness has received no money from Grover Norquist. Second, the group does not collect membership dues. No fund-raising activities have ever occured to finance the group. No bribes to any elected officials have been "dangled" by Citizens for Tax Fairness. Third, take a look at the Tax Pledge provided by the Citizens for Tax Fairness-It is different from Norquist's pledge in a variety of wonderful ways. Need I make four points? Why not? Fourth, "progressive taxation" is not a Conservative principle. Take Karl Marx, in the Communist Manifesto, for example. "In the most advanced countries the following will be pretty generally applicable:..a heavy progressive or graduated income tax."

My thanks to Ron Mortensen, Co-founder of Citizens for Tax Fairness for pointing me in the direction of this letter and enlightening me regarding Citizens for Tax Fairness financial underpinings. Perhaps someone can point me to Irvine's source-it appears to be Irvine? Regardless, Irvine has built such a fine straw-man to beat that I have to say, 'Swing away, Mr. Irvine, swing away.'

"LETTERS - Three cheers for McConkie
Letters to the Editor 25.APR.06
Editor:

Commissioner Dan McConkie has voted against propositions I favor time after time, but I nevertheless sincerely commend him for standing up to a slick intimidation tactic by a small group asking all county commission candidates to sign an anti-tax increase pledge. Commissioner McConkie, correctly, called the ploy an attempt to bind candidates to a policy position which would then be trotted out to politically bludgeon anyone whoever votes for a tax increase, irrespective of the merits and sensibilities of particular circumstances.

The more unfortunate aspect of this transparent tactic is from whence it originated. Its genesis, of course, is Washington, D.C. anti-tax Grover Norquist, the same Grover Norquist who evidently sold what may have been a principled conservative philosophical movement to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, and the infamous K Street Project, which has sought to turn control over congressional policy to the highest Republican bidders.

It is highly regrettable that this volatile formula for mixing faux-conservative political philosophy with unlimited corporate money would find its way to Utah. Which group of Utah elected officials will be targeted next?

Mr. Norquist and his moneyed allies have dangled campaign contributions in front of Republican congressmen and senators to such an extent that the laudable conservative principle of responsible, progressive taxation has been completely overwhelmed by tax cuts for the wealthy and a very un-conservative reluctance to balance the federal budget.

These mortgage-the-future, big-spenders are not Democrats; they are Republicans, and the immediate beneficiaries are, largely, Republican contributors to Norquist’s pet projects.

If this kind of out-of-kilter fiscal policy or money-for votes fund raising is the goal of Citizens for Tax Fairness, or whatever the clever nom du jour, three cheers for Commissioner McConkie — who will still vote against my requests and positions again and again.

David R. Irvine

Bountiful"
Clippertoday:LETTERS - Three cheers for McConkie

Republican Blog: Top Ten

It appears the news is out that I am a registered Republican. I can't believe that I never let that fact slip out before, but I can appreciate the disappointment that it must be to those who thought that I was a liberal. The request was made in comment to my last post that I change the name of this blog to "Republican Davis County Watch". Just for fun, I'd like to discuss the possible implications of the proposed change in the following way.

The top ten reasons to change the name of this blog to "Republican Davis County Watch".

10) People who might otherwise agree with me will begin to see my true nature as the 'spawn of evil'.
9) As no Democrats ever get elected in Davis County, this will eliminate any illusion that they are in power.
8) To prevent any confusion between this and the "Green Party Davis County Watch".
7) Have you ever compared a Republican Watch with the generic version? Try it now, and you'll wonder how you ever told time without a minute hand!
6) Because, maybe I will get to vote in the Primary and my blog will get a vote too.
5) One day, when I forget my ID when voting, I can say, "But, I run 'Republican Davis County Watch'".
4) 'http://www.daviscountywatch.blogspot.com' just isn't long enough!
3) Because, everybody's doing it.
2) Because Karl Rove said so.
1) Because this blog is a fiscally responsible, conservative, and carries a gun!

County Convention: Preliminary to a Primary

The results are in.

P. Bret Millburn beat out McConkie with a whopping 67% of the vote! My vote was clearly for Milburn, but I had been worried at the start that he may not do as well in front of a crowd. I am glad to have been wrong at that. Millburn managed to rally the crowd in his favor that may have been undecided up to that point. It seemed he was channeling Reagan in communicating. He deserved his ovation, and deserved the win. I wonder how McConkie will finish his term? My guess is that he has not finished with politics. I'm betting he is eyeing an appointment somewhere at the State level. He isn't out of sight despite his unpopularity at the convention.

Other results include Ivie with 87% of the vote. This was not a surprise.

Yet more will have to be decided in the Primaries this summer. Michael Deamer and Louenda Downs came in close and were too close to decide. Todd Richardson and Bud Cox came within 10 votes of one another.

County Delegate: Note to self

My time as a Delegate is not quite over this year, but I have learned at least one lesson well. Only argue with the Candidate when at a 'Meet the Candidate' function. I've had too many good points completely ignored by allowing other delegates to engage me in a debate. One can imagine the White House Press Corps, ardently, arguing amongst themselves while the Press Secretary smiles blissfully from the podium. It is hard to brush off a direct challenge from another delegate when presented with one, but my pat-answer will now be, "Let's talk about that later. I would like to hear the Candidates response to the question."

Meet the Candidate: Michael L. Deamer

If my discussion with Mike Deamer tonight had been a debate, and the winner was decided based upon their popularity, then I would have lost. Let me start by running over my biases, for those who don't already know them. I am a fiscal conservative which opposes government spending for what I consider to be non-core functions. I expect responsible spending on core functions, and no spending when possible. This can put one like myself out in the cold when in the company of those with a softer, fuzzier view of the world. Now, on to the bullet points.

