David’s Handy Little Election Guide (November 2023 Edition)

This time, I can’t make my election guide any clearer than a large postcard which recently appeared in mailboxes across American Fork. That’s no surprise, once you know that I drafted the copy and my name is one of a couple dozen it lists, endorsing three excellent candidates for American Fork City Council: Clark Taylor, Ernie John, and Tim Holley.

First we’ll look briefly at the substance of the matter. Then I’ll tell you where the postcard came from — because we don’t hide in the shadows.

Taylor, John, and Holley

Here’s part of the postcard:

“We trust these candidates,” says the postcard . . .

• To speak the truth without distortion or deception
• To spend our tax money wisely
• To fund public safety (police/fire/ambulance) adequately and responsibly
• To support arts and recreation programs, our library, and our parks
• To manage growth prudently
• To continue rebuilding and maintaining our once-neglected roads
• To support downtown preservation and revitalization

The postcard doesn’t name the other two candidates, Ken Sumsion and Jeff Shorter, but I hope the implication is clear: I, among others, don’t trust them to do any of these things. We’ve seen and heard too much for that, from the candidates themselves.

Numerous blog posts here have tried to explain this, sometimes using the candidates’ own words.

Endorsements

These are the endorsements on the postcard:

The most surprising name here may be Brad Frost, current Mayor of American Fork. Until this election, he has carefully followed some advice from his predecessor, the late J. H. Hadfield: Never take sides in a city council election, because you’ll have to work with whomever wins.

That’s pretty good advice. But there’s too much at stake in this election, he said, when he told me he wanted to speak out this time.

We Created a PAC

To raise funds legally to print and mail the postcard, we had to form a political action committee (PAC), which we call Good Government for American Fork. For now there’s a very simple website: goodgov4af.org. It’s clearly identified as the source of the mailer.

The PACs two officers are yours truly (David Rodeback) and local businessmen Rod Martin. We are also the two concerned American Forkers behind this website and those “Learn BEFORE you vote” signs you may have seen here and there in the past several local election cycles.

Others have helped to strategize, gathered endorsements, and raised funds. Donors have been generous — and as soon as our first legally mandated report goes to the state, you’ll be able to see who they are. (That’s shortly before Election Day.)

In case you’re wondering, there’s some paperwork to file with the state and the IRS to create a PAC, but it’s not too onerous. I’d never done it before.

If you’d like to contribute to the PAC now or later, for this or subsequent elections contact me or Rod. We’re easy to find. Note that Good Government for American Fork supports candidates but is not affiliated with any candidate or candidate’s campaign.

As always, vote as you think best — but learn BEFORE you vote.

Thanks for reading.