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Show SEPTEMBER 2, 1986 EDITORIAL COMMENT Candidates are Special5 people It takes a special kind Whats going on -- Dave Hansen was on the telephone receiving another call concerning Davis County election procedure. We've had more calls and questions from Davis County than any other area, he said. Then, chuckling, he asked, Whats going on up there?" It's something in the water, I said. A foolish comment, of course, but much easier than explaining the heated nature of several primary ranees, the traditional charges of dirty tricks and unfair campaigning, the debated influence of teacher participation in this years legislative and school board post-electio- n upsets." Ill say this, he said. Its been an interesting year in Davis County. one from a man who knows poliGreat understatement--an- d tics well. A former Davis County resident, Dave taught at Layton and Clearfield High Schools and grew up in a political family. He has worked for the Republican National Committee, e overseeing an region, and served as a director of the in and Montana Utah before accepting his present position party with the Lieutenant Governors office. He enjoys politics for its competitiveness, a proper description for Davis County races in eight-stat- 1986. It was Dave who announced that the letter distributed by Davis County Teachers United broke no election laws (a topic I was interested in since my public relations and printing firm was hired to print the letter). And it was Daves voice on the radio, answering questions concerning procedural problems at the summer GOP convention. As for the teachers letter: That letter was quite innocuous and, in my opinion, was hardly political dynamite compared to other examples around the nation. As far as the legal question, the letter was within Utahs campaign laws. Utah is an interesting state in that, at present, people can form groups and committees without registering with the government. Even though Im just one person, I could legally form a group called Public I could then encourEmployees United Against John Doe-a- nd age voters to vote a certain way. As long as slander or false statements are not used, theres no problem. Im not saying thats the ideal situation. I personally think we should require that organizations register with the state or the county. In fact, Utah is one of only several states not requiring political action committees to register. And activist, Dave enjoys both the theoretical and the human side of campaigns. Politics are people and ideas and strategies and struggles, he says. I asked him about the success of last minute tactics, a common charge. Last minute campaign strategies usually dont work, he says, unless the information includes something very dynamic. Most elections are won through hard work over a long tactics is that they period of time. The problem with can backfire, especially if a candidate has the time to respond to them. He told of a classic case. Some eight years ago a Republican challenger broke a charge against an incumbent Democratic senator in California. The senator, charged the opponent, had received numerous speeding tickets between Sacramento and his hometown. Is this the kind of man we want representing us? the challenger queried. The incumbent Democrat quickly called a news conference. Yes, he said, I have received many speeding tickets and I apologize for breaking the law. But let me tell you why I continually raced toward my hometown. My son is in a hospital dying of leukemia. I visit his hospital regularly. I apologize to the voters for my disregard of posted speeding limits. The Democrat won in a landslide.! post-electi- last-minu- te last-minu- te County Commission update Continued from page one to place no parking signs on 800 West in North Salt Lake from US 89 to 3700 South on the east side of the street. Commissioner Harold J. Tippetts said there are no sidewalks along 800 West, but several students at Adelaide Elementary School use the street for walking to school. A reflective white line was painted along the street leaving room for students to walk on the road base, but out of the traffic lanes. The no parking signs are needed to reserve this area for students walking, Mr. Tippetts said. If people respond to the no parking signs negatively, the county could put a time frame on the hours people cannot park there, Mr. Tippetts said. But I hope people will tolerate the no parking signs until we can build sidewalks along 800 West. Group schedules auditions -- grade or older. Interested boys should prepare a vocal solo. Galaxy has performed locally for many church and civic functions. They have been invited to perform at the Davis County Fair, the Utah State Fair and KSL-TThis summer the group was sponsored by Weber State College for their Golden Spike Concerts. Anyone wanting more information can contact Jeanne Day at 546-231- 6. dmg Davis Reflex-Journ- al Published weekly by Clipper Publishing Co. Inc. 96 South Main, Bountiful, Utah 84010 Weekly newspaper published at Layton Utah every Wednesday. In the Interest of Davis County and colonies formed by former residents. Address all correspondence to 197 North Main Layton Utah 84041 Subscription rate: 25c per copy, $6.50 per year, mailed in county. $7.50 per year outside. John Stable, Jr. Lucile S. Stable Noel C. Stahle PresVManager Vice President