Waste

Deamer began well. He layed out a well reasoned criticism of the Wasatch Intergrated Waste Management, a waste burning facility that is operated under Davis County Government. He says, (and I believe it) that he has been after the entity to lower rates for years. They finally did so, to a small degree. I think I'm saving about fifty cents a month on my garbage bill now.

Jail expansion

The Candidate outlined his opposition to the handling of the Jail expansion. He felt that the cost to the taxpayer was too high, and lumped the difficulty of the Jail in with the failed attempt to raise taxes 138%.

South Davis Recreation Center

He openly supported the funding and building of the Center. Why wouldn't he since he sits on the Board, you ask? Well, for one thing, he sits on the Waste Board as well, yet he's been critical of them. He spoke highly of the Davis School District, the County, and Bountiful for the additional contribution they made when the costs escalated. (Fact check: How much did the School District contribute?)

Why Commissioner?

Deamer said that the job of Mayor of Centerville did not pay that well for a full-time job. He was running for Commissioner because it paid well and he thought he could make a difference in the County. I don't think I'm twisting words here. It was a bold admission that Commissioners earn good money. I don't think Deamer's ashamed of it.

Questions

I asked him if he had studied whether the Recreation Center would ever turn a profit. He went through a litany of other facilities and pools that they had visited which they thought, as a group, were just fantastic. I pressed on the question of a profitable facility. He admitted, eventually, that it would probably always be subsidized by the government. He also confessed that the planners did not consider the financial aspects of the Rec Center when it was being considered.

I mentioned that the center would be a multiple-purpose facility, and that they could have kept things to a pool and a ice-rink. Why build a climbing wall, three pools of such large purportions, and a rink? The argument was presented that the Center would not compete with the private sector since nobody in the private sector had built such a facility. I said that businesses may never try to compete, now that the building was almost finished.

Now it get's interesting.

When I questioned Deamer on how he could oppose the Jail expansion, but support the Rec Center, he said, 'the main difference between the two issues are that the Rec Center was brought to a public vote while the Jail never was'. What was that?

I informed Deamer that the Jail expansion was brought to a vote of the public. But, I let him off too easy. I should have re-asked the question. What is the difference between the Rec Center and the Jail? When pressed Deamer said that he thought that the building of a Rec Center was a core function of government. If that's true, then Deamer is a Fiscal Conservative.

Losing the Delegates

As it turns out there were a whole bunch of people in favor of a Rec Center. One told me a story about how when she was a child she had to travel miles to swim in the Deseret Gym. Another told me that without the government, we may not have mountains to climb (responding to my expression that anyone wanting a climbing wall ought to look to the mountains. I do enjoy rock climbing in the mountains). Yet, this delegate actually said, we may not have mountains without the government! I think he meant that we would have leveled them all to build houses, but I responded that God gave us the mountains, not the government. One person said it all, "I like the Rec Center"! It should be clear to me at this point that I have lost these people, but I continued in my futile attempts at persuasion for another few minutes.

Conclusion

If you believe that the Rec Center deserved less financial scrutiny than our Jail, or our Waste Management facilities then you should give Mike Deamer your full support. If you want Deamer pinching pennies on our Jails while he doles out dollars for our climbing wall, then jump aboard the Deamer campaign.

Davis School District: Bond Survey

Study conducted for the

Davis School District

Bond Survey

February/March 2006

By

Dan Jones & Associates, Inc.

Questions asked during Bond Survey

Question 1-4: Do you have any children or grandchildren who attend school in the (1) Davis School District in: (2) Elementary School? (3) Junior High School? (4) High School?

Questions 5-13: To address population growth, safety concerns and ongoing maintenance needs, the Davis School District has presented a plan that will address such needs for the next five years. This plan affects virtually every community in the District. The plan calls for new schools in areas of growth, reconstruction of one old school, and renovation and upgrading of school buildings throughout the district. A special election, in conjunction with a primary election, will be held on June 27, 2006, for a $230 million dollar bond. And the district has promised, as it did in 2003, to keep the current tax rate as it currently is, meaning if the bond is passed, the current tax rate would remain the same as it is today.

I would like to read you a list of some items in the School Building Improvement and Construction plan that will be covered by the bond. Please tell me whether you favor or oppose bonding for each item?

(5) Upgrade Bountiful High, (6) Upgrade Woods Cross High, (7) Upgrade Clearfield High, (8) Addition to South Davis Junior High, (9) Addition to Farmington Junior High, (10) Addition to Reading Elementary, (11) Addition to South Weber Elementary, (12) Replacement of Wasatch Elementary, (13) Building new schools

Question 14: And, how likely are you to vote in a school bond election to be held as part of the June Primary Election?

Question 15: If a special bond election were held today, would you vote for or against the district’s proposed $230 million dollar bond for school construction, renovation, and upgrading?

Question 16: If against: Why would you likely vote against the bond?

Question 17: Generally speaking, how interested are you in this school bond election, using a 1-10 scale, with one meaning not at all interested and ten meaning very interested?

Question 18: Do you currently work with the PTA, school community council or volunteer at one of the schools?

I will post my comments on this Bond next week. -Tyler

Meet the Candidate: Brian Cook

I met Brian Cook on Friday, who is running for the 'Northern' Commission seat B. He saw who was running for that seat and where they live and felt that the Northern part of the County would be severely under-represented if he didn't run. Up until Friday, I thought I might support Deamer for that seat, but I think I'm changing horses on this one. I'll meet Deamer on Tuesday night, so I can still change my mind, but I'm backing Cook.

