County Commission Candidate Drew Johnson Speaks Out

Drew and State Representative Candidate Alan Wheelwright to host a "meet and greet" Monday - Don't miss the free pizza!

 
By Drew Johnson

We are coming down the home stretch in the election and I just want to reiterate my pledge to you.

I am here for you. I will be accessible and responsive to your needs.
I am nonpartisan and do not have agendas other than serving you, my employers.

Several things that I have talked about during my campaign that I think are important to focus on as Commissioner.

The first is balancing out property taxes. That will immediately save all of us money.
This will be achieved through creating ordinances which require property owners to be paid up to date on their property taxes in order to go through planning and zoning.
There are over 14 million dollars in Weber County alone in uncollected property taxes, which are owed by large corporations.

Another focus I will have is better communication and process at the County.
I want to see the County departments work together and work more efficiently. The departments and the commission need to act in the best interest of the people they serve. I will bring a teamwork approach to the County.

I also believe it's important to protect Weber County's watershed. This is one our greatest resources. It should be a priority to protect it for our long-term sustainability and health and also to save us money. According to the most recent Nature Conservancy Research, it is a proven fact that if you protect the sources of the water, you will save money spent on treatment facilities, which cost far more in the long run.

This Monday November 1st from 5-7 pm, Alan Wheelwright and I will be giving a "meet & greet" at the Alpine Pizza in Eden. We will be serving free pizza and talking with people. Everyone is welcome and feel free to invite a friend who may not have had a chance to talk with either of us yet.

Again, I look forward to serving you.

Please vote for me. Together we can all make a difference.

Drew Johnson
Vote 4 Drew

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!!

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.