Advertising Manager NowsEditor SportsReporter Production Manager Keith Duncan Martin Lee 544-913- 3 -- -- -- -- BRYANS PEOPLE : An interesting look at people in Davis County Its tomigliest on HdsJ The boy is only seven years old and doesnt fully understand what is happening. But his father does-a- nd hes filled with a mixture of anger and sadness. You hear a lot about divorce, said the father. Some people say divorce is a tragedy and others say a divorce is often for the best. I think theres truth to both sides, but the kid is caught up in the middle. So far, hes handled it well. I only hope that continues. In this case, the names are not important, since divorce is hardly uncommon. The same story could be retold in possibly thousands of homes in Davis County. But this story is not about the statistics of divorce. Its about a boy who is caught between two separate pa- rents and two separate LAYTON - Auditions for Galaxy, a teenaged performing group, will be held Sept. 5 and Sept. 12 at 5:45 p.m. in the Stars Studio, 88 N. Fort Lane, Layton. There are openings for boys only. Those trying out must be in the 8th and character. What happened in Davis County this past election was a disgrace to the community and the Republican Party. Would the tyranny of battle for public office be as great if there were modifications in the electorial system on a county level? For example, is it necessary to have a county convention whereby a small group of county delegates determine which two candidate names will appear on the Primary Election ballot? We feel that this type of system beeds potential conspiracy when such a few people determine such important issues - instead of the public voting on the candidates. If a person is a qualified candidate, the fate of he or she being elected should be in the hands of the voter, not the minority group of county delegates. Also, we feel that too much money is being spent and there is too much time allowed between filing deadline, the primary election, and then the general election. Filing deadline in Davis County this year was April 15, leaving more than six months between a candidate filing and the general election. Theres also too much time between the county conventions in May and the Primary Election; and between the Primary Election in August and the General Election in November. The filing deadline and county conventions were moved ahead in the political year to accommodate the State Conventions. But we dont believe it was necessary for either the deadline or convention dates to be so drastically changed as to allow six months between the filing deadline and the General Election. Costwise, a few Davis County candidates spent in excess of $10,000 for campaigning purposes prior to the Primarh Election and only a small portion of this amount was political contributions. There needs to be a financial lid placed on county and state candidates for each of the Primary and General Elections. Campaign costs have gotten out of hand. of person to seek public office that he or she will be putting their head on the chopping block everytime they turn around. Political candidates, regardless of the office they seek, are forced to expose their lives - private and public - in an effort to gain the votes necessary to win an election. For many candidates, past and present, they wonder if the challenge is really worth it. Its an overwhelming feeling to win, but the most depressing feeling in the world to lose. And for every candidate that wins, there must be a loser. But thank heaven there are those good people that put the adversities aside and take on the challenge, knowing, we assume, the consequences that follow. The recent Primary Election in Davis County was a good example of excellent, dedicated candidates willing to serve. And the Davis County Clipper would like to give a Hats Off to all candidates in the 1986 Primary Election. Congratulations to those who won and a hearty salute to those who ran such an excellent, competitive race but lost. Its too bad that some of the things that did happen had to occur. Its a political tragedy that there were some unnecessary statements and innuendoes lodged against several of the candidates, both in the county convention and in the campaign that followed. Why did it have to be? Why cant there be open - but clean and fair campaigns? We are not blaming the candidates per se. In fact, we believe it was the backroom campaigning of the candidates - or perhaps groups of over enthusiastic campaign backers - that stirred up such a political mess in Davis County this year. Its one thing to expose your public and private life so that the voters can better understand what type of person is seeking office. But its another thing to maliciously attack a candidates virtues and destroy his integrity philo- sophies. His parents were married almost seven years before the divorce. It was no seven-yea- r itch, says the father. I knew the marriage wasnt working out a long time before we split up. I grew one way and she grew another and pret ty soon it was obvious that we didnt have much in common. We -- tried to shield our differences from our son. Following the divorce, the father remarried. Those were the good times, he says. We had no trouble concerning our son. We had a loose arrangement in which I could call up and take the boy to movies or have him visit the home. It was a