From Deseret News archives:

County-Legislature peace?

Horiuchi is overly pessimistic, lawmakers and colleagues say

Published: Saturday, Sept. 1, 2007 12:51 a.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
They call Randy Horiuchi Nostradamus.

The Salt Lake County Councilman is known for his predictions of woe and misery coming the county's way, courtesy of the Utah Legislature.

The latest prediction paints a dreary picture for the future of Salt Lake County's relationship with lawmakers: "Anything we propose over the next five years will be DOA," Horiuchi told the Deseret Morning News.

Call him the Debbie Downer of the bunch.

Legislative leaders insist it's not that bad.

"I just don't see it quite as dire as Randy," said House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, who has come to verbal blows with several county leaders over the past few years.

Horiuchi's warnings have been a constant throughout several high-profile debates the past few years, all on topics where county leaders ended up on different ends of the philosophical stick than the Legislature: a soccer stadium for Real Salt Lake, transportation funding and school district split legislation.

Story continues below
Another omen came in March 2006, just before the county council voted against a funding plan to give Real Salt Lake hotel-room tax dollars to build a soccer stadium in Sandy: "If we go and torpedo this funding I think in the future, our credibility on Capitol Hill will be sorely damaged — damaged to the point that if we ever had a legislative agenda on Capitol Hill, this will serve as a reminder you should never do business in Salt Lake County."

Sound familiar?

Horiuchi's colleagues insist it won't be that bad. They've heard the warnings before and believe the historically rocky relationship with the Legislature is finally getting better.

"It's not that bad," Councilman Jeff Allen said. "The relationship is improving; they're gaining a little bit more trust in us."

County leaders are building that trust through an outreach plan. The plan is geared toward improving relationships and communication with legislators and includes inviting them to activities throughout the valley to show off just what Salt Lake County does.

In the next few weeks, legislators will be treated to an arts presentation at the Rose Wagner Performance Arts Center, as well as a Broadway touring show at Capitol Theatre to show the lawmakers the county's role in the arts, said Spencer Stokes, Salt Lake County's paid lobbyist.

The county also plans to invite legislators to the sheriff's shooting range to try out a simulator to show them how sheriff's deputies are trained, he said. Past events include posh seats at the Pioneer Day parade and several lunches.

Recent comments

Nothing will change so long as Greg Curtis is at the helm. Despite...

WJ Mom | Sept. 3, 2007 at 10:58 p.m.

previousnext

Latest comments

The Capitol is beautiful. David Hart and his staff have done a magnificent...

Hope for single moms

The reason why this statistic is still being used is because IT IS STILL A...

Any way you look at it, a married guy looking at PORN has "SEXUAL HEALTH...

Afghanistan and Somolia (and California) are failed states. If the US and its...

Wow!!! Whats next electric toothbrushes. I hope i use one before my old...

There is a great book called Endangered Minds in which the author, an...

Deseret News editors are still apparently under the spell of the Reagan...

TCU moves into 4th place in BCS

Why can't BYU fans be content with a top 25 ranking, getting into a bowl...

Letters: DUI standards differ?

If you were charged with a felony, it's because you have [more than one]...

3A football: Juan Diego soars

Cedar - VS JD I was impressed by the game Cedar brought. Well...

Advertisements
Advertisement