Much Ado About Something

I've got a story for you. It's about this wonderful state named Uathia. Uathia is the most beautiful state in the United States. In fact, Uathia is one of the most liberal states in the country. A Conservative hasn't been Governor of Uathia since 1985. A Consrvative hasn't represented Uathia in the U.S. Senate since the 70's. More than 2/3 of the Uathia State Legislature is Liberals.

The current Governor of Uathia is Herb Garrett. Herb Garrett was elected as Lt Governor. He was nominated as Lt Governor by Hunt Johnson to provide balance to the ticket, as Hunt Johnson is moderate, and Herb Garrett, who was a county commissioner at the time, is very liberal. They won election in 2004, and then reelection in 2008. Herb Garrett became governor when Governor Johnson left the state to work for the Obama administration early in his second term. As a result of this, there was an election in 2010 to fill the remainder of the term.

The Governor's election of 2010 pitted Herb Garrett against the mayor of Uathia's most populous county. Mayor Corey Peterson had won election in his county in 2004 and reelection 2008.

In 2009, the state of Uathia was set to start the largest road construction project in state history. This project was to take place in Woebegone County, which is the most liberal county in Uathia and happens to be Governor Garrett's home county. Three companies submitted bids for the project. Ultimately, Beta Construction won the Billion-Dollar project.

During the campaign, it was discovered that one of the bidders on the project, Alpha Construction, received $13Million for the Department of Transportation. As things got looked into more, it was discovered that Alpha Construction was all set to win the bid, but then the bid rules were changed, and Beta Construction, who happened to donate money to the Garrett campaign around this time, and whose head also had a few closed-door meetings with Governor Garrett around the same time, was the "better" of the three proposals. When Alpha construction found out about the changes in the rules, they threatened to sue. They received a $13Million payout.

When asked about the $13Million payout, Governor Garrett's first reply was that he didn't know about the payout until reporters started asking him about it. He then said that the payout was to cover Alpha Construction's costs for preparing the bid. Nobody bothered to ask why the bid cost $13Million or why the third company, Charlie Construction, didn't get money to cover the cost of the bid. Ultimately, the media was told to go ask Alpha Construction why they were paid $13Million. Alpha Construction replied that a condition of their payment was that they couldn't talk about the $13Million.

When the Peterson campaign made the $13Million hush money a campaign issue, they were accused of dirty campaigning. Ultimately, the voters of Uathia decided that they preferred pay-to-play governance over dirty campaigning.

However, the Garrett Administration wasn't done. An investigation was launched to see how Alpha Construction found out about the bid process changing. Turns out, they called someone at the transportation department named Debbie, who told them that all the information was available on the internet. And Debbie was fired for it. Debbie then complained that she should not have been fired for pointing out that something was available on the internet. An administrative judge agreed with her, and ordered the transportation department to give her her job back, along with the pay that she would have gotten for the time that she was "fired." She was given a job, but it was very different than the one she had before, and did not use her skill set. Oh, and she wasn't given her back pay. When she complained about it, the Elephant Party (the party of the conservatives in Uathia) made an issue out of it. Debbie and the Elephants were accused of playing politics. Then, she was offered her back pay, but only if she signed a paper saying that she should have been fired, and that she would tell the Elephantss to stop talking about it. Which, of course, angered the Elephants. But the Donkeys (the majority party of Uathia) told the Elephants to stop complaining about it. Because, well, it makes Doonkeys look like they are doing a bad job running things.

OK,so Uathia is not a real place. But if it was, you know Republicans would be all over the airwaves and newspapers complaining about it. Unless, of course, instead of being a liberal state, Uathia was a conservative state, like Utah.

Well, I may have made up Uathia, but the story is very real, and is taking place right here in Utah. And the Utah Republican Party is more concerned with winning elections than running a state, which is why they want us to ignore gross ineptness in at least one state agency.

Because ineptness is only costing us taxpayer money, right?

Alton Coal and Gary Herbert

In last night's town hall debate, Acting Governor Gary Herbert said that Mayor Peter Corroon's claims that Herbert got a donation from Alton Coal the same day that officials from Alton Coal met with him and got their permit fast-tracked were false.

Well, it appears, according to the AP (via FOX13) that there is some truth to the matter:

Utah gov. given $10K by coal co. seeking permit
By PAUL FOYAssociated Press Writer
5:25 PM MST, February 3, 2010

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - On the same day Gov. Gary Herbert sat down with a coal company that complained regulators were taking too long to issue a strip-mining permit, his campaign aides were cashing a $10,000 check from the company. The donation from Alton Coal Development LLC was revealed in a Jan. 11 filing by Herbert's political-action committee.