sharing relationship and there was no ridicule of either parent. That changed, he said, when the mother also remarried. A concern developed around which family the boy would choose as a model. A big difference is in religion, said the father. My former wife and her new husband are very strict in the practice of their religion, whereas Im a lot more liberal and attend a different denomination. But the real difference goes further than which church the boy will attend. Our major difference is lifestyle. My church doesnt see anything wrong with skiing on Sun ball-game- s, and her husband day; my disagree. I can certainly see their side. I just hate to see the kid caught in the middle. The new arrangement provides for visitation rights of the father on d a basis. He can ex-wi- fe newly-restricte- have his son on certain weekends and certain months and certain days, a typical visitation structure of Utah courts. When its like this, then there are a few arguments. But its a problem in that there is little flexibility. If the boy wants to go to a certain ballgame, for instance, I have to make sure that the game is scheduled for a specific time. Unfortunately, I cannot trade days or hours. The whole scene is very rigid, very businesslike. Im not sure thats good for the child. At this point, he says, the boys is unfazed. The boy is pleased that he has two different sets of parents and two different churches. He hasnt yet faced a situation where he has to choose one over the other. He doesnt yet understand the ramifi- cations. As he grows up, the situation will become much more delicate. But I know I'm not alone in this thing. Theres got to be many, many fathers facing something similar. Divorce, in our case, was probably the correct thing to do. Shes more happy now and Im much more comfortable, too. But the boy. ..Well, its going to be tough on him. Fire chief offers tips - KAYSVILLE Fire Chief Don Howard reminds the local citizens that cold weather will be upon us soon and now is a good time to check the chimneys of fireplaces and wood and coal burning stoves and have them cleaned. Many home fires are caused by dirty chimneys, jw Gary Blodgetts News and Views There are a few Davis County political candidates that can reflect back to last weeks Primary Elec- tion and say, "What if? What if there had been a heavier voter turnout there certainly should have been? What if he or she had managed to pull just a few more votes from each voting district? Theres no question about it, the final results could have been different. In fact, there were five races on the ballot that could have been altered with just a few more votes here and there. But when the Primary Election turnout is only 23 percent of the total number of eligible voters - its the minority of voters" that are electing our county officials, school board members and state repre-- sentatives. Yes, there will be another chance. There will be the General Election in November. But thats not the issue. The issue remains that only 23 percent of the eligible voters in this county made it possible for candidates to advance to the General Election. For the losers, they can pick up their marbles and go home. There will be no second chance. Take for example the County Attorney race where the margin of vote was only 91 - and there are 63 voting districts in Davis County. This means that the difference was only slightly more than one vote per district - just one vote! Even the heated sheriffs race was close to be seriously considered in this snyopsis. enough Incumbent Brant L. Johnson moves into the finals with an 897 vote victory over challenger Glen Clary, A "six votes per district" difference could have reversed this decision as well. There was only a e difference between 1 1 102-vot- Walter Bain and E. Ute Knowlton in the race for State Representative from District 17. Although there would be fewer districts because this would be an "area instead of a countywide vote, the margin of victory would be only a couple of votes per district. The same holds true in District 8 where the race 1 between Stanley M. Smedley and Paul Lloyd was only 334 difference; or in the Senate District 21 race where the margin of victory was Sel-lene- it only 291 . Its no wonder that candidates on Election Night will not concede or declare victory until the final district is in. Anything can happen. Another "what if to consider is what if the DEA had not become heavily involved in the Primary Election? Would some of the results been different? i t a nrc ci Its Davis Education Association do not have the right, and privilege, to speak out for their cand- idates, but I - do oppose any organization a candidate rather than to support a that candidate of their choice. The reason the DEA did not support a candidate is that they would have to come out and publicly announce that they want only "education oriented representatives on Capitol Hill - only those who will support education regardless of the cost. They claim to "support" their candidates by publicly asking the voters to "vote against" those candidates that they feel have not been on their side. In the past election, the three candidates "attacked" by the DEA were incumbents to the House of Rep- aacks -- resentatives and Senate. The Utah Legislature is already "top heavy" with education-orientelegislators. When will the pendulum change? educators and d |