Crockett's Response

Today Mark Crockett answered Mayor Peter Caroon's op-ed piece in the Trib.

Caroon's article was titled, "Get Your Facts Straight." It was a point by point critique of Crockett's repeated assertion that the County was $2b in debt and the budget was out of control. The mayor's defense of county stewardship made the same points Crockett heard from disgruntled Republicans on the county council.

Virtually every informed observer found Crockett's allegations mystifying. Many found them aggravating.

Now he's answered these criticisms, mostly by not answering them at all.

Caroon originally argued that the county's superior credit rating was so strong that Salt Lake County could borrow money at the most favorable rates. And he quoted Moody's forecast that, "…the county's debt profile will remain favorable given a low debt burden (which is) modest and below the national medians for AAA-rated counties."

Crockett's response? "Just because Salt Lake County can borrow money doesn’t mean we should."

What happened to his bold assertion that the county was heading for fiscal armageddon? And where, exactly, did Caroon argue that the county should be in the business of borrowing vast sums of money?

In other words, Crockett's reply was to an argument Caroon never offered. Which made Crockett's response little more than a stipulation to the facts as offered by the current and quite popular mayor.

However, Crockett did make one good point. He said that, "People should be given the opportunity to prioritize which projects are most important for their tax dollars."

Indeed they should, and they do that by expressing their opinion in a forum called elections. They put their trust in political leaders who demonstrate good judgement, a willingness to listen, and a fondness for the facts.

By those criteria, Mark Crockett has not made a good argument for his own selection.