Showing posts with label gary herbert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gary herbert. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Lawsuit alleges Corroon broke campaign finance law
*PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE DATES*
SALT LAKE CITY -- The former chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party has filed suit against Democratic gubernatorial nominee Peter Corroon, accusing him of violating campaign finance laws that he signed as county mayor.
SALT LAKE CITY -- The former chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party has filed suit against Democratic gubernatorial nominee Peter Corroon, accusing him of violating campaign finance laws that he signed as county mayor.
James Evans filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Utah's 3rd District Court. He wants Corroon to be ordered to return more than $300,000 in donations he accepted through his Corroon Leadership political action committee.
Salt Lake County prohibits individual contributions that exceed $2,000. Contractors that do work with the county are prohibited from donating more than $100 to county officials' campaigns.
Among others exceeding those limits, Corroon's PAC accepted $10,000 donations from the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, Utah AFL-CIO and AEB Enterprises.
Corroon campaign manager Donald Dunn claims the limits only apply to county races.
"There is absolutely no truth or merit in anything that James Evans has put in this lawsuit, and James Evans is notorious for having his trick-or-treat campaign surprises and being a negative dirty trickster," Dunn said. "It doesn't surprise us that we're seeing his head pop up right before Halloween."
Corroon has made campaign finance reform one of the signature issues in his race against GOP Gov. Gary Herbert. Corroon has proudly touted the county's campaign finance limits and said he would seek to put caps in place on a statewide level if he were elected governor.
Herbert has said he opposes campaign contribution limits.
Evans contends Corroon was effectively using his political action committee as a second mayoral campaign account in 2009, although Corroon had already said he wasn't seeking re-election as mayor.
Corroon didn't formally announce he was running for governor until earlier this year.
"That (PAC) was filed before he ran for governor in 2009," Evans said. "People gave significant amounts of money because he was county mayor, and he benefitted from it because he's county mayor."
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Salt Lake County Zap Bond for Community Centers IS NOT fiscally conservative
Mayor Corroon loves to tout that he is a fiscal conservative and claims that as Governor he will improve Utah's economic outlook. Mayor Corroon doesn't realize that campaign press conferences and policy announcements can't cover the reality of the growing tax burdens on residents of Salt Lake County and what voters can expect from their future Governor.
So let's take a look at the recent news article on the Salt Lake County ZAP bonds that are building government rec centers across SLCO from the SLTRIB You paid for 'em, you got 'em: more rec goodies
So let's take a look at the recent news article on the Salt Lake County ZAP bonds that are building government rec centers across SLCO from the SLTRIB You paid for 'em, you got 'em: more rec goodies
Despite the downturn, rec centers have continued to rise in Salt Lake City, Herriman and Millcreek; trails have continued to branch out in Sugar House and Cottonwood Heights; skate parks have continued to pop up in Kearns and Midvale.Bonding and raising sales tax to build government-run rec centers at a time when Salt Lake County had to cut $140 million dollars from their budget isn't exactly "fiscal conservatism" Taxpayers will have to pay towards those bonds in the future and while borrowing money to build a rec center may create a temporary job for construction workers, there is no long term economic return on a public rec center.
Why? Because public funds didn’t stop paying for those amenities during the recession.
“The projects gave a boost to our economy,” Corroon said. “We were able to put construction workers back to work.”
That said, the ZAP tax also put funding for recreation centers above other critical services during tough economic times, according to the Utah Taxpayers Association.I wonder if the County employees who were laid off due to the budget shortfall are able to enjoy their time off at their new local rec center?
Howard Stephenson, a state senator and president of the business-backed association, described ZAP as “bad tax policy,” steering money toward a specific purpose — parks and recreation — without any consideration of overall government spending.
“A governing body,” he said, “should have to weigh expenses for zoos, arts and parks along with police, fire and streets.”
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Salt Lake County tax hike could derail Corroon guv bid
Salt Lake County tax hike could derail Corroon guv bid
Politics » Mayor's increase would kick in right at election time.
By Jeremiah Stettler
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 10/29/2009 07:48:29 AM MDT
If Peter Corroon wants to run for governor, he has a funny way of showing it. With Utahns poised to pick a new governor just one year from now, the Salt Lake County mayor and perceived Democratic frontrunner for the state's highest office has proposed a dramatically downsized budget that also raises taxes.
So if higher property tax bills hit next fall, Corroon could be just days away from the election -- not the best combination by any stretch of the political imagination. Corroon might say that he cut a staggering $142 million from the county's budget. That's true. He might say that he replenished the general fund reserve to help preserve the county's coveted triple-A bond rating. That's true. But the mayor also might have to explain his decision to raise $13.4 more million in taxes. That's also true. "Obviously, nobody wants to raise taxes," Corroon said. "Politically, it's not a good thing to do. But I thought our budget was the best budget we could put together. The bottom line is I'm always going to do what I think is the right thing, whether it is good for me politically or not." Corroon hasn't announced whether he will seek the governor's seat, although political pressures are mounting for him to become the Democratic banner-carrier. The mayor says his attention remains fixed on the county's 2010 budget -- not yet approved by the County Council -- which comes amid the worst economiccrisis since the Great Depression. But pundits and politicos alike label the soft-spoken Democrat, who snatched the mayor's seat five years ago as a political unknown, as the blue-hued contender with the best shot at governor. The question is, will Corroon's willingness to balance the 2010 budget with the help of a tax hike undermine his carefully burnished image as a protector of the public purse?
