I am not saying, Mr. Ridgway, that somehow you have conducted yourself appropriately," Cutler said. "I am not saying that somehow you have a constitutional right, a legal right to act the way you do.

"I would encourage the parties, specifically you, Mr. Ridgway, to decide the reason why you conduct your affairs in the way you conduct your affairs. It may not be a crime — but it's not an effective way to present your position on the things you believe important."

This is about behavior not politics. Scary behavior

Question for Judge Cutler:

When the prosecution's party boss witnesses described my supposed past behavior, what of what they said was true and what of what they said were lies? The fact is, your honor, you don't have a clue.

I used to respect Mike Ridgway, but that was many, many years ago. Then I saw the light and saw what really motivated him.

It's funny how one insect (Ridgway) can damage so much grain.

Most conservative political activists want to change the world by reforming education, cutting and reforming taxes, reducing crime, eliminating hunger and poverty or something else useful.But not Ridgway. His raison d'etre is to annoy GOP leadership.

I applaud James Evans and others who have had to deal with this problem child for years. It really is a thankless job.

well there you go. The republican't party in this state has grown so powerful that it can now shun people who are republican.

This article failed to point out that after nearly 5 hours of prosecution witnesses, the judge dismissed the case and declared Mr. Ridgway NOT GUILTY, WITHOUT hearing ANY of the defense witnesses. So one might think this article, based only upon the prosecution's case, might be a bit biased.

I was the SL County Republican Party vice chair from 2001-2003, and Chair from 2003-2005. I know well all of the players in this saga. I don't think anyone in the Party has had to deal more with the difficulties Mike can present than I did, yet I can guarantee you that there is definitely another side of this story to be told, and the Party should be grateful that it wasn't. Certain party insiders have acted dishonestly, have abused their power, have knowingly manipulated and violated the rules, and have purposefully and knowingly unjustifiedly called upon police force to satisfy their egos, accomplish their agendas without friction and pursue their personal vendettas.

Let's all hope and pray that this man will get the help that hour so desperately needs!

I've been on the receiving end of some of Mike's behavior and have believed for several years that he has done far more harm than good to his cause, his reputation and the GOP. One can only wonder what motivates him to continue his unhelpful harangue of the party. It certainly is not Republican principles.

I was there said: "This is about behavior not politics." Baloney.

I used to hear that argument all the time, and actually bought into it a little until I watched the same party leaders go after Patrick Reagan. Patrick's "behavior" was nothing like Mike's, though he did agree with much of his "politics". Yet these same party leaders harassed Patrick and stripped him of his elected positions on rediculuous grounds. Unlike Mike, Patrick chose to walk away from the filth instead of keep fighting.

Prior comments not posted! but apparently my "lighter criticism" of the author's take on this was too critical to be posted, yet apparently the criticism to Mike is not criticism enough to catch the journalistic filters.

All of you who have "heard about" Mike's behavior, INCLUDING JUDGE CUTLER have no business speaking to hearsay. As for judging his mental health, how about leaving that to the professionals instead of the arm-chair psychiatrists so many of you profess to be.

And whatever you might think about Mike Ridgway, even James Evans (Salt Lake County GOP Chairman) testified Mike is expert at what he does and he agrees with most of his ideas. I'd point out, it takes an expert to see through the GOP smokescreen and recognize the corrupt practices...

It takes a lot of courage to keep fighting for cleaning corruption up in a public forum. It takes courage to shake people and tell them to wake up from their It takes even more courage to keep it up when all your friends jump ship when the first legal procedings are smacked in your face --- this case was only one of many just like this one, actually.

Free Mike

What a hackjob!!! This reporter posted misquotes and never bothered to discover the truth. I was at the March meeting and at the trial, if any of you are interested in what really happened I would ask that you call me at 913-4611 and I can give you the truth, I have little confidence you will get it from the DesNews. Thanks Mike for trying to clean up this Republican party. I am sorry some people treat you as the bad guy. Knowing full well that those that offered purgered testimony in yesterdays trial are at fault.

The DNews' online comment censor hasn't posted my earlier comment either ... guess it hit a little too close to home. (This is why conservatives want the power to censor pornography. The power to censor pornography gives the censor the power to censor all speech.)

