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Show N The Paper That Dares To Take A Stand States or to the people, the model laws have the general grant of power, such as the following taken from proposed Plan No. for Salt Lake of the (one 1 -14 City-Coun- ty prepared by Utah LGMS): The powers of shall be construed liberally in favor of 12 (city-count- y) the government. The specific mention or failure to mention, particular powers shall not be construed as limiting in any way the general power of the (city-count-y) government or the powers conferred upon by this Optional Plan.11 (city-count- y) (city-count- y) Thus, if the planners forgot to mention some right the (city-count- y) has taken from the people, has taken it in spite of not having mentioned it. One of the arguments in favor of the community council form of ty government is that it permits citizen participation in government." With this clause as background, let us look at how the study commission was selected. From conversations 1 had with five of the nine members of the (city-count- y) city-coun- appointing committee, the consensus of the five was they didn't have any particular criteria for selecting members of the study commission, other than members frequently argue when discussing the options, a careful observer will note that the arguments are not on whether it is morally right to try to establish a county government with general powers. Rather the arguments are concerned with how best to implement such a power structure. One is reminded of several bunco artists arguing how best to put across a swindle. THE UTAH INDEPENDENT welcomes expressions of opposing viewpoints, but reserves the right to select which, if any, letters or articles will be published.) additional (Persons desiring information on the subject of the study commission may wish to contact this newspaper in writing.) October 4, 1973 The UTAH Independent Page 9 3 THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS he League of Women Voters was organized as a corporation on I September 1 5, 1923 in It was an Washington, D.C. outgrowth of the New York State Woman Suffrage Party. (The foregoing and all that follows in quotes is taken verbatim from BIOGRAPHICAL .DICTIONARY OF THE LEFT, Vol. Ill by Francis X. Gannon, Western Islands, Publisher.) At the national convention, the LWV puts its democracy to work as it adopts its position on various issues. In truth, the positions are not the deliberate opinions of the members from either the local or state level. The positions are the work of the LWVs National Board. Prior to the national 1 GOVERNMENT LOCAL convention there is no vote on the MODERNIZATION STUDY positions. The National Board does go through the formality qf Government recommending study materials to Local Modernization Study was done by local leagues. Members do discuss the University of Utah Center for the issues. Local leagues are Economic and Community encouraged to send to the National With general Board opinions about the issues Development. assistance from a university under study, but no vote is taken Coordinating Committee of Neal and it is the National Board, using A. Maxwell, L. Ralph Mecham, what it claims is a concensus as a Raymond L. Hixson, and Arvo guide, that determines what Van Alstyne, the study was position the law shall take on any directed by LeRoy F. Harlow, particular issue... It meaps, in management and finance effect, that the national convention consultant associate professor of is a rubber-stam- p affair, as a is and sufficient vote to management, majority organization Bringham Young University, on approve what the National Board William M. presents as its program." part time leave. Timmins gave administrative The following are the official assistance. Reports of the study recommendations of the LWV of were published in January 1970. Salt Lake, regarding Salt Lake County Government: 1. Representation by district 1313 CENTER 2 based on theone man - one vote" principle. 1313 entitled A pamphlet 2. Separation of legislative and Center for Public Administration" administrative powers. was .given to Thomas O. Breitling 3 Qualified department heads, by G. Stephen Lloyd, Senior whether elected or appointed. of Public 4. A basic level of service jAssociate Administration Services at 1313 throughout the county. East 60th Street in Chicago in these If adopted, February 1973. The pamphlet lists recommendations will implement 10 private organizations with the community council form of headquarters at 1313. All are county government. of elected or organizations appointed government officials. 4 Committee for Economic Organizations named are (1) Development and dispersion geographical known interest in Most of the five government. appointing committee members revealed they were given about 200 names from which to choose, and they tried to select from those names people who had reputations for genuine interest in government and who would commit themselves to work all year on the commission. Thus, we see the appointing committee limited itself to selecting study commission members from 200 names when it could easily have selected from among the 200,000 people 18 years old or older in the county, by using the techniques common to selection of juries. If the system for jury selection is suitable for selecting persons who have competence to find a fellow man guilty of crime, surely the same system could be used to find interested citizens who would make an objective study of county American Public Welfare government. Randon selection in American Public The Committee for Economic this manner is considered to be Association, (2) American (3) Association, Works Development was founded by Paul truly representative.10 Officials, of (4) Planning G. Hoffman in 1942. Hoffman has Society Possibly even more to the point Code and Officials Building been President of Ford regarding representation, there is Administrators International, Inc., Foundation, Honorary Chairman the question of ethnic Governments, of the Fund for the Republic, and Mr. Raymond (5) Council of State representation. Tax of Federation has held many powerful jobs in were (6) Uno, whose ancestors (7) International Administrators, Japanese, has been referred to by Association of Assessing Officers, government. Hoffman, in 1939, conceived the idea of setting up a Mr. Richard Winder, chairman of Finance Officers Municipal (8) committee" the study commission, at a meeting Public (9) which would prepare new at Olympus High on September Association, (10) economic Service, Administration policies for the nationa 4th, as a representative of ethnic Association. Personnel Public and then prepare the public and groups. Mr. Uno is a successful, named above the to addition In Congress to accept them. (All of