KAYSVILLE — The trio of Kaysville City Council incumbents, or a group supporting them, have turned the political tables on their challengers.
A 5-inch by 11-inch political card mailed to Kaysville residents Friday under the heading Kaysvilletruth.com has Councilmen Ron Stephens, Mark Johnson and Brett Garlick, running under a team concept.
The same team concept some city leaders were critical of when first introduced by challengers Susan Lee, Ron Barton and Orwin Draney, all members of the group known as Kaysville Citizens for Responsible Government.
Lee, Barton, and Draney are challenging Stephens, Johnson and Garlick in the Nov. 8 municipal election for three open four-year council seats.
Kaysville resident Margaret Brough, a co-founder of Kaysville Citizens for Responsible Government, said what is disturbing is the political card she received lists the names of endorsees as “concerned friends and residents of Kaysville,” some of whom do not live in Kaysville.
The Kaysvilletruth.com website does not reveal who is behind the creation of this new citizens group. The website reads: “This website has been assembled and paid for by a group of concerned citizens of Kaysville.”
Brough said it is also disappointing that city leaders who were critical of the three group members of Kaysville Citizens for Responsible Government running in a team, have now signed onto the mailer.
Brough said she suspects someone in a city position is behind the mailer.
Equally concerning, is Davis County Civil Deputy Attorney Bill McGuire has publicly endorsed the mailer, the same attorney who played a role in the Kaysville Citizens for Responsible Government group’s thwarted effort to place three city initiatives on the Nov. 8 municipal ballot.
McGuire said he is a Kaysville resident and four years ago he endorsed Johnson and Stephens for council.
“I’m endorsing them again,” he said.
Regarding the third council member, Garlick, McGuire said, he doesn’t know him.
“But I feel strongly that if they feel he is an appropriate candidate, I feel OK with that,” he said.
Whether his endorsement of the current council creates a potential conflict of interest with the citizen’s group, McGuire said, the proposed ballot initiatives were a legal question, and the county ruled on what is the law. He said his role in being a part of that legal opinion, which was reviewed by Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings, has nothing to do with Kaysville politics, nor his right to express his personal opinion.
“I think we all have that freedom in this nation,” McGuire said.
Kaysville Mayor Steve Hiatt said he is aware of the political postcard, but his name as an endorser on it is more in the capacity of a voting resident, versus a mayor.
“Being elected to public office doesn’t mean we give up our right to support certain candidates,” Hiatt said.
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