Zogmaister abandoned the citizens of Ogden Valley

An important comment promoted to the front page

By Laura

When you hear Zogmaister bragging about bringing growth to Ogden Valley, think of the financial collapse of Wolf Creek.

During the tour of Powder Mountain properties early in the game, all voters should have heard the shrill voice of Zogmaister telling everyone what a plus this "Mega Resort" was going to be. You can be sure that if the single access road went past her home, she would have had a different response.

Zogmaister abandoned the citizens of Ogden Valley when push came to shove on the Powder Mountain question. When asked why she did not vote against the incorporation of the town when some of her constituents would lose their civil rights, she refused to answer.

Standard Examiner Endorses Weber County Commission Candidate Amy Wicks

The Standard-Examiner editorial board endorsed current Ogden City Council member Amy Wicks this morning for the Weber County Commission seat "B."

Our old pal Rudi has done a masterful job of compiling a couple of Standard Examiner articles along with video interviews of both candidates:   Standard All Star Amy Wicks and Kerry Gibson.

• Standard-Examiner: Our View: Wicks For Commission Seat "B"

Be sure to watch the end of Amy's interview where she discusses "openness in government."  Wouldn't openness be a refreshing change for Weber County politics?

County Commission Candidates Respond To Our Questionnaire -- UPDATED

On October 12, 2010 the Ogden Valley Forum sent out a Questionnaire via email to the five Weber County Commission Candidates.  We asked six questions of the candidates that were related to Ogden Valley issues and allowed the candidates unlimited space for additional comments.  We set a deadline for the responses of October 20th.  We sent a reminder out to the candidates on October 20th as a couple of the candidates had not yet responded.

Ultimately, we received responses from every Commission Candidate except Kerry Gibson.  Interestingly, in the November 1, 2010 issue of the Ogden Valley news, a letter to the editor from Kerry Gibson states,

First, a warm thank you to the owners of The Ogden Valley News for donating space to the many candidates to publish their biographies.  This is a public service that cannot be underestimated.

It would appear that I was one of the few candidates that didn't supply the Valley citizens with my contact information via my biography.  While slightly embarrassing, I promise it was unintentional.  Mistakes happen.  It's how we handle them that counts.  Rest assured, I am available.  My constituents can attest to this.

 Mr. Gibson goes on to tout his relationships with his constituents and fellow Legislators.

We will leave it to our humble readers to decide who best will serve the interests of not only Ogden Valley, but the entire Weber County.

Click here to read the responses to our questions

What say our Ogden Valley faithful about the upcoming Weber County Commission election?

UPDATE: 10/27/10 @ 9:30 PM

We just received a classic follow the money tip from a faithful follower.

Before you make that final decision on who to vote for, be sure to see who has supported the candidates with their pocket books.  We found some very peculiar and interesting donors.

• 2010 Campaign Finance Disclosures - Major Weber County Candidates

Of particular interest is Kerry Gibson, who raised some $48,000 in his campaign war chest (15 TIMES the amount of his competitor).  Some of his larger "donors" include The Utah Association of Realtors ($2,500), Powder Mountain Resort Managements ($1,000), Gregg & Amy Greer [CEO of Powder Mountain] ($1,000), Energy Solutions ($600) and others.

Click here to view Kerry Gibson's Campaign Financial Report 2010

Jan Zogmaister's is also interesting.  Contributors include:  Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors ($1,000), Infamous Huntsville developer Ron Catanzero ($200) and others.


Click here to view Jan Zogmaister's Campaign Financial Report 2010

We will note that when we set out to question our candidates several weeks ago, we had no intention of following the money.  Our intent was to provide an unbiased overview of the candidate's views on a variety of issues facing Weber County so our readers could more easily make an informed decision.

While we had heard rumors that certain candidates were Realtor and developer shills, we tried to look at this important race without bias.  In this "pay to play" state of Utah politics, it would appear that some candidates are being supported by interests that don't align with those of most residents.

With a war chest 15 times that of his opponent, it is no wonder Mr. Gibson feels safe in snubbing the lowly folks at the Ogden Valley News and the Ogden Valley Forum.

Follow the money!!

Early Voting Is Under Way

In an important mid-term election year, several important races are heating up in Weber County.  In coming days we will post the results of some questions we asked of the Weber County Commission candidates.

In the mean time, don't miss these recent Standard Examiner articles on the ever important subject of County leadership:

Weber County Commission Seat A

Weber County Commission Seat B

Be sure to check out Rudi's most excellent Candidate profile post to be an informed voter.