I have many reasons for thinking this way. Cook only needs to continue on the Commission as he has acted as Mayor for eight years to win my support. As Mayor of Kaysville the property tax went down 16%. He brought business to Kaysville by helping to develop a business park (the park is privately owned and operated). He researched the cost of building a public swimming pool in Kaysville and determined that there was no way such a facility could be operated at a profit and so did not pursue it. As I understand things, the city has contracted with a private group to provide some recreation facility's for the city. In short he acted the part of a fiscal conservative.

Meet the Candidate: Bret Millburn

I saw Bret Millburn last night and now I've found my Candidate for Seat A.

Let's contrast Millburn with Jana Truman, who is running for Commission Seat B. Truman said she was a Conservative, but did not feel that it worked in practice. Millburn said he believed that conservative principles could be successfully implemented. Millburn actually levelled a gutsy critisism at the county citizens for saying that we are conservative, but then asking for things that make us anything but conservative. The word he used was, 'hypocrites'. He used the Recreation Center as an example of something that we should not ask the government to provide. He actual spent most of his time talking about positive changes that could be made to make County Government more transparent and accessible to the citizens. Both have been heavily involved in politics, but Millburn seemed to have a humility that Truman lacked. He made the meeting less a referendum on him and more about the issues he cared about.

It seemed that he had the support of almost everyone in the room until he was asked a question about his views on Education. At this point, one individual, seemed concerned. Let me specify first, that Education has very little to do with the duties of a Commissioner, but Millburn tackled the question anyway. The question posed was on how Millburn felt about credits being given to those who choose private schools for their children. Millburn responded that he felt that it was right that public schools should exist, but that we should hold them accountable for what they do. He feels that if public schools needed to compete that they would start to improve. I feel as Millburn does. This is a core Conservative principle, and even though Millburn didn't have to state this view, he did.

Jana Truman: Beggars can't be choosers

Over the weekend I went to a 'Meet the Candidate night' with Jana Truman, Troy Rawlings, and James Ivie. Although she's not been elected, Truman was already making excuses for poor performance. She was unwilling to commit to anything, but if she made a campaign promise, that afternoon, it was something like this, 'I will do everything I can not to raise taxes until I inevitably do!' She indicated that she espoused conservative principles, 'in principle', but thought they could, often, not be implemented. So, you can thank the ACLU, or the State of Utah if Truman doesn't accomplish anything. She did reveal the first sprouts of a good idea which I doubt will bear any good fruit, because she will be ineffectual at implementing it. Her idea was to take some of the load off the County Jail by establishing a rehabilitation center for drug abusers. When I asked her if she would accept money for inmates from the State on the condition that they wouldn't reimburse Medical expenses (which is how things are for the Jail) she didn't think that she could say 'No' to the State.

The overall impression I get from Truman is that she doesn't know the difference between a negotiator, and a beggar. The negotiator can walk away from a deal if it doesn't meet specific conditions. A beggar takes what they can get, but they don't get much. Some people call her 'honest', but I call her ineffective.

One side note: I actually was impressed with both Rawlings, and Ivie. I don't know why they've sided with Truman other than some political inexperience on Rawlings part. They may have my vote, though. We'll see.

CAGW: 2006 Pig Book is here!

The Citizens Against Government Waste has given us the 2006 Pork Book. The Republican Senator from Utah, Robert Bennett has featured quite prominently in their Summary page.

"$14,085,000 for projects in the state of Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Robert Bennett (R-Utah), including: $5,000,000 for the Utah Conservation Initiative; $3,000,000 for the Washington Fields Project; $900,000 for botanical research; $545,000 for advanced computing research and education; and $300,000 for the Oquirrh Institute. According to the Institute’s website, “The Oquirrh Institute was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. The Institute's mission is to shine early light on public policy dilemmas and establish innovative solutions. The Oquirrh Institute is currently involved in four areas of concentration: Moving to Competency-Measured Education, Improving Environmental Management, Advancing Health Information and Research and Enhancing Governance Through Technology.” According to USDA testimony, “The principal researchers have not yet determined a completion date on this project.” A total of $500 has been raised from corporations and foundations. Taxpayers have “contributed” $550,000 to Oquirrh since 2004."

...

$1,000,000 added by the Senate for a competency-based distance education initiative with Western Governors University in the state of Senate appropriator Robert Bennett (R-Utah). This school is a private university that only gained accreditation in 2003. A close examination of their website does not reveal any defense-related missions.

...

$13,950,000 for projects in the state of Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee member Robert Bennett (R-Utah), including: $4,000,000 for the Utah Public Lands Artifact Preservation Act; $1,500,000 for the Bonneville Shoreline Trail; $750,000 for the Range Creek/Rainbow Glass Ranch; $500,000 for a wastewater treatment plant in Eagle Mountain; and $300,000 for wastewater infrastructure improvements for Judge Tunnel in Park City."

I have also created a swell spreadsheet of Utah Pork taken from CAGW's Pork Database which I will link to once I can find someone to host it for me.

I have found a number of blessed recipients of this pork to be very much a part of Davis County. Utah has moved, perilously, in the direction of the Porker since last year. We were ranked 24th and now sit at 18th. We, on a local level, can put a stop to Pork Politics.

CAGW

Clipper:SLC seeking to condemn 80 NSL acres

I'm taking a break from election talk to revisit an old issue. The North Salt Lake-Salt Lake land dispute. SLC is filinga motion to condemn all 80 acres as opposed to the 13 originally condemned. Mayor Briggs thinks that SLC's decision to condemn all 80 acres of NSL owned land would be better for SLC. However, I feel better about that decision than having the 13 acres along the County border condemned if we lose in court.

