Ethics Petition - Sign the Petition, we need everyone to help - UPDATED

On Friday, July 30th, 10 AM to 6 PM, there will be a team of signature gatherers at the Valley Market in Eden to help you sign the UEG petition. We need everyone’s support to get this issue on the ballot.

If you have not already signed up, please make a special effort to come over on Friday and sign. This is our best opportunity to make some needed changes in our State regarding the ethics of our elected State representatives.

If you have signed up via electronic petition earlier, we urge you to come to the Valley Market and sign the hard copy. There is a question as to whether the electronic petition signatures will be valid for this petition.

UPDATE 7-29-10 @ 6:00 am: The following important comment has been promoted here:

We also have petitions at The Oaks in Ogden Canyon for signatures. So if it is more convenient, stop by during our business hours 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.


Belinda Rounkles

Realtor donations to Utah Gov. Herbert reach $100K - Is Ethics reform needed?

Utah Association of Realtors (UAR) has a firm grip on politics in Utah

Be sure to read Curmudgeon's latest:

Standard-Examiner Flinches On Herbert Campaign Finance Headline

Curm exposes some headline changes at the Standard with regards to the more than $100K in donations to Hebert's campaign from the Utah Association of Realtors.  Don't forget to read the comments as well.

Regular readers of this forum will remember nearly three years ago when "Minor Machman" exposed the Utah Association of Realtors.  

From the UAR  in 2007:

LEARNING CURVE: Percentage of Utah legislators receiving perfect scores from the Utah Association of Realtors
1999: 6%
2000: 8%
2001: 24%
2002: 31%
2003: 56%
2004: 53%
2005: 60%
Source: Utah Association of Realtors

 Interestingly, the numbers correspond closely with the Realtor/Developer takeover of the legislator which culminated with former UAR President Gary Hebert becoming the Governor of Utah in 2009.

We think Peter Coroon is looking better every day.

Say No to the UEG Petition? Local Resident Thinks We Need To

The Ogden Valley Forum has been calling for Ethics reform for some time.  We have also been promoting the Utahn's For Ethical Government Petition.

Ogden Valley resident Laura Warburton offers a counterpoint in her essay,  


Why We Need to Say NO to the UEG Ethics Petition.

Warburton lists many supporting points and in her conclusion, she states,

The above is just a spattering of unethical aspects of this insidious petition. The UEG ethics petition is nothing more than a (UEA) Utah Educators Association coup. It’s a cleverly disguised weapon to gain power over the Utah state legislators; something they’ve longed for.

We know the results of the Utah Association of Realtors coup, so maybe a UEA coup would not be so bad.

ETHICS INITIATIVE IN BRIEF

www.utahethics.org

Because:

* Utah is one of only ten states without an independent ethics commission.

* Utah is one of only five states without campaign contribution limits.

* Utah has been graded F and D- on its disclosure reporting.

* 85% of Utahns want legislative ethical reforms.

The Ethics Initiative:

Bans:

* Gifts by lobbyists and corporations to legislators

* Campaign donations being spent for personal use

* Shifting your donation to other campaigns

* Paid lobbyists from serving as legislators

* Unlimited contributions-places caps on donations

Establishes an Independent Ethics Commission which:

* Applies a strict ethical code for legislators

* Creates ethics training for legislators & staff

* Hears complaints of ethical violations by

legislators and recommends sanctions to the

legislature where merited

If you wish to read the Petition, click here to view in PDF format.

Don't miss this morning's excellent Standard-Examiner editorial, by the way, in which the SE editorial board makes a strong case for a renenergized UEG effort in Weber County to qualify the Citizens' Ethics Initiative for the 2012 ballot:

OUR VIEW: Walk the ethics talk

UPDATE:  Our friends at the Weber County Forum also weigh in on the issue with this.

THERE IS NO DOWNSIDE TO ETHICS REFORM IN UTAH!

Go to Weber County Forum and check out the excellent post entitled Utahns For Ethical Government Update