Demos hit lack of fluoride vote

Calling it an example of "extreme right-wing dominance of the Republican Party," Salt Lake County Democrats took GOP county commissioners Mary Callaghan and Brent Overson to task Saturday for refusing to place fluoridation of water on the November ballot.

"Why do these two Republicans place more confidence in opinions of a few zealots from Utah County than the collective wisdom of the voters of Salt Lake County?" queried Joe Hatch, chairman of the Salt Lake County Democratic Party."Why would the commission refuse to use the tools of county government to help our children? The only answer is, that the commissioners believe they must listen to some political correctness standards set by Gayle Ruzicka and all of her phone tree fanatics."

Hatch, flanked by Democratic candidates for county races ranging from state senator to county surveyor at a press conference at the Salt Lake County Government Center, urged moderate Republicans, independents and Democrats to vote against extremist candidates in the June 23 primary.

"We, Salt Lake County Democrats, do not have a primary election this year. Let us use this opportunity to defeat some of the extremists," Hatch said.

When pressed, Hatch would not identify specific "extremist" candidates. But Hatch said he has observed a "growing tendency toward authoritarianism in the Republican party."

Callaghan and Overson have demonstrated a mean-spiritedness toward children by cutting funds for teenage counseling at the YWCA, DARE programs and most recently, voting against placing the fluoridation issue on the countywide ballot.

Contacted at home following the press conference, Callaghan said she and Overson voted to cut the funds for the family planning and human-sexuality counseling programs because the programs discussed abortion. The Republican platform opposes abortion, she explained.

As for cutting the DARE (Drug Abuse and Resistance Education) budget, "that's just not true. We've expanded it tremendously, substantially. Somebody needs to get their facts straight."

Democratic County Commission candidates Karen Crompton and Mike Reberg vowed if elected they would put the fluoride issue to a countywide vote.

Meanwhile, Democrats would support a citizen petition drive to place the issue on ballot. Paula Julander, candidate for Senate District 1, said the citizen petition route is fraught with obstacles, tedious paperwork and precious little time to pull it off.