Here's a softer version of the comment: If Judge Cutler criticized Mr. Ridgway for staying active within the Utah GOP, it's because Judge Cutler fails to appreciate the degree to which elected Utah Republicans have effectively neutralized any other pathway for political change in the State of Utah, save for initiative and referendum ... and Utah Republican leaders are even working on trimming that power of the people back.

I'm grateful that Mr. Ridgway continues his work to expose and correct wrongdoing by Utah Republicans.

I have had the misfortune of having Ridgeway disrupt meetings on trivial technicalities. These oversights were procedural and meaningless and yet the whole process was disrupted by Mike's incessant badgering. I don't know the details of this latest incident but would say that there is nothing in my experience with Ridgeway that would cause me to doubt or disagree with the comments made by the judge in this case. Mike has little ability to affect change because he ticks off everyone around him by his mannerisms and behavior. I would submit that he is not the agent of change in the republican party as he has no credibility.

What a waste of time! Mike is wasting the party's time and the taxpayers time. What will it take for this guy and his friends to realize he is not welcome. Go somewhere else Mr. Ridgway. You are not liked, respected or heard. Just in case you did not hear the message - YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE ANY MORE!

I was there, and I am also a Gop delegate, it's too bad the rank and file believe superficial articles like this and make no effort to get at the truth of any given matter, and then to make matters worse they read the comments put out by the obvious party hacks coming directly from the top. The bottom line is Mike beat the case in court, this must really gall the witneses for the prosecution that had to spend the day in court to no avail, Congratulations on your win Mike.

The judge can't figure out why Ridgway doesn't simply divorce himself from the party??? Well, I bet he didn't even bother to ask...

If he did, he would probably get the utterly obvious answer that the Republican Party runs Utah (DUH!), so why would Ridgway want to voluntarily disenfranchise himself??

Straightening out the corruption in the Utah Republican Party Leadership is the only hope for ethical politics in Utah. Ridgway works tirelessly towards this goal. Is it any wonder that this annoys the Party leadership?? Of course they want to get rid of him! But every Utahn, Republican or not, should be routing for the little guy, in this case.

I have been to several meetings with Mike. I have observed him and I find that people mainly notice him come in when they are watching for him.
He speaks forcefully when he knows what he is talking about, he is outspoken, the ones that get offended and take free pot shots at him need to check their own lousy attitude and behavior.
I was not there on Mar 8, 2007. but here is my take based on my experience of Mike and hearing the recordings he made of this event: They noticed him, they harassed him, they disrupted their own meeting by not letting Mike in. They suppressed his rights by passing ridiculous rules that are inconsistent and baseless. They simply let their own agendas get in the way of sound ethics.

I find this article a bit one sided. Why don't we hear what Mr. Ridgway has to say? What is so scary about his behavior? I heard people say bad things about him for a long time. Many have warned me that he is 'dangerous' or a lunatic. But in my experience, he has been pointed, yet polite. He speaks frankly, and offends many. Just because you find him offensive doesn't mean he is wrong, or dangerous. Someone once told me that if you find something offensive, it may be with your own conscience you find the offense.

Mike Ridgway is to Utah GOP Politics what Ralph Nader was to the Chevy Corvair.

I'm sure Chevrolet was NOT happy with Ralph when he was busy working on "taking down the Corvair" and likely did ALL they could to stop Nader from succeeding, but he was tireless at it. Once the Corvair was GONE, Ralph moved on to other civic-minded projects. Ralph Nader is an American hero. (He just shouldn't run for President any more!)

The Utah GOP analogy could be the same, OF COURSE the corrupt, dangerous GOP is headed for another serious wreck, which won't benefit ANYONE, yet the GOP party leaders are doing EVERYTHING they can to stop the change and infiltration by those who want their party back.

Perhaps someday Mike will be as successful as Nader was and we can bury this corrupt party and bring forth something a little more pallatable for public consumption.

Fixing political corruption, like the garbage-man's job, is a dirty business, but someone's got to do it. Mike does it in a suit and tie and uses his knowledge and wit to shine a beacon of light through the political morass of Utah GOP politics.