This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

If nothing else, Utah County Republicans are consistent.

First, there was the revelation that the victor for a Utah County Commission seat at the county convention had several bankruptcies and a misdemeanor theft conviction.

That revelation came after Greg Graves won enough delegate votes to eliminate his opponent at the convention, showing what a great vetting process the caucus convention system is in Utah.

Graves now is commissioner-elect.

Then there was the overwhelming re-election of Rep. Brian Greene, R-Pleasant Grove, who eliminated his opponents at the county convention after delegates received a letter, purportedly from the Utah chapter of the Foundation for Government Accountability, extolling the virtues of Greene and criticizing his two opponents.

The letter turned out be a fake. Nonetheless, Greene will be starting his second term in the House in January.

Now comes Al Jackson, who just won a special election among delegates to take over the senate seat vacated by John Valentine, who was appointed chairman of the Utah Tax Commission.

Jackson, of Highland, has a $38,430 judgment against him from a court case in Oregon.

The plaintiff in the case is Maritime Services Corp., a construction company that did renovation work on Jackson's property in Hood River County, Ore. According to the complaint, Jackson signed a promissory note, but has not paid the amount owed after Maritime finished the job.

The case in now in 4th District Court in Utah where a collection action is ongoing.

Jackson's attorney, Morgan Philpot, says Jackson disputes the judgment and claims it was obtained inappropriately. He said Jackson paid more than $100,000 on the construction project and has satisfied his obligations.

A Utah man: The Minneapolis television reporter in the middle of a media firestorm for airing what critics are calling the most racist news story of the year cut his journalistic teeth in Utah.

Jay Kolls, a reporter for KSTP-TV, reported recently that Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges was seen flashing gang signs with a twice-convicted felon, who happens to be black.

Kolls quoted a retired cop who said Hodges was putting cops at risk by fraternizing with gang members and legitimizing them.

Actually, Hodges, who has earned the ire of some cops for criticisms she has leveled at those who abuse their authority, was canvassing neighborhoods for a get-out-the vote drive when she encountered the man, who is a member of Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, a Minnesota charity aimed at fighting for economic justice for low income residents.

Hodges stopped and posed for a picture with the volunteer.

What Kolls called "gang signs" were just innocent gestures as Hodges and the volunteer pointed at each other.

The story has gone viral on social media and online publications, mostly harboring disbelief that a news station would run such a ridiculous story.

The online publication MinnPost quoted Nekima Levy-Pounds, a University of St. Thomas Law School professor, who wrote in: "I could not believe that any credible news station in the Twin Cities would produce a segment like the one in question and attempt to pass it off as legitimate news."

For what it's worth, Kolls was a reporter for Salt Lake City stations KSL and KUTV in the 1990s.

Behind enemy lines: At last week's University of Utah tailgate party preceding the Ute/Stanford game in Palo Alto, Calif., the Bay Area chapter of the University of Utah Alumni Association raffled off a number of items to raise money for the chapter.

One of the items was a football autographed by none other than Steve Young — who is not a Ute legend but a former BYU quarterback who starred for the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL.

Kudos to Young for being big enough to help out an alumni chapter of his former rival, Utah.

By the way, there was no raffle for an autographed football from Max Hall.