Condemning just the border land would be seen by all as a dirty trick by SLC to pay only minimal compensation and still acheive the goal of halting development. Now SLC doesn't have to answer the question in court of why they condemned only part of the total land. It's tougher for NSL to win in court, but less costly if we lose.

SLC seeking to condemn 80 NSL acres

Have you seen me?? --Citizens For Tax Fairness

Demonstrating his frugality, Ronald Mortensen has opted to use Citizensfortaxfairness.org as his campaign website. 'CFTF' has never asked for contributions, and the money for the domain was put up by Ron himself, so this is more than welcome in my view. Those who may see a conspiracy in this can rest assured that CFTF will take a stand for government to cut spending on everything but the core functions of government. Indeed, this seems a primary focus of Mortensen's campaign. I will have to ask Ron if the $20 he spent on the domain name was counted as a tax-deduction, or not. So, keep an eye out for, a somewhat emaciated, Citizen Watchdog. I'm thinking of printing some stickers, with pictures of the noble pooch, to be placed the side of milk jugs everywhere. From now until May 1st contributions made to my paypal account will go for that purpose.

In the meantime, I give you the much improved Campaign website (really, citizensfortaxfairness.org).

The small print: No tax deductions were had by any person due to their involvement with Citizens for Tax Fairness.

Washington Post: Up to Their Earmarks

Due to the money spent on earmarks and porkbarrel tripling over the last decade according to CRS, some legislators are asking the President to instruct his department heads to ignore the pork, instead of asking for line-item veto to do, essentially, the same thing in a more problematic way.

CRS has said that over 95% of all earmarks are not written into law but merely reported on. The President could choose to save the funds ordinarily spent and not overeach his authority.

Utah's, U.S. Senators are silent on some proposed legislation to take care of this problem, S.2265: The Pork Barrel Reduction Act.

The efficacy of the above bill and others are considered by CRS here.

Hat tip: RealClearPolitics: Robert Novak

Litmus test for Delegates: Caught in the Middle

A similar situation to the caucuses written about in this Salt Lake Tribune article happened at my caucus on Tuesday night. I was the only nominee, that would vote for a Candidate that would support Tuition Vouchers.

It's not fun to be a dissenting voice. I was not selected as a State Delegate.

It's hard to be alone in an opinion when conspiracy theories abound. The group is wondering, 'Why is he so disagreeable?' 'Who is putting him up to this?' 'Who is funding his Candidates Campaign?'

I'm turning red from all the attention and asking myself, What is their angle? What are they worried about? They won't take my word for it that my Candidate is running on whole list of issues, and that Tuition vouchers have not come up.

They want someone without an agenda, but they have an agenda. Are the cacophony of voices just one voice-echoing, or many?

What could I have lost, if anything, in refusing to elect a candidate that didn't pass their test? Why did I stand my ground on something that is so small an issue? I suspect that something else was at stake besides school funds. Something of greater importance pressed me to resist. There is a fundamental problem in proposing a litmus test when the decision revolves around a persons character. Character is indefinable, but a litmus test demands definition. We are not all clones of one another. Something, deep within us, rebels when pressed to bend to anothers will. This is not humanities weakness, but it's greatest strength! That is not to say that mankind cannot compromise--We can leave good things behind to pursue greater things. But, our life-choices are not all-or-nothing propositions. We should not expect others to think as we do. When all voices have been heard, and reasons given, we may be left alone for a technicality.

StandardNET/Standard-Examiner::Tonight's party caucuses

The Standard Examiner has advocated that we eliminate the traditional caucus system in favor of a "series of direct primary elections". This, because ideologues have organized in order to influence public policy at it's most basic level.

This begs the question. Do we want a system that encourages apathy, or one that only suffers from it? To move away from our Republic towards a straight Democracy might, on the surface, look like it cures apathy because we will count more ballots, initially. However, citizens in a purely Democratic society may only be active in the voting booth. At least with the system we now have we can expect to see a few 'idealogues' make their voices heard.

StandardNET/Standard-Examiner::Tonight's party caucuses

Ronald W. Mortensen for Utah House of Representatives

Imagine my delight and surprise when I saw that Ronald Mortensen is running for the Utah House. Surprise, because I've known him to be busy in other pursuits which, in the past, have taken him out of the country. Well, not so much out of this country as into many other countries that one doesn't pick as a vacation destination (i.e. Iraq, Sudan, Pakistan, etc.) A decision to run for a local office would mean taking a break from his service abroad. I feel delight, because the biggest weakness I've seen in him is a profound humility that does not suit a career politician. I assume that he has no intention of making this a career, but is intent on making a difference in a way that is his habit--as a servant.

I don't want to start making campaign promises on his behalf, but I'm certain his focus would be on returning the State to fiscal sanity. I couldn't be happier that he's running.

Todd Richardson For Davis County Sheriff

Sheriff Bud Cox has some competition for the office in his Deputy. It's too early in the game to expect any real statement of goals for the next term, but Richardson has wasted no time in leveling a few criticisms.

First, Cox has campaigned in uniform in a run for office in 2002. Second, Cox has recently cut drug tests for inmates to save money, while, at the same time asking for a $1,200 contract for a weekly movie night for inmates. Third, Richardson has been critical of Cox exempting himself from the physical fitness requirement.

Todd Richardson For Davis County Sheriff

Commissioner Cook: Not yet!

This seems a little presumptuous to me.

