This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Mitt Romney is openly disdainful of Republican Donald Trump, opening up the prospect that Democrat Hillary Clinton could win rock-red Utah — a state that has not gone blue in a presidential contest since 1964.
While Utah has only six electoral votes, a Democratic victory here would be symbolically significant and could affect some tight down-ballot races.
Romney has hinted, but not committed, that he might endorse Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. Those close to Romney say the lifelong Republican probably could never go so far as to vote for Clinton. But one friend, who tirelessly worked to raise money for Romney when he ran for president four years ago, is a top Utah player in the Clinton effort.
Developer Kem Gardner, a Democrat who ran for governor in 1984, was key in organizing fundraising efforts for Romney in 2012. Now that his pal is not on the ticket and not participating in the GOP campaign, Gardner has returned to his Democratic roots.
On Thursday, he will be one of the hosts for a Clinton fundraiser at the Park City area home of Barry and Amy Baker that will feature the candidate's husband, former President Bill Clinton.
The contribution level to earn the label of host is $33,400.
So can such a heavy commitment by Gardner be a persuasive argument for his friend?
Said Gardner: "I keep telling Mitt, 'You can't go for Trump, so why not just go all the way and vote for Hillary?"
Well, who knows?
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Mayoral meltdown • South Jordan Mayor David Alvord stomped out of a City Council meeting last week because the council won't let him have a new flag.
As he left, he told the members they would have to appoint a mayor pro tem for the rest of the meeting.
Alvord has been lobbying for a new design to replace the city's current flag, which depicts a tree inside of a circle.
He raised the idea of staging a contest for a new flag several weeks ago. The council voted it down.
He brought it up again Aug. 2, first trying to push the flag proposal ahead of a zoning issue involving the number of horses that can be kept in an area. Council members rejected that motion because residents were there to talk about the horses.
When Alvord got his turn, he showed a 20-minute video about the importance of branding. When it was over, the council again rejected the notion, and he bolted out of the room.
Alvord has had a colorful term as mayor. He tried to get council members to agree to post an anti-Planned Parenthood diatribe on the city's webpage, even though critics said that had nothing to do with city business. He contacted a 15-year-old daughter of one of his critics on Facebook, prompting the girl's family to report him to the police. And he sent Facebook messages to former state Rep. Carl Wimmer, scolding him for leaving The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Out in the cold • I wrote last week about a series of meetings held at the Boy Scouts' Utah National Parks Council offices in Orem by a fringe group advocating militias, resistance to the federal government and the abolition of public education.
Well, the day that item ran, Aug. 3, a Scout official let one of the people who had complained about that group know that the youth organization has decided to no longer rent the facility to that group.
"I wanted to let you know the Utah National Parks Council no longer rents space for meetings of the group you mentioned in your email," Andrew Olsen, executive for the Scouts' Alpine District, wrote in an email.
The Scouts rent out the building to groups for meetings and disclaims any endorsement of those that pay to meet there.
One point to note: The Boy Scouts of America is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, meaning it does not pay taxes. To qualify, it must avoid political advocacy.