Proud? Really?

Did you see yesterday’s Trib article titled, “Salt Lake County, Can Crockett or Winder beat McAdams.”

An interesting and provocative headline to a story that made no effort to answer the question it posed. There was no head to head analysis of the two Republican candidates versus McAdams. What the article offered was simply a rehash of the Richard Burwash controversy in which Winder used a fabricated pen name to plant articles in the Deseret News.

In the Trib article Mike Winder is quoted as saying that he was “forthright” after learning that the use of a pseudonym was unacceptable.

Wait, here’s a fellow who brags about his degree in History, and is the author of nine books. Are you telling me that nowhere in that experience did the subject of false attribution come to the fore? Do you think the public relations firm he worked for fired him because of his violation of an ethical standard he had no idea existed?

Is this an example of being “forthright?”

Evidently it is. And, for Winder, the story has a happy ending because he says that the delegates to the Republican convention were “proud” of how he handled the controversy.

Really? “Proud?”

Is that the right word? "Proud?"

.......

Today I had my first meeting with the McAdams‘ campaign Education Policy Development Committee. It is one of two such committees I belong to, the other being the Communications Committee which will soon have its first meeting.

I came into the Education meeting with some reservations. Often these committees can turn into a gab fest with participants talking “at” each other about pet peeves and personal agenda.

But no, I was pleasantly surprised. The participants were smart, had diverse backgrounds and were well informed. For the most part the conversation stayed focused.

Joel Briscoe

One suggestion I found particularly attractive came from Rep. Joel Briscoe. He suggested the Mayor convene an education summit combining every significant education constituency in the County. This group would serve as a catalyst for  coalition building between those different constituencies - for instance, between business and the school districts, or County government and the school boards etc. etc.

Seems to me such a summit would be a terrific idea, especially under the aegis of a “Mayor‘s Office of Education.” This office would be akin to the office Ben held in Salt Lake City government - the one charged with human rights. Only the point person in this County position would be the primary advocate for education policy and a lobbyist to the legislature with an education portfolio.