In the latest battle over who should lead West Jordan — a city manager or a strong mayor — those who support changing to the second option have almost twice as much funding, and most of the money has ties to current city leaders.
City Councilman Dave Newton has donated at least $5,000 to a political issues committee (PIC) supporting Prop. 10 on the November ballot. It will ask voters if the city should move to having a strong mayor who works with seven council members. If it fails, the city would continue to have a manager who works with the mayor and six other council members.
The PIC has over $7,000, according to campaign contribution reports, including at least $1,000 from R&R Companies, an organization licensed to Mayor Kim Rolfe on the state business registry.
Newton, a former West Jordan mayor, said he made his donation because “I believe strongly in [the ballot initiative] and strongly enough to put my money where my mouth is.”
But Rolfe, who is now running for re-election, denied that the contribution associated with his company came directly from him. He declined to name a specific donor.
“I have to be very clear; as mayor, I can’t have a position on the change of form of government,” Rolfe said.
However, he noted: “The company that I am involved with is certainly in favor of changing the form of government.”
Campaign contribution reports show the PIC set up to oppose the ballot measure has, by contrast, a little more than $4,000. Most of those contributions have come from Robert Bennett, a former West Jordan councilman and that PIC’s primary officer, as well as from small donations of less than $50 per contributor.
Jack Duffy, another officer of the PIC that opposes the change, said the large donations with ties to the current administration raise questions.
“My perception is this is elected officials on one side and ordinary people on the other side,” he said. “It seems very establishment-driven, so that makes me wonder if those in charge have an interest in expanding their power and authority.”
Mayoral candidates typically run for a four-year term. But if voters approve the change, the mayor elected this year to take office in 2018 would have his or her term cut short when it took effect in 2020.
Some council members would also have their terms cut short. Both they and the new mayor would likely still receive paychecks for those latter two years.
Rolfe and Newton dismissed accusations that they would support the change solely for their own benefit.
“I am not seeking another term after,” Rolfe said. “This will be my last election. I want to make that very clear that I’m not trying to set that up for myself.”
Newton, who filled the seat left vacant by former Councilman Jeff Haaga, is not running for election this year. He said he will “not even be involved” after his term ends in December.
Justin Lee, deputy director of elections in the lieutenant governor’s office, said elected officials are legally able to donate to causes, as long as the money doesn’t come from public funds.
But Tim Chambless, an associate professor of political science at the University of Utah, said the donations do raise ethical questions.
“This kind [of donation] may be technically legal, but the question is, is it ethical?” he said. “...That’s the question I would ask people to consider — even if there’s just private money being contributed, not just public dollars. So really, ultimately, the answer to that question is going to be with the voters of West Jordan.”
West Jordan City officials did not respond immediately for comment Friday on whether the donations would violate ethics rules the city adopted in 2016.
The council approved the ballot question in January. After pushback from residents, it created a committee to examine the pros and cons of five forms of government.
The committee suggested keeping the current form or asking voters to consider a six-member council, with executive responsibilities delegated to a city manager.
Instead, the council approved the current ballot measure.
Chambless said it’s important for voters to understand how money impacts elections “whether it’s on the national level or right down to the city level in West Jordan.”
“It’s single digits — that is to say, $7,000 [in donations supporting the ballot initiative] is not $17,000,” he said. “... It’s also who’s contributing. Who has a vested interest in the change? When you factor in the questionable explanation for the money [connected to Rolfe] being donated, then it raises the question of ethics.”
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