Alton's pleas did not go unanswered. At the September meeting, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press, state regulators agreed to fast-track a decision for Alton to operate the mine near Panguitch, despite opposition from residents.

Herbert's office said Wednesday he never ordered regulators to give their approval and didn't know about the company's donation.

A Panguitch shop owner characterized the payment as a blatant effort by the coal developer to influence a decision by the Herbert administration.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out," said Bobbi Bryant, owner of the gift and coffee shop Bronco Bobbi's, who said she was opposed to the strip mine because the operation would send coal trucks as often as 300 times a day through the small tourist town about 200 miles south of Salt Lake City.

"There's a lot more people down here against it than officials want you to know," she said.

A Utah regulator who was in the meeting with Alton and Herbert has said the governor never instructed him to make any particular decision and instead inquired, 'When do you think you will get it out?'

John Baza, director of the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, said he then decided to hurry things up.

Regulators from the division showed up in Panguitch days later "saying they felt pressure to get some reports or inspections done for the approval," according to Bryant.

Environmental groups are seeking to block the mining, saying the strip mine would raise dust and foul air quality 10 miles from Bryce Canyon National Park, which is known for its magnificent views, pristine air and sparkling night skies. Bryce Canyon's superintendent also has objected.

The decision by regulators is under review by a state board.

"This mine will damage the pristine air and water quality and wildlife of the area, increase dangerous truck traffic and have negative impacts on tourism and the visitor experience at Bryce Canyon National Park," said Clair Jones of the Utah Sierra Club.

A 33-page agency memo said the result of Alton's meeting with the Republican governor was to fast-track a decision by regulators. The memo was written by Priscilla Burton, a chief environmental scientist for the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, who noted regulators had a full year to make a decision.

"However, the applicant had an audience with the Governor on Sept. 17, 2009, with the result that the permitting process will end on October 15, 2009," Burton wrote. The mining approval was issued four days later.

While campaign records indicate Alton made its $10,00 donation on the same day it met with Herbert, the check actually arrived four days earlier and was deposited in a bank on the day of the meeting, Herbert spokeswoman Angie Welling clarified Wednesday.

Welling reiterated that Herbert "did not direct" anyone in the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining to "take any particular action with regard to Alton Coal Development's project." Nor was Herbert aware of the donation, and he did not accept the check at the meeting, Welling said.

Herbert "is a longtime supporter of energy development in the state of Utah, particularly coal development and clean coal technology," Welling told the AP in one of a series of e-mails Wednesday. "As such, it should not be surprising that a company such as Alton Coal would choose to support Governor Herbert."

Welling also sought to clarify that neither Herbert nor anybody in the governor's office was aware of a check Alton sent to a campaign office across town.

"Fundraising is entirely a function of the campaign. Those of us who staff and schedule meetings are unaware of who is contributing or how much they've contributed," she said.

James J. Wayland of Naples, Fla., a 50-percent owner of Alton Coal Development LLC, didn't immediately return a phone message Wednesday.

Methinks the Acting Governor doth protest too much......

Ethics Watermelons and Cantaloupes

I was going to use apples and oranges in this post, but they aren't similar enough. Watermelon and Cantaloupe are both melons, but they are still different.

And Holly on the Hill's assertion that Mayor Peter Corroon's one large donation from a company with a County contract is the same as Governor Gary Herbert's three large donations from companies seeking state contracts is as absurd as trying to say that Watermelons and Cantaloupes are the same. Let's review the facts in the case:

On three different occasions, donors who had contributed $50,000 or more got private, sit-down meetings in the Governor's Office with the Governor. In all three of these cases, said donors were seeking to do business with the state, and all three got their wishes. In one of those cases, the bid process was skewed by UDOT to favor the donor, which resulted in a potential lawsuit from a losing bidder. The lawsuit was avoided by the state settling on paying the company $13 Million.

Now, let's goto the accusation from Holly:

Corroon is vocal in his support for ethics UEG style, yet he abuses his office as county mayor, says the governor’s mansion is for sale and that contributions of $50,000 should raise red flags, he himself is – wait for it – taking contributions of $50K from a company doing business with the county.

Kem Gardner’s company – Gateway Associates – developed & owns the Gateway as well as residential, commercial and retail in Salt Lake County. Salt Lake County owns property at the gateway including Clark Planetarium. The county pays Gateway Associates, Kern Gardner pays Corroon’s campaign. Nice.

