Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has an interesting set of priorities.
When his office suspected fellow Republican Summit County Attorney David Brickey did not actually live in Summit County, Shurtleff moved swiftly to right the wrong.
Brickey maintained he had a condominium in Park City, where he and his family spent most of their time and his children went to school. But the A.G. was not to be deterred. He filed legal motions to remove Brickey from office. Brickey retained attorney Dan Berman, the litigation battle ensued - consuming reams of motions and counter-motions - and, in the end, 2nd District Judge Thomas Kay ruled in favor of Brickey.
Contrast that with the attorney general's investigation of an elections fraud complaint stemming from last year's race for Daggett County sheriff.
That would be the same Daggett County sheriff, Rick Ellsworth, who left one deputy - who spent much of the day throwing up in the bathroom - to guard 120 inmates, including two murderers whose escape Sept. 23 went unnoticed for several hours.
Ellsworth, a Republican, defeated Democratic incumbent Allen Campbell in a photo-finish election fraught with allegations that Republican County Clerk Vickie McKee allowed people from all over the state and parts of Wyoming, many of whom were relatives of Ellsworth, to register and vote in Utah's tiniest county.
Conversely, the votes of many Campbell supporters who actually do live in Daggett County allegedly were thrown out as ineligible.
Although the attorney general has had the complaint for a year, nothing has happened. After the escape, one Daggett County resident sent a letter to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. requesting he launch a state investigation of the voting irregularities.
The governor's office promptly forwarded the complaint to the Attorney General's Office.
But, in all seriousness, I hope you recover quickly from your motorcycle injuries so that you can return to (ahem) work....
5 comments:
Bob,
What a terrible thing to say. Mark Shurtleff is one of the hardest working and kindest AG's Utah has ever had.
PS Why would you have an ad on your site for foreclosure listings? How sad to profit from somebody's ill fortune, or medical costs.
That Brickey suit was quite an embarassment. You'd think someone in Shurtleff's positions would be adept enough in interpreting law to see that he had not much of a case. Mr. Shurtleff has turned the office of AG into a perpetual campaign, rather than a productive office of law.
And thanks, I always wondered what happened with that voter fraud situation in Daggett County. Can't say I'm surprised our glorious AG wasn't all over this one. You'd have to have an ethical standard yourself to want to pursue something as serious as voter fraud.
Towner, Shurtleff is a good A.G. like Larry Craig is a good Senator. He's embarrassing, crony-istic and, in my opinion, probably complicit, if not corrupt.
Letting DelLoy Hansen get away with buying the Salt Lake County D.A., advocating removal of protections under the Bill of Rights based on political allegiance, committing violations with the State Seal, using official AG seals and his office for political endorsements, ignoring the Daggett County fiasco, blowing the Census law suit, anon, anon.
All of these things and more, and you want everyone to give him a pass because he put on a costume for one of your pirate parties?
C'mon, Mark, you have to know, you must know, that an eye patch and a parrot do not a good Attorney General make.
Shurtleff is not a great AG, but he is hard working and more importantly to Utahns he is a fun guy to be around.
I hope he heals well, and I hope we elect a AG that can actually give an opinion based on the law.
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