Update: The site looks a whole lot better now.

Brian D. Cook: Davis County Commissioner

South Davis Rec Center: Then and Now

My wife pointed out to me, yesterday, this listing in the Clipper. (Bolding added)

"The South Davis Recreation District is seeking an experienced Marketing/Office Manager for a new $23 million Recreation Center now under construction in Bountiful. The center is scheduled to be finished November 2006. Under the direction of the Executive Director, the Marketing/Office Manager would be responsible for organizing & implementing marketing strategies for all Recreation Center programs. Manage a variety of administrative & general office activities needed to organize & coordinate the successful operation of recreation programs & services. The District is offering a competitive salary & benefit package, with a salary range up to $52,000 plus retirement, medical, sick & vacation leave, & other benefits. A college degree in marketing, office management, business administration or a related field is required, with a minimum of 2 yrs of direct office management experience in a large recreation office or similar setting. To apply, submit a resume by 5pm Feb 28, 2006 to: South Davis Recreation District, C/O John Miller, 790 South 100 East, Bntfl, Ut 84010. For a full job description or other questions, call (801)298-6220."

It seems that building a Rec Center for 23 million taxpayer dollars is something, of which, to be proud?? Compare the above posting with the following quote taken from Citizens for Tax Fairness.

"January 22, 2005: “The bad news is that even before construction has started, the new South Davis rec center is $600,000 over budget. The good news is that Brent Tippets of VCBO Architectural says being overbudget at this stage isn’t unusual…. Tippets said the board shouldn’t yet consider eliminating any contingencies, however. He added that the project shouldn’t get higher than $20 million.” (Comment: Less than six months later the project was $2.7 million over budget)."

"May 12, 2005: “Faced with spiraling construction material costs, the South Davis Recreation District has reduced the size of its new center. But district board Chairman Joe Johnson emphasized the reductions were “things we felt we could reduce and not affect the quality of the facility or the programming. “The patrons when they go in will not notice the reductions,” he told the Clipper. To keep costs in line with bond funds approved by voters last August, the size of the facility will be reduced from about 160,000 square feet to 140,000 square feet.”

"July 14, 2005: “Preliminary construction work may be under way at the South Davis Recreation Center site, but final plans are still being mulled over and “fine-tuned.” That’s because, faced with a 20 percent escalation in construction material costs, funds just won’t stretch as far, said Bountiful Mayor Joe Johnson….“It’s a challenge, no question about it. I’m still tremendously optimistic. We’ll end up with a good pool, good ice skating rink, exercise area. It just won’t be as spacious,” he said. After various bids were assembled within the last weeks, a shortfall of at least $2 million was calculated."

So, the person that applies for this Marketing Job should know this. The Rec Center shouldn't have gotten higher than $20 million, but did. Market that!

Davis County:South Davis Recreation District Board Appointment

The appointment of a new member to the Recreation District (replacing Daryl Tweede) was on the agenda for today's Commision meeting. I was unable to attend, but wonder how it went?

Davis County: Election Public Notice

The period to file for public office begins a week from today. I'd like to see things mixed up in a few areas. The office of U.S. Senator, State Board of Education, County Commisioners, and Davis School Board member.

Election Public Notice (pdf)

The Tax Foundation - Which State Taxes are Best for Business?

The Tax Foundation has ranked the States as to how friendly taxes are to businesses. How are the tax reforms that are getting enacted going to change the tax climate for Utah?

The Tax Foundation - Which State Taxes are Best for Business?

Daily Herald - County jails may get more money for state prisoners

In May, June, and August I blogged about the soaring costs of housing state inmates in County Jails. The rebuke to State, as it applies to Davis County, is that the County provides beds State inmates and is only reimbursed about half of the total cost. (Don't be fooled by the 70% reimbursement figure. The State only reimburses 70% of 70% of the total cost. Doing the math, the amount reimbursed is 50%. Talk about creative accounting!)

Now a Bill is heading to the House that would increase the rate of reimbursement, accounting for expenses like the cost of the buildings. It would still not take into account the medical expenses, which I've blogged about previously.


Daily Herald - County jails may get more money for state prisoners

The Tax Foundation - India's 'Bribe Taxes' and the Cost of Doing Business

The following questions should make us all feel better for living where we do.

Should Companies get to count the bribes they pay to government employees on their taxes or not? I mean, how long do I have to wait for an answer to this one?

The Tax Foundation - India's 'Bribe Taxes' and the Cost of Doing Business

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah:New West Bountiful mayor fires police chief

West Bountiful's Mayor has every right to assemble the team that he wants, but to fire someone with no explanation is too harsh! When asked about his exit interview with the new Mayor, Mike Wright had this to say, “I asked for an explanation, and he didn't give me one,” he said. “I'm 52 and I've never been fired before.”

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah:New West Bountiful mayor fires police chief

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah:Kanab endorses 'natural' families

I wonder what knee-jerk resolutions will result from this in other communities? Let's say Equality Utah sends a resolution to cities promoting tolerance?

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah:Kanab endorses 'natural' families

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah:Two Salt Lakes war over doggy-doo sign

The first paragraph used to read:

" NORTH SALT LAKE - Dog owners beware: Bring your own collection bag next time your canine friend decides to leave something unpleasant on the hillside trail between Davis and Salt Lake counties. "

Now it reads:

The content item you have requested is no longer available.

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah

Idaho ponders having prisoners sleep in shifts - Yahoo! News

Here is an interesting solution to the prison population problem that Utah faces now. Davis County could implement this in it's jail when crowding occurs. We currently have 500 inmates. This solution could theoretically double the capacity of the jail to 1000 inmates!

