Wednesday, June 13, 2007

"Rocky nearly in City Hall fistfight" - SL Tribune, 06/13/07, pg B1

Seems Rocky didn't like the business dealings of a downtown developer, and tried to put the nix on some tax kickback the city offered the developer. Nothing new in politics (well, in Utah saying "NO" to a developer very well may be new), except for the non-alcoholic bar brawl. Seems at one point the developer yelled at Rocky "You got the guts to come talk to me", and then stormed to him and did the ol' chest bump thing. Rocky, in his time-tested and well known self-controlled manner responded with "Don't touch me! I'll kick your ass." A couple of security guards and the Mayors Chief of Staff intervened and prevented it from becoming an all out brawl in the main hall of City Hall. Cool.
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Ok, some of you are going to say that Rocky is a little out of control. Some of you will probably say something about impeaching him at this point. Me, I'm gonna say that it's just getting interesting and since he is leaving office soon, let's just sit back and enjoy the ride.
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Anyone who has ever heard me talk about developers in this state knows that I firmly believe that they get whatever they want, and if you've heard my opinions on Randy Horiuchi, you know that I belive this crosses party lines. So, I'm not going to argue that our Mayor should be brawling in the middle of City Hall, but I love the fact that he has the guts to stand up to a developer. Read the article in the Tribune and you'll see that there were, in fact, reasons for Rocky to be weary of this developer. And, at least the way I got it from the article, it was the developer that started the physical aspect of the argument. I don't know, but with Real Salt Lake being shoved down our throats, I just like seeing someone say NO to one of these guys. And I can't wait to see Bagley's cartoon on it.......

7 comments:

A Paperback Writer said...

And the first thing I thought of when I read the article was "Wait: Has Bagley got ahold of this one yet?"
In general, I prefer people who can use their brains instead of their fists to solve and argument (Will Rogers once said, "The more ignorant you are, the quicker you fight.), but I was all for Rocky in this one.
Actually, I'm a big Rocky fan anyway. Gonna miss the guy who told Kanab and their little "traditional family" declaration that they could shove it, the guy who's told W. he could shove it, the guy who's told developers they could shove it.... He's just not your normal politician. Who the heck's gonna live up to that reputation?

Anonymous said...

here's my thought- two kids fighting on the playground at city hall is hardly news...so they both acted like idiots, so what? the big deal is that one is a private citizen and the other is an ELECTED PUBLIC OFFICIAL - does he not realize that he is supposed to be representing all of us? What a bone-head.

Max Sartin said...

Ok, so just because he's the Mayor, he's supposed to let someone chest bump him and call him on? And it's ok for the guy who started the physical aspect, but not for the Mayor to respond? If you're going to call someone a bone-head, you need to be calling both of them that. Rocky did not give up his rights to respect as a human being just because he was elected Mayor. And I, for one, voted for Rocky BECAUSE he's got the guts to stand up to the powers that be and say "NO" to a developer when (almost) everyone else in the state is kissing their butts. Do I think that brawling in City Hall is the correct way to do it? No, but then again I don't think that behavior is right for ANYONE, ANYWHERE. And the irony of the whole thing is that I can still find it amusing that Rocky said "I'll kick your ass" to a developer.

Anonymous said...

First, its unfortunate that you cant read, max. my first sentence says "they both acted like idiots". Second, you need to understand what is best for downtown in order to decide who needs to be kissing which butts. Do you remember the last time someone built a high-rise downtown? 12 years ago, American Stores built and was gone in a matter of months. If you take away the church's building, its been a long, long time. So ask yourself, do you want a more vibrant downtown, with a higher tax base and more people? If the answer is yes, then you better start puckering up...Last comment - you saw the video, there isn't a whole lot of "physical contact" going on, and no one else in the video seems even the slightest bit worried, so what are you talking about with this "giving up his rights to respect as a human being"? If you think Rocky is worthy of respect then you are up in the night.

Max Sartin said...

Actually I can read, and I can even comprehend. My argument was with the “bone-head” comment and the implication that the Mayor was somehow more at fault, more irresponsible than the developer because he is an ELECTED PUBLIC OFFICIAL, and somehow above common respect. My point was that he does not give up his right to react to a physical attack, regardless of how short and little that attack was. Even if I had seen the video, it still stands that the man walked up to Rocky and chest bumped him, and short of it being one of my 7th graders, I would consider it an intimidation attempt. And yes, I do respect Rocky Anderson. He does what he does because he believes it’s right, not because he thinks it will further his political career. Even before he was a lame-duck Mayor, he infuriated the powers that be in this state because of things he believed in. That I can respect, even if I don’t always agree with him or his methods.
Finally – in respect to developers : I don’t care how much you believe development is good, whether or not you think we need to pave the entire planet or not, when a developer does not keep up his part of the deal that was struck, at the cost of millions to taxpayers, it’s time to end the deal. Time to fire the developer. It is my opinion that in general developers get way too much in tax incentives, eminent domain is used poorly and over-development is not a good thing either. But even if you think the deal that was made with this developer was a good deal for the taxpayers – he did not keep his end of the deal.
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Thank you for your input….

Anonymous said...

Max - I agree with most of your comments, no one should be treated with disrespect (even your 7th graders). However, i do think it's a little ironic that Rocky is making such a big deal about this and then magically announces that he is considering a third term in office...coincidence - i think not - using this to further his political career - i think so.

Max Sartin said...

Man, I want to beleive that his real reason for running again is a true concern for the city. The optomistic part of me beleives that there really are politicians that altruistic, and if there are, Rocky is one of them. The pessimistic part of me has to agree with your thesis, Anon.