It seems that the Quinns Junction saga is approaching its conclusion. The combination of a potentially damaging law suit (with possible damages on the order of magnitude of the annual County budget) and pressure from a Legislature threatening to spot zone the parcel caused our elected officials to reach agreement with Mr. Erickson. I respect their judgment on this issue. At some point when the entire power structure of the state is against you, it wise to follow the advice in the Kenny Rodger’s song, “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ‘em” .
This entire episode in bad government is another example of Utah crony capitalism at its worst. The moral of the story is that if you have friends in high places in this state, you can get anything you want.
When I was running for House District 53 in 2010, while knocking on doors in Jeremy Ranch, I met a man who told me his story of crony capitalism. He had bid on series of installation contracts for state facilities and was consistently the low bidder. After another losing bid, he approached the responsible party in the state agency and asked why he was unsuccessful, even with the low bid. He was told that he did not understand the system and that he did not have the right friends. When he got irate and said he would sue, he was told that if he did that, he would never get a state contract.
Until we break the power of the establishment in the state government we are doomed to more of the same. In November you will get a chance to start to change state government. Chris Robinson has a great chance to win the House District 54 race. The Democratic Party is likely to nominate retired Major General Peter Cooke for Governor. We will also have a very competitive race in Senate District 19, representing the northern part of Summit County.
In November, when you go to the polls – Remember Quinns Junction. Let’s bring honest government back to Utah.
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