Detracters of this concept say that it isn't the number of beds, but the amount of space that should be considered.

Idaho ponders having prisoners sleep in shifts - Yahoo! News

Dannie McConkie wants Utah Republican National Committee job

Rumor has it that Commissioner McConkie wants to be the next Utah Republican National Committeeman. My two bits: On principle this would be a bad idea since McConkie has proven to be such a poorly constructed conservative. From a practical standpoint, he would do a great job of raising money for the GOP. Just don't let him decide how it's spent.

Hat tip: Utah Policy

Clipper:Smoldering SLC-NSL issue flares anew

This ongoing saga is giving me a headache. Anyone wondering why I don't post much anymore-This is it!

Smoldering SLC-NSL issue flares anew

Which leads me to the quote of the day.

“I think it was incredibly petty. We put up doggy doo doo signs, and you take them down"
-Rocky Anderson talking about NSL's removal of SLC's 'No poo-poo signs'.

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah:Institute urges cities to map out family roles

This time Paul Mero might be laying it on a little thick.

While I agree with the premise of his document (that government should foster the growth of the natural family). The document was written in a way that could cause offense where it didn't have to.

Mayor Briggs said it best, ''People might read that [resolution] and say, 'Kay Briggs thinks all women should stay home and make strawberry jam' or that I'm totally against people raising a family in whatever situation gives them the most comfort and solace,'' he said. ''I didn't read that into it, and I'm not opposed to discussing it.''

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah: Institute urges cities to map out family roles

deseretnews.com | S.L. may turn 120 acres into open space zone

Public Hearing with the SLC Council on:
Tuesday November 15th at 7:00 pm
451 South State Street, Salt Lake City
3rd floor in the City Council Chambers

Questions to ask the City Council.

If the contested 80 acres gets annexed to NSL, are you going to feel that this process was a waste of time?

When North Salt Lake has to provide emergency services to patrons of the 'natural trail' will you foot the bill?

Deseret News:S.L. may turn 120 acres into open space zone

Should there be a changing of the Guards?

Now that the people have spoken and a number of Mayors will be stepping down it is time to change the makeup of the Recreation District Board. The members of the board were picked in a very haphazard way. According to Tom Hardy, "each of the cities will appoint a representative to the administrative control board initially." Well, each of the cities chose to send their Mayor's.

Hardy stated that the whole setup was to be temporary until a time in which a better selection process could be implemented. That time is now.

Beginning in January, or if possible sooner, the responsibility for the Rec District should go to other shoulders. Beginning next year, Mayors Deamer, Martin, and Larrabee will step down. I would like to see Mayor's-elect Ron Russell, James Behunin, and Kent M. Parry step up to replace Deamer, Martin, and Larabee with an appropriate third-party representative.

It is also time for Joe Johnson to step down as Chairman of the District to hold true to the spirit of Hardy's comment. Johnson was there to hold the position "initially". It is time to establish a selection policy that will serve all five cities represented in the Recreation District, not just Bountiful.

Current South Davis Recreation Board*

Mayor Joe Johnson, Bountiful, Chair (801) 298-6146
Mayor Michael Deamer, Centerville 801-295-3477 mayor@centervilleut.com

Mayor Kay Briggs, North Salt Lake 801-936-3877 briggskw@ldschurch.org

Mayor Carl Martin, West Bountiful 801-292-4486

Mayor Jerry Larrabee, Woods Cross (801) 292-4421 larrabeeappraisal@hotmail.com

Dannie McConkie, Davis County Commission (801) 451-3200 commissioners@daviscountyutah.gov

Steve Rawlings, Davis County Clerk/Auditor (801) 451-3324

Darrel Twede, Citizen Representative

*Contact information taken from Citizens For Tax Fairness

A Smattering of Election Results

Bountiful
(Mayor)
Joe Johnson (I), 4373
Jeff Ovitt, 1170
(Two council seats)
John Marc Knight,
R. Fred Moss (I),
Thomas Tolman (I),
Phill Wright,

Centerville
(Mayor)
Michael Johnson, 1017
Ron Russell, 2152
(Two council seats)
Justin Allen,
Richard Hunt,
Sherri Lindstrom,
Jim Pedersen,


Farmington
(Mayor)
David M Connors (I),
Scott C. Harbertson,
(Two council seats)
Paula Alder,
David Hale (I),
Susan Tanner Holmes (I),
Darrell Lake,

North Salt Lake
(Mayor)
Juan C. Arce-Larreta, 255
Kay W. Briggs (I), 586
(City Council — 2 seats)
Lisa Watts Baskin, 653
Brian Elkins, 254
Matt Hardy, 612
(3 of 4 districts)

West Bountiful
(Mayor)
Carl Martin (I), 433
James Behunin, 624
(Two council seats)
Wes Argyle,
Jay Bangerter,
Debbie McKean,
Rex Turnbridge,

Woods Cross
(Mayor)
Jerry E. Larrabee I (I), 623
Kent M. Parry, 638
(Two four-year council seats)
Tamara Dayley, 650
Jill Evans, 536
Randen J. Funk, 592
Jon W. Hadlow (I), 645
(I) = incumbent

Procrastinating your Civic Duty

There is a lot of talk around the water cooler today about getting out to vote. This is good. I have not heard much talk about being an informed voter, though. It seems that hits to this blog have already doubled the average hit for a day. I'll have to check again when the polls close to see if anyone still cares. Better yet, I'll check tomorrow to see if people have decided it's time to learn something about the person that got their vote!