or upper class upper middle-clla- ss Jo MetroChart the foregoing information is from by lawyer. He represents the poor of organizations, INVISIBLE the minorities like President Nixon Hindman shows the following THE at 1313: (I) GOVERNMENT by Dan Smoot, represents Professor J. D. organizations Governors Conference, (2) Western Islands, POblisher.) Williams. On the subject of Metro In conclusion, this article has National Legislative Conference, of Cities, (4) government the Committee has shown that the idea for a new (3) National League International Managers City published a book called GUIDING government for Salt Lake County and nine other METROPOLITAN GROWTH'. is not new, it is not spontaneous, Association, for government The book contains a chapter on and it 'is not the result of organizations Reorganization of Government in independent effort of Salt Lake employees. founded 1313 was Center The by Metropolitan Areas" in which is County citizens. In addition, we E. Merriam and Louis found in bold-fac- e The type; have shown the commission is not Charles was and believes Committee we lavishly must that Brownlow, .representative of county endowed by Rockefellers through While anyone adapt our local governments in inhabitants. Rockefeller the Laura Spelman metropolitan areas so as to enable attending the work sessions of the Fund. them to carry out more efficiently study commission can attest that city-coun- ty city-coun- 1 1 ty and effectively those public Community Development, which responsibilities which are clearly released results of a survey showing substantial gaps exist between metropolitan in scope." Another paragraph begins, The what Utahns want in local Committee is aware of the' view government services and what that metropolitan consolidation ogvernment officials believe is needed." The survey was done by implies a loss of one form of in local affairs and Professor LeRoy F. Harlow, the substitution of another." director of LGMS and consultant to the study commission. Representative Lindsay was also a member of the appointing 5 THE CORPORATE STATE ion committee G. Ellsworth Brunson, Senator Warren E. Pugh, and Representative Richard P. Lindsay have all, either publicly or privately to author, expressed interest in the corporate form for Salt Lake County government. First I shall give an example of a corporate state, and then give the statements of each of the three men named above. Mr. Sven Moberg, in 1971 the deputy Minister of Education in Sweden, was quoted as saying in Roland Huntford's THE NEW TOTALITARIANS, Students must learn to work in some kind of collective organization at a university. I admit that this resembles a medieval corporation but our aim is the establishment of a corporate State. We are aware of the abuses of this system, as in Fascist Italy, and we intend to avoid them. But corporatism has succeeded on the Labour Market, and we believe that it is the solution for the whole of society. Technology demands the collective." Mr. With the above in mind, this summer 1 heard G. Ellsworth Brunson when speaking to the study commission at Kearns High on J une 26 call for a strong central in the county; government" appointment of clerk, attorney, treasurer, auditor, recorder, assessor, sheriff, and surveyor, rather- than election; and an - appointed chief strong a council-managadministrator form of government. This form of government was compared to that of a corporation with its board and president. Mr. Brunson was a member of Local Government Modernization Study and its successor Utahns for Effective Government. Mr. is Brunson also a sometime for the Chamber of spokesman Commerce, which has published a booklet entitled MODERNIZING STATE GOVERNMENT. Then on July 10 at Hillcrest High, Senator Pugh, in response to a question, said that a county administrator should be strictly an administrator like the president of a large company." Senator Pugh is a member of UTEGO, was a member of the special committee which appointed members to the study commission and was one of the three sponsors of Senate Bill 184 which establishment in er authorized of both appointing committee study commission. on Subsequently, night, September the and the Saturday 7th, Representative Lindsay, in a telephone conversation with me, said that he likes the idea of the corporate state. Representative of the Lindsay is director University of Utah Bureau of which appointed members to the study commission. REGIONAL FEDERAL 6 GOVERNMENTS , On February 10, 1972 President Nixon signed Executive Order 11647, dividing the United States into ten federal regions.. Each region is run by a Federal Regional .Council. This was done in spite of the Constitutional prohibition of such an act in Article IV, Sections 3 and 4. However, Article VI, Section 2 of the U. S. Constitution contains a clause which has been interpreted to allow a treaty to become the law of the land and to even supersede the Constitution itself. The Charter of the United Nations, which is a treaty and which has been ratified by our Senate has within it provisions which can change every facet of our . Nation, including giving supererogatory powers to federally appointed regional officials. In fact, the status of such officials was recently seen in the peremptory orders given in July to Utah by EPA Regional administrator John A. Green concerning auto parking, parking lots, and other matters in Utah's three largest cities. - In all regional governments officials are appointed. The Metro plan for consolidation of Salt Lake prefers that all officials such as sheriff, clerk, etc. be appointed. Eventually, by ordinance. local officials' titles can be changed to match those of regional officials. In dealing with any level of government, regional government goes directly to that level, bypassing all intermediate governments. City-Coun- ty 7 SENATE BILL 184 Senate Bill 184, the enabling legislation providing for optional forms of county government, as permitted by Proposition 4 in the 1972 general election, was prepared by Professors Arvo Van Alstyne and LeRoy F. Harlow for sponsorship by Senators W. Hughes Brockbank,' Warren E. Pugh, and Ernest H. Dean. On Thursday, July 19, at a special meeting of the study commission, two attorneys from the County Attorney's office said, at the time, they could not interpret the meaning of Sections 7(1) (c) and 10(3). Also one of. them pointed out that Section 1 1(3) contains the enabling clause for Home Rule in Salt Lake County. The attorney then explained that Home Rule means the county can have powers other than those granted by the legislature. This feature plus the general grant of power section in the model laws would seem to make the proposed . new city-coun- ty government a super power within the reference frome of this .State. |