Well,let's look at some of the facts in the Kem Gardiner case:

Clark Planetarium was opened in April 2003, a full 19 months BEFORE Corroon was elected as Mayor. And, of course, the government contract was signed well before then.

So, you have one case of ONE large-money donor with a County Government contract which was signed more than six years before Peter Corroon probably conceived of even running for Governor versus THREE large-money donors that have gotten government deals in the 13 months Gary Herbert has been Governor.

Hmmm.... I think I'll take the one old deal vs the three brand-new deals, thank you very much.

Culture of Corruption

From my Facebook status update (because it's my blog,and I can do what I want):

While I think it's obscene for politicians to be able to accept $50,000 donations, I have no real problems with it. However, when said donors have contacts or are seeking contracts with the state, that becomes a problem. When said large-money donors seeking government contracts get sit-down meetings in the Governor's Office, there is something wrong. When it happens three times, there's a pattern of corruption...

..when it happens three times, and you've only been in office for 13 months, that's an even bigger problem.

When the state agency giving the contract changes the rules while reviewing the bids, and changes it in favor of the donor, that's dishonorable. When said agency has to pay the losing company $13Million to avoid a lawsuit, that is bad for Utah.

When the best comeback you have when these facts come out is that you opponent is playing dirty, you have a problem. Especially when you threw the first mud. (Look up Herbert's responses to Corroon's education plan.)

Governor Herbert is Inept

Yesterday, Curtis over at Blue in Red Zion asked "Is Governor Herbert Inept or Corrupt?"

I'm going to side with inept.

There were the voting machines he selected when he was Lt Governor and in charge of elections. You know, the ones that the state has to pay Diebold $1.3 Million+ for reprogramming/tech support every time we pull them out of the closet for an election, not to mention the extra training for poll workers. And the extra poll workers.. The ones that a Central Utah County Clerk lost his job over for showing just how easy it is to hack the computer?

And then there was the extended family members (who had previously registered in other parts of the state) of a candidate for County Sheriff in Dagget County that all registered to vote at the same residence. And that residence was a gas station. And the Dagget County Attorney forwarded the complaint to then-LG Herbert's office for further investigation, where it died. Because a dozen people can live in a gas station.

And then there was the "new" web site for looking at financial reporting documents. The one that was twice as complicated as the old one, and didn't work with most web browsers. It was easier to take a UTA Bus with two transfers from my house to the State Capitol Building to get the info than it was to get it online. A system that was easy to fix for LG Bell.

Then, we have Herbert's reaction to Corroon's Education plan. His first reaction was to point out that Peter and Amy Corroon chose to send their kids to private school, totally missing the fact that Gary Herbert supports giving people like the Corroons taxpayer money to send their kids to private school. After this was pointed out (and was accused of playing the religion card), Herbert actually played the religion card by saying that Corroon wanted to take away LDS Seminary. No constructive comments on the merits of the actual plan have come from the Herbert campaign yet. And yet he's making "focusing on the issues" part of his campaign platform.

Then, there is the fact that on three different occasions major campaign donors, right around the time they made their large campaign donations, had private meetings in the Governor's office. And all three times said donors had major business coming before the state. Even though it may not be illegal, it doesn't mean it's right (legally, I can run down State Street in a Speedo, but it definitely isn't right).

But, his reaction to this issue smacks of ineptness. In the press conference, Herbert admitted to not knowing any of these major deals were going on. Including the biggest road project in the history of the state.

So, if Governor Herbert is that out of touch with what's going on in the state, who is running the show?

from Curtis's post:

By being utterly unaware of how his state is handling the largest public works project in history, it shows that Herbert is asleep at the wheel, with no concept of how important the project is to the people of the state of Utah.

Furthermore, if he can’t see how such large donations might look bad around election time, he is showing an astounding amount of stupidity. Finally, if he can’t communicate these facts to his own campaign staff of perhaps 30 or 40, why would we want him running our state?

-Bob

Blatant Dishonesty in Bramble/Snowbird's Corroon Bashing

Rolly:

Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said he is sponsoring a bill that would allow Sandy to annex Snowbird Ski resort away from the jurisdiction of Salt Lake County because of the mean and nasty taxes and fees imposed by that mean and nasty Democrat, Mayor Peter Corroon.

If Bramble lived in a community so poorly treated, he would look to the heroic Utah Legislature for help, too, the senator told The Salt Lake Tribune recently.