Standard-Examiner WEBER Plus 2010 Election Candidate Digest

Don't forget to vote, ye Ogden Valley Faithful.  Who will you be voting for????

Alan Wheelwright speaks out!

As some of you might know I am running for House District 8. This being my first foray into politics, it has been a real awakening to me how the system works.

One surprise came the other night with my interview with the Ogden/Weber Uniserv (the political arm of the teachers union). My campaign is based upon the unfulfilled hollow election time promises of our elected officials, year after year, to make education a serious priority and adequately fund it. I have two children in public elementary school and see the effects of having the lowest per pupil spending in the country everyday. I spoke to the Union of the millions that was spent to defeat vouchers when my opponent Rep. Froerer switched his vote in favor of vouchers. I let them know that this is one of the closest races in the state and their endorsement might be the deciding factor. I also looked at their own ratings of Rep. Gage Froerer voting record at the hill, with regard to education, over the last four years he has received an average of 52% with a pitiful 43% in 2010. It was also hard to notice that he arrived to the meeting 20 minutes late.

It was then surprising to me the next day when I was informed by Ogden/Weber Uniserv that they would be supporting my opponent. Asking why, I was only told that they had a complicated relationship with Gage but hopped that it would be better in the future.

My open question to the teachers union is “what does an incumbent politician have to do to loose your support?” How low of a rating would a politician have to receive so that you would be willing to go out on a limb and endorse the underdog? Is Uniserv so afraid of political backlash that it is impossible to support the candidate that might loose, but would be more in-line with their core beliefs to properly fund education?

The one thing that I am sure of is, that if I win in November, I will harbor no ill will against the Union and will fight to fund education at a level that shows our commitment to schools. It is about time that politicians either put-up or shut-up about education. I am tired of education being the central theme of every election, on both sides, but still seeing Utah end up dead last in the Country on per pupil education spending.

Thanks,

Alan Wheelwright

Gov. Herbert, Corroon tangle over taxes, ethics

A rundown from the Standard Examiner of last night's debate between Gov. Herbert and Peter Corroon

Gov. Herbert, Corroon tangle over taxes, ethics

UPDATE 10/1/10 @ 3:35 PM MDT:

From Bat Girl:

If you missed the PETER CORROON TOWN HALL @ WSU in Ogden, make arrangements to attend:

EVENT: ROTARY CLUB of OGDEN luncheon
DATE: OCT 20 2010
TIME: 12 noon...
PLACE: Eccles Convention Center
ADDRESS: 2415 Washington Blvd, Ogden

For more info, contact the:

ROTARY CLUB OF OGDEN / FB

Weber County Commission Candidate Drew Johnson's Speech At a Recent Meet The Candidate Event

Meet the Candidate event, hosted by Weber 912

The following is the speech Drew Johnson gave at the Meet the Candidate event September 22nd at Christian Heritage School.


Thank you very much. It is a pleasure to be here. I am not going to take as much time today as the other candidates because I plan to be plain, simple and direct.
 
Your politicians are not working for you. They haven't been for a long time and I believe there is a growing sense of frustration showing because of it.


THAT is why I am here tonight.I AM HERE FOR YOU.YOU ARE MY SPECIAL INTEREST. No lobbyists, no agendas, JUST YOU.

I am here because I care about my community and the people that live here, which is why I have no affiliations to take away from working for you, MY EMPLOYERS.A novel concept, to be sure. One that has been lost along the way.


I own and operate two small businesses in Weber County and I know how hard it is to get by. Which is why we must start talking about how we can start SAVING money, not SPENDING money.That's why we need to fix our property tax system, to make it more of a fair and balanced system.


Your ELECTED representatives raised your mill levy tax this year to balance the budget, but what they didn't tell you is all they had to do was collect the ALREADY PAST DUE, unpaid corporate-owned property taxeswhich would have given us a budget surplusand would have SAVED each and every one of you money. Your elected leaders are not working for you.

Now they would have you think that collecting the unpaid taxes is just going to chase old ladies out of their houses, but that is nowhere near the truth. The people not paying are the fat cats-- big corporations.They might even pawn it off as a state problem. To me that's passing the buck.Once again. Your elected leaders are not working for you.


I believe in the Constitution. I believe in government representing the people.I believe in responsible spending and responsible saving. I believe in a common sense, hard work approach.


If you are happy with the way things are~ then go ahead and vote for Jan. But if you're FED UP, LIKE I AM,Vote for Drew this November and let's bring government back to the people!

Thank you and Good Night.