winder

Winder’s Consequences

Deseret News

 Published: Friday, Dec. 16 2011
Above, West Valley City mayor Mike Winder asks a question of Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis about the eVerify law during a reception at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City, Thursday, August 11, 2011. (Brian Nicholson, Deseret News)

West Valley City’s City Council reprimanded Mayor Winder for writing news stories under an assumed name, and Winder voted for the resolution. Doing so was laudable, but such a reprimand is nothing more than a slap on the wrist. One has to wonder, when facing a defamation lawsuit that could cost West Valley City $100,000 or more to defend, whether Winder chose the right job to resign when he decided to step down from the Summit Group and not to resign from his job as mayor of West Valley City.

We here in Utah are fond of talking about personal responsibility. Across the political spectrum, we seem to agree that our actions have consequences. Yet where are the real repercussions to elected officials who show a lack of ethical judgment? If Winder is not ready to resign his post as mayor, at a minimum he should not be considered a viable candidate for Salt Lake County mayor — something that he says he is still considering.

Josh Kanter

Alliance for a Better UTAH

Copyright 2011, Deseret News Publishing Company

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