LOCAL OPINION
Daily Herald, September 2, 2009
Don Jarvis and Craig Dennis
Utahns are preparing two initiatives for the 2010 ballot. Both can improve freedom and democracy in our state, but in order to pass, they will require a lot of signatures and then votes.
Before explaining these two projects, we should note that the term "democracy" is used lately with considerable looseness. Even the most shameless dictators now claim that their countries are democracies. Russia's Putin, Venezuela's Chavez and Iran's Ahmadinejad come to mind. They were once elected democratically but then gradually reduced their opponents' freedoms to the point that the term "democracy" is now questionable at best.
Ethical behavior is absolutely crucial to democracy, and unfairness towards opponents can destroy it. How? Quiet changes in election practices, minor conflicts of interest, some financial advantage in campaigns and secret use of political muscle on opponents. Little by little, the freedom to choose leaders is crushed.
None of our Utah legislators are in the same league as Putin, Chavez or Ahmadinejad, but some of those strong-men's tactics seem distressingly familiar.
Quiet changes in election practices? The Wall Street Journal called our legislators' 1991 gerrymandering of Utah election districts one of the worst and most blatant power grabs by one political party in history.
Conflicts of interest? At least one current, influential senator is a registered lobbyist for one of Utah's most powerful interest groups.
Financial advantage in campaigns? Over 81 percent of campaign finance for Utah legislators comes from corporations and special interests -- not voters -- and objective observers regularly give Utah failing grades for its loose campaign finance laws.
Use of political muscle on opponents? Think about the Senate Judiciary chairman's threatening letter to the judge who dared to rule against his developer friend in Mapleton. Perhaps most telling was the Utah County legislators' demand that a prominent candidate for president of Utah Valley University have his wife apologize for having campaigned last year for ethics reform.
Anytime our politicians use unethical means, they are chipping away at freedom and democracy, at government of the people, by the people and for the people.
So how are the two citizen groups proposing to repair Utah's damaged democracy with ballot initiatives for 2010?
"Fair Boundaries" proposes an independent commission for redrawing election districts every decade (www.fairboundaries.org).
"Utahns for Ethical Government" (www.utahethics.org) proposes clear standards on legislative ethics and an independent commission to hear complaints involving them. Both commissions will be limited by the Utah Constitution to an advisory role but will have powerful influence on public opinion and thus on the Legislature.
Voters and legislators should study both petitions carefully. Ideally, our legislators should themselves pass the proposed initiative bills or stronger ones during the next session.
If they do not or instead pass weaker legislation in an attempt to defeat these petitions, Utahns will have the chance to repair our democracy by signing these petitions and then voting for them in November 2010.
We clearly understand that ethics are crucial in interpersonal relations, so it's high time that we demand high standards of ethical behavior in Utah politics. Our freedom ultimately depends on it.