And Snowbird general manager Bob Bonar told The Tribune that its temptation to be rescued by Sandy has nothing to do with future development, or zoning issues, but the desire to be under "an efficient, cost-effective government for our area."

However, even though I dislike the public safety fees from the County, using them as a basis for leaving doesn't exactly hold melted snow:

Cities are permitted by the Legislature to impose a utility franchise tax on its residents. The unincorporated county is not permitted to do that. So by moving to Sandy, Snowbird would be saddled with a new tax that would be more than the new $120,000 law enforcement protection fee being imposed by Salt Lake County, which both Bonar and Bramble cited as a reason for the move.

So, why does Snowbird really want to leave the county?

Bramble's bill was filed three days after Bonar met with Salt Lake County Council members Randy Horiuchi and Joe Hatch in which he asked for their support for Snowbird's plans to build a chairlift linking Hidden Peak to American Fork Twin Peaks. Hatch told me the meeting was "truly bizarre."

The problem is that the planned lift would drop skiers off right next to White Fork Canyon, an environmentally sensitive piece of Forest Service land that is being considered for wilderness study area designation.

Hatch said when he and Horiuchi didn't commit to Bonar's request, Bonar was miffed. A few days before the Horiuchi/Hatch meeting, Bonar met with Corroon, who also failed to do back-flips over the proposal.

And if you are a developer and get turned down by Randy Horiuchi, your plan must really suck. Either that or that's one developer that failed to donate to Randy's campaign.

And, of course, because Bramble is involved, a certain lobbyist isn't far behind:

Lobbyist Paul Rogers lists both Snowbird and Sandy as his clients. Rogers and Bramble are known by Capitol Hill observers to be extremely tight, with their families having vacationed in Europe together.

Best Governor $10,000 can buy

KSL:

Gov. Gary Herbert has been challenged by his presumptive Democratic opponent to return a $10,000 campaign donation to a coal company that got a fast-track decision from state regulators on a strip mine.

"The right thing for the governor to do here is to return the money," Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon said Thursday. "The public needs to have confidence that their elected officials and government are not in a pay-to-play position."

Corroon, who's running for Herbert's job in the next election, is calling for an independent investigation to establish the facts.

Thursday evening, the governor's office spoke back sharply to the Democratic challenger. Herbert's chief of staff accused Corroon of spreading inaccuracies for political purposes, adding that Herbert will not return the campaign contribution.

The money came from the Alton Coal Development company, which wants to start a coal mine near the town of Alton. On the day the $10,000 contribution was deposited by the governor's campaign, he met with company officials. A month later, the state approved the mining application.

Officials of the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining have given conflicting statements on whether the approval process was sped up after the meeting with the governor.

The team leader on the approval told KSL News Wednesday that her supervisors did speed up the timetable and told her that's what the governor wanted.

"That's why we need strong ethics reform up at the Capitol, and we want citizens to have faith that the government is doing the right thing and not being overly influenced by large corporations or money," Corroon said.

But the governor's staff insists he never even knew about the campaign contribution; it went to his campaign committee, not the governor's office. They say he did nothing to pressure the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining on behalf of the coal company.

"No money exchanged hands. No one came to the governor and gave him money, looking to do something on their behalf. It's just inaccurate and really not appropriate to even insinuate that there was in this case," says Jason Perry, the governor's chief of staff.

Perry says the governor will not support an independent investigation.

While I believe that there was no quid pro quo, I do not believe that the Governor did not know that he was dealing with a campaign contributor. $10,000 donations don't often appear out of thin air.

-Bob

Ethics Reform -- They're Doing it Wrong

So, the lobbyists rented a room at the State Capitol Building so they could have an office to work out of. And, because they wanted to prove that you can indeed purchase anything in this world with money, including a Legislature, made it the nicest room in the building:



(Thanks to Ashley Anderson for the poster....)

Corroon Setting High Water Mark in Ethics

From the Press Release:

Salt Lake City, Utah - Standing on the Capitol steps, Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon set the high water mark for ethics reform.

“I’m here today as we begin this legislative session, because I want to see Utah set a high water mark. A mark the voters in Utah can look back on through the session and afterwards to see if this legislature has fulfilled their commitment to pass meaningful ethics reform and that the Governor has signed it,” stated Mayor Corroon.

Calling on the Legislator [sic] and Governor to take immediate action, Mayor Corroon outlined five needed reforms that are critical to ensuring the needs and interests of the people of Utah are represented in the government.

