This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Mr. Land Grab, Rep. Ken Ivory (West Jordan), is leading the fight to force the federal government to cede federal lands in Utah to Utah.
This is a terrible idea. The state government has shown no ability to manage those lands any better than the feds; and, if Ivory succeeds, does anyone think he and his cronies won't sell off choice bits to developers for their own enrichment? Think Ivory Homes.
Last year, Ivory convinced our Legislature to commit $14 million of our taxpayer dollars to this fight. It's a fight they can't win. The Property Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the precedent of several Supreme Court decisions make it virtually impossible. Who convinced them? Why, it was the same lawyers who will pocket $14 million of your and my taxpayer dollars while Utahns walk away with nothing!
How convenient.
Consider: Of the 13 attorneys general of the Western U.S., 11 declined to take up similar fights in their own states because they assessed it as a legal loser. They refused to waste their citizens' money on a boondoggle.
Voters in West Jordan House District 47, please stop this nonsense! Rebuke Mr. Land Grab. Elect John Rendell.
Scott Bell
West Jordan