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah:Hillside not all that divides North Salt Lake's mayoral candidates

Today, the Tribune focused on the race for Mayor in North Salt Lake. Juan Arce-Larreta says that our city leaders aren't listening. From the article.

"At a recent public meeting on parks, participants selected preserving the bench on the hill as the top priority, says Arce-Larreta, who serves on North Salt Lake's trails committee."

First, I was at that meeting. When given the choice between building a park (open-space), or building a trail(open space). The consensus will be for open space. If we had been given an alternative to open space, and we still voted for it, and Briggs had ignored the vote, then Juan may have had something. Except for one thing, Mayor Briggs does want to preserve open-space on the hillside.

Second, It was made clear at the beginning of the meeting that Arce-Larreta had the same agenda then that he has today. He has demonstrated, since that time, the same fidelity to his own ideas as the Mayor has to his. If the Mayor is guilty of not listening, then so is Arce-Larreta. Both have remained true to their original viewpoints.

Those who are grounded in reality want a balance between open-space and development. They want a cemetery, trails, parks, and also the means to pay for them. Briggs is fighting for a reasonable comprimise that should satisfy most people. He is also fighting a bully, in Rocky Anderson, that wants to impose an outsiders will on a smaller neighbor right to choose.

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah

StandardNET/Standard-Examiner:Group says Bountiful broke promise in raising taxes for rec center

Ronald Mortenson is in the news again. This time, addressing the fact that the property tax increase, related to the Rec Center, is 33 percent higher than advertised in the voter information pamphlet.

I've made my admiration of Mortenson no secret. I have no idea how someone that spends as much time, as he does, out of the Country doing serious work in places like Iraq and Sudan (and soon Pakistan)-- can have the fortitude to do so much here.

Yet, Mayor Johnson has had the gall to challenge Mortenson's positive impact on the community.

And that Steve Rawlins should say, 'Mortenson is the only resident that has complained to him', should put the rest of us to shame.

StandardNET/Standard-Examiner

Dispute erupts at N. Salt Lake City Council

My first thought after reading this article was, "Is this for real"? It read like some script out of Hollywood, or an episode of "Cops".

Dispute erupts at N. Salt Lake City Council

Brian Elkins: Q & A

Update: Let me first apologize to Brian Elkins for misleading him regarding the purpose of the Q&A that I sent him. I had no intention of deceiving him. I'm sorry. As an aside, I thought his answers were thoughtful and perfectly suitable for posting. I would not have posted it if I had known that he did not wish it. He sent me this email shortly after this post.

"Tyler,

I didn't realize you were going to post the questions and answers on your
blogsite.

I wish to clarify that I believe all people should be treated equally
regardless of their religious, ethnic background, gender, socio-economic
status or sexual preference.

You have my permission to post this on your blog if you wish.

Regards,

Brian Elkins"

I received answers to some questions that I posed to Brian Elkins who is running for City Council in North Salt Lake.

Q:

I'm curious about how you feel about Equality Utah's recent endorsement of your candidacy? Do you welcome their endorsement? Are there ways in which you may disagree with their viewpoint?

A:
I'm honored to receive an endorsement from Equality Utah. They are the only
organization that contacted me with regard to an endorsement and I was
flattered to receive it.

They wished to provide a campaign contribution but I turned it down as I am
not accepting any campaign contributions.

You can go to the Equality Utah website and read their mission statement and
what they support. Many people incorrectly think that Equality Utah is in
support of gay marriage, that is far from the case. Their mission statement
does not even begin to address this particular issue.

I would imagine Equality Utah has some members who are in support of gay
marriage and others who are not.

I was asked privately at "Meet the Candidates Night" if I was concerned that
the endorsement might harm my chances at being elected. My response was that
I honestly did not know but if it did end up making the difference between my
being elected or not I will graciously accept defeat but I will retain my
honor and integrity.

I asked this person if the endorsement meant that I would not have his vote
and he replied in the affirmative. I'm disappointed that I will not have his
vote but I certainly understand his reasons. I honestly enjoyed talking with
this person and I wished we had more time to speak. We were both very
cordial and listened to each other's opinion and I believe he respected my
opinion and I certainly respected his.

He feels marriage is strictly between a man and a woman. Unfortunately it did
not occur to me at the time to mention that Equality Utah did not have a
position on gay marriage.

As far as their mission statement is concerned I fully support it. I feel it
is important in our society that the strong support the weak and oppressed.

One thing I think I need to mention is that I am straight and I am married to
a lovely woman!

Q:
What position do you take on the recent land dispute between North Salt Lake and Salt Lake City? Do you support Mayor Briggs' actions in this regard?

A:
The most recent proposed plan I have seen from the city calls for a ten acre
cemetery, twenty acres for development and 50 acres of open space which would
include natural open space, parks and soccer fields. I fully support this
plan.

Needless to say I support Mayor Briggs' position.

Q:
Where do you stand on the Rec Center Debate? In particular, what do you think about the escalating costs associated with the facility?

A:
I honestly do not know enough about the Rec Center debate to voice an opinion.
If you know of a website that would enable me to learn more about it I would
certainly appreciate you passing it on.

Q:
What do you feel is the greatest challenge that NSL faces in the next few years?

A:
I think the greatest challenge facing NSL will be the ability to provide
adequate services (in particular water, emergency services and educational
facilities) to the burgeoning population. I recently heard that NSL is the
second fastest growing city in Utah (of course that is fairly easy to
accomplish since we have a small population at this point).

Q:
Regardless of how the election turns out, will you continue to blog after November?

A:
Yes, but I don't know if it will be about politics.