1. Immediately limit the amount an individual or entity can give to a state-wide candidate to $10,000 and $5,000 for a legislative race, and prohibit state contractors (people who financially benefit from state contracts) from donating to state wide candidates and legislative candidates.

2. Immediately ban all gifts to statewide elected officials and legislators.

3. Immediately end of the personal use of campaign funds.

4. Stop the revolving door by giving legislators a cooling off period of 2 years before they can lobby their former colleagues.

5. Create an independent ethics commission to address ethical violations by legislators and state wide elected officials.

Mayor Peter Corroon ended his statement by urging immediate action. “Our society is based on values and ethics. Our values as Utahns are deeply rooted in ethics. The ethic of hard work, the ethic of being good stewards, the ethic of doing the right thing. Our Legislature and Governor can and should do the right thing. They can make this easy. They can and should do this now.”

To accept comments and build on his ideas, Mayor Corroon is encouraging the people of Utah to submit their thoughts on ethics reform on his website, www.votecorroon.com. “This is a critical issue for all
Utahns, and I’d love to hear what you think. Please post your comments about ethics reform on our website votecorroon.com. We’ll be reporting back as the session progresses.”

As Mayor of Salt Lake County, Peter Corroon worked with the Republican controlled legislative body and together, the Republicans and Democrats passed real and meaningful ethics reform. They took it head on and passed it.

Under Utah State Law, the Legislature and Governor have the authority to pass legislation and have it go into immediate effect. The process requires take a 2/3 vote in both the House and Senate and the Governor’s signature.

I highlighted the pertinent parts of the release. This is the type of leadership this state needs.

Senator Dayton and Rep Daw Push-Polling

Rolly:

Two Utah County legislators have collaborated on a survey sent to their constituents that raises the concept of push-polling to new heights.
The survey -- at least on a couple of questions -- is worded to get the response obviously favored by lawmakers sending the questionnaire.

Sen. Margaret Dayton and Rep. Brad Daw, both Orem Republicans, sent the 13-question survey to get constituents' views on issues facing the Legislature. Each question is followed by a list of responses constituents can choose from that best fits their views.

But the 13th question, which focuses on the ethics reform petition most legislators hate, does not include a response that allows constituents to say they favor it.
Respondents can check a box if they prefer to have laws made through the legislative process rather than by initiative; if they are aware that the Ethics Commission has no accountability to anyone and has lifetime appointments; if they are dumb enough to sign the 21-page petition without reading it; and if they would prefer laws that create more transparency in lobbyist activities and that would cap campaign contributions. Constituents are reminded such a law would prevent lower income candidates from running for office.

Question 12 is about the initiative to create an independent commission to make recommendations on redistricting. It asks, "As a taxpayer would you prefer to see redistricting done by recommendations by an unelected redistricting commission (most expensive), regional public meetings (fairly expensive) or by legislators who communicate with their local constituents (least expensive)?"

It seems they have already answered that one for you, doesn't it?

Open Letter to GOP Chair Dave Hansen

Dear Mr Hansen-

I read in the papers that you oppose the two initiatives making the rounds for 2010.

And I just wanted to say thank you.

Thanks you for continuing to prove that Utah Republicans move contrary to the will of the citizens of Utah.

Thank you for thinking that these maps are logical.

Because, really, the more I talk to my Republican friends, the more they are telling me they are fed up with you.

And, not only are they willing to not blindly vote for local Republicans, some of them are pondering runs for the Legislature.

As Democrats.

Because they are ready for a change in our state. They have looked past the slick advertising and realized that the problems this state has are not the fault of Democrats, because we have been in the minority for so long.

Yes, you'll pull out the twin pillars that Republicans always pull out when they are about to lose somebody: gay marriage and abortion.

However, more and more people are realizing that unless there are major shifts, these are really non-issues in their lives, because nothing will change in our laws.

They are only major issues because You and Paul Mero tell them it is.

So, go ahead. Oppose the will of the people. Eventually, the people will wake up.

-Bob Aagard
Former Republican
Holladay

LIVEBLOG: The Legislature is talkin about ethics

I'm at the State Capitol this morning attending a hearing about ethics reform. Congressman Bishop is going to be joining us. I'm going to be updating this as we go, so be prepared for spelling and punctuation errors as we go.

9:04 glad to see these things run even less on time in the summer than they do during the session.

9:10 finally starting. skippping minutes and moving on to Rep Bishop.

9:11 RBishop: I think it's funny that you're looking to Wasington for how to do ethics.

