AN OPEN LETTER to the Gygi, Augustus and Rees campaigns for Cedar Hills Council:
November 2, 2011
Candidates Trent Augustus, Gary Gygi, and Jenney Rees,
As you know, upon filing your candidacy in July to run for Cedar Hills City Council, you were offered the opportunity to “voluntarily” sign a Utah State “PLEDGE OF FAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICES”. Since all candidates signed the Pledge we respectfully invite you to consider keeping the pledge, particularly the portion which reads:
“I SHALL immediately and publicly repudiate support deriving from any individual or group which resorts, on behalf of my candidacy or in opposition to that of an opponent, to methods in violation of the letter or spirit of this pledge.”
As you are aware, some of your supporters, particularly under the banner of the “Utah Valley Association of Realtors”, via their website, banners throughout the city, postcard mailers, and most recently through anonymous “phone polls” and recordings, are declaring and/or otherwise inferring that if we, City Council candidates Jerry Dearinger, Paul Sorensen, and Ken Cromar were to be elected that we plan to “turn the golf course into weeds.” This is absolutely not true. It has never been our position during this campaign, nor will it be. We have no such reference anywhere in our campaign literature, postings or emails. We challenge anyone to provide proof otherwise.
Do you know of anyone whose plan or desire it is to “turn the golf course to weeds”? We don’t. How absurd! And, yet your supporters, rather than promote your positions, are instead telling voters things about our positions that are not true. Cedar Hills voters deserve better.
Believing you to be honorable candidates, we assumed you were not connected to these scurrilous attacks. But, this campaign against us, promoting you via false propaganda and lies about us, has not only continued unchecked, but has now intensified in these final days leading up to the November 8th election. Having not seen any effort on the part of your campaigns to date to “immediately and publicly repudiate” such support, we feel compelled to call this to your attention and make this appeal to your honorable sensibilities. Please keep your Pledge.
While this campaign of falsehoods will be recognized as such by most of Cedar Hills’ intelligent voters, unfortunately irreparable damage has been done, mostly to your nameless supporters. Those who fall for these “scurrilous attacks” of “defamation, libel, or slander,” as the Pledge reads, will have been fooled to their loss and to the detriment of the entire community.
May we also respectfully encourage you to consider offering your correct understanding of our public platform. To be clear, our position regarding the golf course is as follows:
The golf course was bought by a VOTE of the Cedar Hills citizens, and we, candidates Jerry Dearinger, Paul Sorensen and Ken Cromar, promise that we will not force any major change on the golf course via our votes as Councilmen. The only change to the golf course’s future we will promote will be for that of an
open, honest, debated, fully informed VOTE OF THE PEOPLE, whose vote we will support and uphold. We so promise.
Cedar Hills voters are intelligent. They deserve to be treated that way. Those who believe in our position above will vote for us. Those who don’t will vote otherwise. If you or your supporters want to know where we stand, we can be contacted by phone and email, or through our websites.
Our respective campaigns may disagree on issues. That is fine. That is healthy. That is as it should be. The clear distinction between our two camps is good for the Voters. Cedar Hills residents should be allowed to understand the positions of the candidates honestly, and then witness debate on the facts – not false talks of “Weeds”. If we truly respect our Cedar Hills friends and neighbors we seek to serve as their Councilmen, then we at least owe them that level of honesty. We hope you agree.
Respectfully Submitted For Your Consideration,
Jerry Dearinger
Paul Sorensen Ken Cromar