Local Candidates vs. Local Bloggers

I wonder if any of the candidates running for municipal office are concerned that the local blogs feature more prominently in search engines than the official campaign websites? Campaigns come and go. Bloggers are forever.

This begs the question. Do bloggers rank well with voters?

Mayor Kay Briggs Homepage

I've considered sparing my readers, (all five of them), the funny story about how this website came to my attention. But I can't resist-in part. Needless to say, I happen to be friends with someone close to Briggs' Campaign. I'm pretty tight lipped, offline, about my blogging and they were so obviously involved that I steered clear of the subject matter. Now that they've found me out, they've sent this link my way.

Mayor Kay Briggs Homepage

NSL Campaign: Brian Elkins Blogging

I recieved an email from City Council Candidate, Brian Elkins informing me of his new blog. I offered to link to him if he'd agree to answer some questions--Well, why wait! I really like blogging during an election cycle because political awareness is heightened. (Here's a little hint to anyone interested in running for office in the future-start blogging now. And, no, that isn't why I'm blogging--I don't fit the public-servant mold.) Here's hoping that this brave new world we call 'Blogosphere' will continue to do some good. Time is short and the election cometh.

Brian for NSL City Council

Kay Briggs: Campaign website

I hear whisperings of a campaign website for Kay Briggs.

Citizens For Tax Fairness

Citizens for Tax Fairness has updated their website with some questions for the Candidates.

Citizens For Tax Fairness

Kaysville: Patrick Buchanan

I'm breaking my own rule in mentioning Kaysville. Earlier I tried to limit the focus of this blog to six cities on the south end of the County and Kaysville was not included. But, my attention has been drawn up to Buchanan's campaign website in which he repeats an allegation originally levelled at Kaysville governement in 2003. Kaysville is moving funds from the power company to the General Fund. This is the same charge as one other city I blogged about earlier-Bountiful.

What other cities in Utah participate in this sham? These citizens should band together and lobby for a change in Utah law to make this practice illegal.

Kudos to Candidate Buchanan.

Sitemeter Search of the Day: "Farrer for Mayor"

No joke. Somewhere, someone sharing my name is running for Mayor. I'd vote for 'em!

Google: "Farrer for Mayor"

deseretnews.com | Engage in local politics — early and often

A recent comment on this blog accused Kay Briggs of being disengaged from the citizens. Of course the only time these kind of comments come are during the election cycle when somebody has something to gain from the accusation. So, you'll forgive me if I think the charge is a little hollow-a little forced.

This editorial by Marjorie Cortez struck a chord with me.

"There's a jillion ways to be involved without ever leaving one's home. Seemingly every elected official in Utah has a telephone and e-mail address. Most, if not all, governmental bodies have their agendas available online. Some meetings are broadcast on cable and Web casts. Engagement is but a mouse click away."

So what if Mayor Briggs doesn't have a website. You can be sure that www.juan4mayor.com won't be sticking around after this election. The Mayor gets out, in his way, and tries to make a difference. (Besides, I like being among the top results in a search for his name ;) ) He should not be faulted for taking a stand on the 80 acres owned by NSL. After all, It is our land, not SLC's!

What do you think?

Engage in local politics — early and often

Time to have my vision checked: Farmington City Council won't pay for cable program

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Farmington city council has shown that they can be trusted with a budget. Way to go Farmington!

City to meet candidates, but not on cable

The Rumors of my death...

My voice has been notably silent during the recent primaries and I've been fighting the urge to feel guilt about it. If it weren't for the solitary voice of Centerville Citizen goading me onto greater activity I might not be explaining myself now. The fact is that my job is demanding more of my time than before and blogging takes more energy than I've had. That doesn't mean that I haven't remained a political junkie-I simply haven't broadcast my views for a while.

I received an interesting email from a Phill Wright, a candidate for Bountiful City Council, that informs this post. I'm no longer a resident of Bountiful, but am not immune from the politics of the city. I've felt comfortable enough with Mr. Wright to encourage my family members to vote for him. Although, they are neighbors with another prominent candidate and may vote another way. Although he supports the Rec Center he has expressed dismay that costs have escalated. I believe that he is the kind of person that could prevent further cost increases. He has proposed the novel concept of selling Bountiful Utilities, or at least, lowering the rates to remain competitive with Utah Power. In my estimation he could have taken a harder stance on the Rec Center but his is the most reasonable response I've seen to the whole debacle.

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah:Rec center's planners ride the tides of budget changes

Quote of the day:

"They could have mentioned it's only 3 feet deep"
--Bountiful resident Carolyn Jorgensen

We are told in the article that the Rec Center will contain more than the voters asked for. Does it bother anyone else that so many of our taxdollars are being shovelled into an already bloated project?

""It's going to be what the people voted on and more," says Bountiful City Manager Tom Hardy, noting that the county's cash infusion allowed planners to add four lanes to the competition pool. "

Rec center's planners ride the tides of budget changes

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah/Standard Examiner

Bountiful is loaning $2 Million Dollars to the South Davis Rec District, to be paid back by the County, in order to fund all the extras on the Rec Center. The quote of the day comes from Tom Hardy, supporter of the deal, "I'm just praying we don't have an earthquake."

The whole deal depends on the State Legislature not changing the law to remove the tourism tax.

"Construction costs are an inherent part of these projects, and this is just one more example of why the cities and the county should not be in the business of risking tax dollars to build rec centers in the first place," said Mike German of the Utah Taxpayers Association.

Why couldn't the Rec District just scale back the facility?

Salt Lake Tribune - Utah

And the Standard Examiner