Bishop is part of the pool of legislators that could be drawn to sit on investigative subcommittee.

This type of thing needs to be done with compassion and free of political games.

All complaints from members of congress must have personal knowledge, no innuendo. Can't be within 60 days of election.

This is not a new issue. We were studying this since I was speaker.

lobbyists can't take a representative to a baseball game unless he also gets a campaign donation too.

sen jenkins: is dislosure enough?

rep bishop: I'm not sure. It has some merit.

sen mccoy: why should a lobbyist be paying for your lunch?

rep bishop: when i became a lobbyist, didn't pay for meals because i realized many legislators don't have time for meals.

rep king: should discloure come from the legisaltor or the lobbyist?

rep bishop: I have opinion either way.

sen killpack: when legislators do the process, they are accountable to the voters. when an independent comission is appointed, they are beholden to those who elected them.

rep bishop: congress has a habit of "we want a solution, but we don't want to deal with it." so they appoint an unelected comission. do you devolve your athority onto some other group, or do you take it upon yourself?

rep dougall: please tlk more about travel rules.

rep bishop: all travel must be approved, whether it's funded by government or outside entity. More and more people are using the ethics panel to get advice.

rep cosgrove: asking about campaign donation caps. does it put a halt on free speech?

rb: if you move into regulating donations, don't move into saying that some money is good and some is bad. our system in washington is a great incumbent protection system. (i'll have to pull the audio to get full comment).

9:40 moving on to other business.

Utah State Bar Ethics Commission Process

Art Berger, Former Chair, Utah Supreme Court Ethics and Discipline Committee

AB: 34 people on office of professional conduct (ethics committee), 8 are non-lawyers. Complaints that come in and are reviewed before procecuted, and there is an appeals process if denied. Committee has diversity of location, type of lawyer/law firm. both parties can be represented if they desire. rules of evidence do not apply like in a court hearing. office of prof conduct also works to educte lawyers on ethics, including running a hotline and continuing education. all lawyers are required to take ethics class each year.

rep dougall: it's a private process, correct?

ab: it is, until it is clear that disciplinary process.

rep dougall: is it appropriate for attorneys to sit on the panel?

ab: usually, people who come before panel think attorneys will protect their own. Attorneys who come before the panel feel that the panel is out to get them. the members of the public that are there help bring some independance to the committee.

rep dougall: how is opening on the panel filled

ab: publicity to get applications, then ut supreme court gets involved. all members are volunteer. 3 year terms, no more than two consecutive terms. they can serve again after break of one year.

rep cosgrove: open vs closed.

ab: being an attorney isn't a public ffice. being in the legislature is. having an open process can help protect against inapproriate charges against legislators, people people will see what's actually going on in the hearing.

next agenda item:

Constitutionality of Independent Ethics Commissions - Recent Nevada Supreme Court Decision -- John L. Fellows, General Counsel

nevada supreme court held that legislature can't appoint an independent ethics comission over legislators. utah constitution has similar restrictions that nevada used. nevada was executive branch comission, a legislative branch comission could be ok.

next item:

Discussion of Utah Legislative Ethics Committee Membership, Jurisdiction, and Powers
-- John L. Fellows

sen mccoy: every citizen is required to obey every law, including those they don't know about. shouldn't the same apply to a member of the legislator.

sen killpack: we have seen the problems that come from the citizen initiative process. we need to act in a proper manner so that others won't.

adjurn.

Chairman Holland: "One of the most ethically-challenged legislators ... has been Carl Wimmer"

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Am I Pissed Off At Party Leadership? I Don't Think "Pissed Off" Is the term I'd use.....

My dear friend Anonymous left a comment on an earlier post:

Bob, you've been pissed off at party leadership for some time now and I think your prejudice has missed the point here.

But, before I get to the main point of the comment, I just want to share a few things about the comment:

1) Anonymous could be anyone. Wayne Holland, Todd Taylor, Tracy Van Wagoner, Rob Miller.... Heck, it could even be Paul Mero trying to rile me up. I doubt it's Paul, and I also have my doubts it's Todd or Rob.

2) Most of the post was cribbed from another blog. So, it wasn't just my prejudice.

However, let's get down to the nitty gritty of this post. I've been accused of being "pissed off" at party leadership.

"Pissed off" is not the term I'd use.

Frustrated and Disappointed are the words I'd use.

Frustrated and disappointed at the deafening silence on local issues during the legislative session. This despite the blacklisting for the first third of the session of any bill coming from a prominent Democratic Representative.