Or will voters prove forgiving of a man who opposed taxpayer funding for the Real Salt Lake
soccer stadium during his first term, and then brandished his veto over the summer to keep fellow Democrats from raising taxes before the county had explored more cuts? Impossible to tell. But Corroon clearly has exposed himself to an electoral attack if he chooses to run for governor, political observers say, particularly if the incumbent, Gov. Gary Herbert, manages to mend the state's budget without boosting taxes. Sensitivity over the issue appeared even in the lingo that laced Corroon's budget presentationTuesday. The mayor never mentioned the word tax "increase." Instead, he dubbed the bump in property tax bills as a "shift" that would offset sagging sales tax revenues. "It is going to be difficult if he runs in a statewide campaign to not allow himself to be stereotyped as a typical Democrat who is going to raise your taxes," said Quin Monson, associate director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University. "It would be a battle that would be winnable, but a difficult one." Corroon has proposed a radically reduced 2010 budget that would lop the county's overall ledger from $801 million to $659 million -- not counting the law enforcement dollars that will leave with the Unified Police Department next year. Under the plan, the county would cut employees' wages, close 10 recreation centers on Sundays, erase contributions to organizations such as the Utah Cultural Celebration Center and scale back department budgets by sometimes-double-digit percentages.
"I do not believe we can cut any further without harming the essential services that our county government must provide," he told the County Council on Tuesday. So Corroon turned to property taxes. It's a move that Thomas Wright, chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party, doesn't think will sit well with voters. "People are living on less income," he said. "They are learning how to adjust their budgets. Government should learn to do the same." Corroon can expect an eroded voter base, Wright said, if he chooses to chase the governor's seat. "People are smart enough to see that Peter has been making all the cuts possible before approaching the subject of rasing taxes," countered Weston Clark, chairman of the Salt Lake County Democratic Party. "He has a proven track record of fiscal responsibility."
Kirk Jowers, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, suspects the political fallout will be minimal. "To some people, a tax increase is never justified," Jowers said. "And he will be susceptible to attacks from those groups. But on balance, the average voter will applaud his fiscal discipline and his attempt to solve an incredibly difficult budget year."
Politics » Mayor's increase would kick in right at election time.
By Jeremiah Stettler
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 10/29/2009 07:48:29 AM MDT
If Peter Corroon wants to run for governor, he has a funny way of showing it. With Utahns poised to pick a new governor just one year from now, the Salt Lake County mayor and perceived Democratic frontrunner for the state's highest office has proposed a dramatically downsized budget that also raises taxes.
So if higher property tax bills hit next fall, Corroon could be just days away from the election -- not the best combination by any stretch of the political imagination. Corroon might say that he cut a staggering $142 million from the county's budget. That's true. He might say that he replenished the general fund reserve to help preserve the county's coveted triple-A bond rating. That's true. But the mayor also might have to explain his decision to raise $13.4 more million in taxes. That's also true. "Obviously, nobody wants to raise taxes," Corroon said. "Politically, it's not a good thing to do. But I thought our budget was the best budget we could put together. The bottom line is I'm always going to do what I think is the right thing, whether it is good for me politically or not." Corroon hasn't announced whether he will seek the governor's seat, although political pressures are mounting for him to become the Democratic banner-carrier. The mayor says his attention remains fixed on the county's 2010 budget -- not yet approved by the County Council -- which comes amid the worst economiccrisis since the Great Depression. But pundits and politicos alike label the soft-spoken Democrat, who snatched the mayor's seat five years ago as a political unknown, as the blue-hued contender with the best shot at governor. The question is, will Corroon's willingness to balance the 2010 budget with the help of a tax hike undermine his carefully burnished image as a protector of the public purse?
Or will voters prove forgiving of a man who opposed taxpayer funding for the Real Salt Lake
soccer stadium during his first term, and then brandished his veto over the summer to keep fellow Democrats from raising taxes before the county had explored more cuts? Impossible to tell. But Corroon clearly has exposed himself to an electoral attack if he chooses to run for governor, political observers say, particularly if the incumbent, Gov. Gary Herbert, manages to mend the state's budget without boosting taxes. Sensitivity over the issue appeared even in the lingo that laced Corroon's budget presentationTuesday. The mayor never mentioned the word tax "increase." Instead, he dubbed the bump in property tax bills as a "shift" that would offset sagging sales tax revenues. "It is going to be difficult if he runs in a statewide campaign to not allow himself to be stereotyped as a typical Democrat who is going to raise your taxes," said Quin Monson, associate director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University. "It would be a battle that would be winnable, but a difficult one." Corroon has proposed a radically reduced 2010 budget that would lop the county's overall ledger from $801 million to $659 million -- not counting the law enforcement dollars that will leave with the Unified Police Department next year. Under the plan, the county would cut employees' wages, close 10 recreation centers on Sundays, erase contributions to organizations such as the Utah Cultural Celebration Center and scale back department budgets by sometimes-double-digit percentages.
"I do not believe we can cut any further without harming the essential services that our county government must provide," he told the County Council on Tuesday. So Corroon turned to property taxes. It's a move that Thomas Wright, chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party, doesn't think will sit well with voters. "People are living on less income," he said. "They are learning how to adjust their budgets. Government should learn to do the same." Corroon can expect an eroded voter base, Wright said, if he chooses to chase the governor's seat. "People are smart enough to see that Peter has been making all the cuts possible before approaching the subject of rasing taxes," countered Weston Clark, chairman of the Salt Lake County Democratic Party. "He has a proven track record of fiscal responsibility."
Kirk Jowers, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, suspects the political fallout will be minimal. "To some people, a tax increase is never justified," Jowers said. "And he will be susceptible to attacks from those groups. But on balance, the average voter will applaud his fiscal discipline and his attempt to solve an incredibly difficult budget year."
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