Parade leaflets protested

BOUNTIFUL — One person's advertisement is another's frustration.

This year, spectators of the Bountiful Handcart Days parade were handed leaflets about church groups, scuba diving and insurance.

Those passing out the slips of paper, many children, probably didn't know that it is actually against city Handcart Days rules.

Last year, a small citizens group, CitizensForTaxFairness.Org ran into that rule and didn't pass out leaflets. They opposed the South Davis Recreation Center that citizens would be voting for a few weeks after the parade.

At the time, Ron Mortensen, group representative, says that he watched Bountiful City representatives use the parade and a city vehicle to promote the new recreation center and the election.

Bountiful Mayor Joe Johnson had no comment about Mortensen's struggles last year and said that "it's time for Ron Mortensen to make a positive contribution to the city."

Because of what happened at the parade, and because he also felt he saw incorrect information in the voter information pamphlet, Mortensen requested the Utah State Elections Office and Office of the Attorney General to investigate the election, the voter pamphlet and leafleting.

Director of Handcart Days Dallas Bradford says that the rule isn't a First Amendment issue because the events, which take place on Main Street in Bountiful and at Bountiful City Park by the new recreation center, are privately planned events for the public.

As for the alleged rule breaking, Les Paskett, co-chairman of the 2004 parade, said that had committee members seen such activity they would have stopped it.

"We are a rule-ignoring society," Paskett said. "It's just the way it works; even the fire department was breaking rules. It's near impossible for us to catch every person in the parade for doing something wrong."

The bond to create the center passed by 200 votes. The new South Davis Recreation Center is slated for completion October 2006. And the new tax district will collect an estimated $500,000 in taxes each year, or $3 a month on a home valued at $150,000, from Bountiful, Centerville, North Salt Lake, West Bountiful and Woods Cross.

Assistant Attorney General Thom Roberts said that he is looking into the situation but hasn't talked to Mortensen.

"It's not terribly important that they contact me anyway," Mortensen said. "The important thing is that they look at it and determine if there's been a violation of statute or not."

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E-mail: nandrews@desnews.com