Frustrated and disappointed at the deafening silence when our Democratic Legislators took on legislation that promoted Common Values of love and compassion supported by the majority of Utahns. Legislation that the only statements made by the LDS Church were in support of the issue. Yet nothing from party leadership. We heard a lot from Republicans opposed to the issue.

Frustrated and disappointed at the deafening silence when our legislature, despite overwhelming support from the citizens of Utah, failed to pass meaningful ethics reform. And the small ethics reform that were passed, Republicans are claiming victory for.

And don't get me started on liquor reform.

Frustrated and disappointed at celebrating failure. Sure, we had a net gain of two members of the House. But our goal was 4. And in the process, we lost a part of the state we've held since statehood. And, there was statistically insignificant gain in Democratic voters statewide from 2004-2008. In fact, if you take away Barack Obama, there was a decline. And this with spending the most money ever.

Frustrated and disappointed with a party leadership that, until a month or so ago, treated the Internet like it was 1999. And still doesn't quite know what to do with it.

Frustrated and disappointed with a party leadership that uses Rovian tactics when challenged (take push polling, for instance).

Frustrated and disappointed with a party leadership that uses faith as a stepping stool for political gain, yet discredits many people of faith. (Note: I want to clarify that while I worked for the party, my faith was never challenged.)

And, as a personal note to anonymous, if you really want to see me "go after" the party, I will. I have pulled so many punches over the last 18 months or so, it sickens me....

-Bob

Mark Walker Charged

From KSL:

Prosecutors filed criminal charges today against a former Utah lawmaker in a case of alleged bribery on Capitol Hill. It stems from allegations of wrongdoing in the state treasurer's race last year.

Today, Salt Lake City prosecutor Sim Gill charged former Republican Rep. Mark Walker with one count of "inducements not to become a candidate," a class B misdemeanor.

Gill said, "There's sufficient evidence that Mr. Walker tried to induce Mr. Ellis from being a candidate while this election was going on and offered to make him his chief deputy at a substantial pay raise."

Last spring, Richard Ellis, at the time a deputy treasurer, and Walker, a lawmaker from Sandy, were facing off in the GOP primary for treasurer, a post Ellis ultimately won.

According to court documents, in March of last year, Carl Empey, an employee with Zions Bank and an associate of Walker's, e-mailed Ellis stating, "Looks like he wants to offer you $160,000 a year to be his deputy."

Ellis believed he was essentially being asked to drop out of the race for what amounted to a $54,000 pay increase. He contacted an attorney in his office who advised him "this type of an offer was illegal."

A week later, Ellis and Walker met for breakfast and Ellis said he told Walker he believed the offer was illegal. When asked about where the money would come from, Walker allegedly told Ellis, "I have talked to the person that can make that happen, and you and I both know who that is."

Walker's attorney, Jim Bradshaw, said the charge actually vindicated his client. He said after months of investigation, it was clear that what happened did not rise to the level of bribery. Instead, he said it's a technical violation of election law and he anticipated some sort of resolution in the case, possibly within a week.

Robin Williams and Jay Leno on corrupt politics

Republican House Candidate: Curtis Must Go

Last night on my way home from work, I ran into a Republican candidate for Legislature, who I will not mention by name for obvious reasons. This candidate is running against a Democratic incumbent.

The candidate said that one of the biggest issues they are running on is ethics reform. The candidate said that, should this person win on Tuesday, their biggest obstacle would be Greg Curtis.

The exact quote?

"Greg Curtis Must Go."

-Bob

Republ-I-CAN be investigated for ethics violations

Stolen from the AMICUS:

A bi-partisan group of Republicans and Democrats have filed an ethics complaint today against Rep. Mark Walker (R – Sandy), asking the House Ethics Committee to investigate allegations respecting violations of House ethics rules arising out of Walker’s alleged improper use of his House position in connection with his campaign to be elected as state treasurer. Under the House Rules, the Ethics Committee, jointly chaired by a Republican and a Democrat, must determine whether an investigation is warranted, and may appoint a special prosecutor to pursue the four charges outlined in the complaint against Walker. If he is determined to have violated the House Rules on ethics, he could be disciplined or even expelled from the House. If exonerated of these charges, the complaint would be dismissed.

The complaint against Representative Walker asks for an investigation into four issues: (1) abuse of official position and whether Walker offered a job and a substantial salary increase to Richard Ellis if Ellis would withdraw from the treasurer’s race; (2) potential criminal violations of the election laws and whether another unnamed legislator colluded with Walker to offer assurances that the money to fund the Ellis salary increase would be provided by the legislature; (3) abuse of the constitutional rules on legislator behavior and whether the unusual salary increase received by the treasurer in a bill Walker voted for makes him guilty of an impermissible conflict of interest (and incidentally would have rendered him constitutionally ineligible to be elected as treasurer); and (4) whether these allegations, if accurate and taken together, violate the constitutional limitations on legislative compensation.

The House members who filed the complaint are Representatives Rosalind McGee, Phil Riesen, Neil Hansen, Steve Mascaro, and Sheryl Allen. They delayed filing the complaint until today because they did not wish to have the complaint taken as an effort to influence the election outcome. The group stated in the complaint that all proceedings should be open to the public, in the interest of transparency, and they asked that any member on the Ethics Committee who for any reason may doubt his or her ability to act in a disinterested fashion in considering the complaint “should declare that fact and step down as a judge in this matter.”

If the investigation finds the probability of criminal conduct, the complainants ask that the matters be referred to “authorities with jurisdiction to take whatever future action they may deem appropriate.”

The complaint cites a statement by Justice Cardozo, “Many forms of conduct permissible in a workaday world for those acting at arms’ length, are forbidden to those bound by fiduciary ties. A trustee is held to something stricter than the morals of the market place. Not honesty alone, but the punctilio of an honor the most sensitive, is then the standard of behavior.” The complainants ask, “Should the bar be any lower for legislators who are servants of the public trust? Should we tolerate conduct from a member of our body which treats a public office as an object of barter?”

The complaint concludes, “Unless our political culture is founded upon principles of stewardship, integrity, and fidelity, we will suffer a loss of public confidence in government policies and those who are its stewards that may be irreparable."

Asked if a House ethics investigation was necessary in light of Lt. Gov. Herbert’s last-minute decision to call for an investigation by the Attorney General, Rep. Phil Riesen said, “It’s encouraging that Mr. Herbert has finally referred this complaint to the Attorney Generally for further investigation. However, these are two separate matters. Irrespective of what the Attorney General – who endorsed Walker -- may conclude, the Constitution makes the House of Representatives the judge of who shall sit as a member, and after all that has gone on in this race and elsewhere, it is time that we take appropriate action to begin to set the People’s House in order. The Ethics Committee has subpoena power, and it is time we use it to get to the truth of what has happened – not behind closed doors, but out in the sunshine.”

Asked if Walker could avoid the ethics inquiry by resigning, Rep. Neil Hansen said, “This is bigger than just Rep. Walker, and it’s important that the inquiry pursue all allegations to determine whether, as has been alleged, other legislators inappropriately and unethically colluded with Walker by giving him assurances that the state budget would be adjusted to provide the $56,000 salary increase which appears to have been the consideration for Ellis dropping out of the treasurer’s race.”

Some may see this as a moot point since Mark Walker is out of office in six months anyway. However, violating the rules is violating the rules. And you must send a message to the future that we will not tolerate this type of crap.

And, just because Mark Walker is unemployed in six months does not mean that we have seen the last of him. Look at LaVarr Christenson. And, Walker has his degree in PoliSci. He's a career politician through ad through.

-Bob

If a tree falls in the Utah Legislature, will anyone hear it?

The best editorial ever from the Salt Lake Tribune:

If anyone in Utah still believes that there's nothing rotten in the state of Utah's legislative branch, then they haven't been paying attention for a long, long time. Perhaps they'd rather hold to the belief that their lawmakers are as ethical and honorable as they keep claiming they are.
    Well, many of them aren't, folks, and we take no pleasure in saying so.
    But the stench of corruption around the Capitol from all the self-dealing, bullying, power-grabbing, hate-mongering, lavish lobbying and slavish payback, is strong enough to make the eyes smart and the nostrils burn.

Continue reading.  It's as good as it gets.

-Bob

Greg Curtis: Ethical Train Wreck

So, 36 hours before the legislature is to dismiss for the year, a loan for St George is brought forward.

And, St George is not just asking to borrow some lunch money. $42 Million to be exact.

And, the loan could potentially help one of Utah's fastest-growing developers.

And, said developer happens to be the largest client of the law firm of Hutchings, Baird, Curtis and Astill.

And, the Curtis in Hutchings, Baird, Curtis and Astill just happens to be Speaker of the House Greg Curtis.

And Greg Curtis thinks he'll get away with it.

-Bob