The Standard Examiner published incomplete information in their article on November 8, 2013 titled “Riverdale race still in limbo” that I feel the need to clarify as Riverdale’s Election Official. According to Weber County’s Election Office there are still 443 absentee ballots and 42 provisional ballots to be counted for a total of 485 votes. Riverdale’s unofficial election results show Council contenders Brent Ellis with 711 votes, Gary Griffiths with 504 votes, Cody Hansen with 463 votes and Steve Hilton with 457 votes. Simple arithmetic shows Riverdale’s race is still in limbo with 970 potential Council votes that still need to be tallied. Using vote by mail Riverdale’s turnout was 47%, a record high for voter participation.
The other point in the article that I would like to clarify is regarding the fact that one of Riverdale’s City Council candidates Gary Griffiths did not meet the financial disclosure deadline of 5 p.m. October 28, 2013 all the candidates agreed to in a signed acknowledgement when they filed for office in June 2013. The agreement clearly stated that "failure to file reports even if accumulated totals are $0 by the dates listed will cause the City Recorder to disqualify and effectively remove the candidate's name from the ballot." The other five candidates submitted their financial disclosures by the October 28, 2013 5 p.m. deadline but Mr. Griffiths came into my office on the morning of October 29, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. and explained that it was his 25th wedding anniversary the day before and he forgot to submit his financial disclosure by the deadline he had agreed to. Mr. Griffiths said he had received my email and letter sent via USPS reminding him of the deadline and the consequences for non-compliance including disqualification and having his name removed from the ballot but said he "just spaced it". I told him that I would consult with our city attorney and the Lt. Governor’s office and let him know whether or not his name would be removed from the upcoming election ballot.
As Riverdale's Election Official I created the City's Election Guide in January 2013 with all of the forms our candidates are required to complete and all deadlines they are required to meet. Based on my interpretation of state law that financial disclosure are due "seven days before the regular general election date" I set the deadline as Monday, October 28, 2013. Went I went to the Lt. Governor's website it only stated the deadline should be "seven days before the regular general election" and did not say if that was October 28th or 29th. I consider Tuesday October 29th seven days until the general election date of November 5, 2013, not seven days before. The October 28th deadline was also recognized by the Utah Municipal Clerks Association on their 2013 Election Checklist created January 8, 2013 and so that was the date I used. I would also note that none of the candidates challenged or attempted to correct the deadlines I had set until Mr. Griffiths missed the October 28, 2013 deadline.
I conferred with Riverdale City Attorney Steve Brooks and he agreed with me that Mr. Griffiths had missed the deadline and that the appropriate interpretation of “seven days before the general election” was Monday, October 28th at 5 p.m. I then contacted the Lieutenant Governor’s office and in a conference call Mr. Brooks and I spoke with the Deputy Director of Elections Justin Lee who told us that state law does not make determinations about removing candidates from ballots in municipal elections, it is up to the individual cities. When Mr. Brooks explained to Mr. Lee why we had set the deadline as October 28th he said his office has a financial disclosure deadline for Political Action Committees (PAC) in Utah of seven days before the general election and that they consider the deadline to be October 29, 2013. Mr. Brooks asked him to put that in writing and Mr. Lee sent the following email to us on October 29, 2013: “Our office has interpreted 7 days before the election to fall today, October 29 for municipal financial disclosures (Utah Code 10-3-208). As you can see from our statewide disclosures website there is a report due 7 days before the municipal general election for PACs (20A-11-602) and that report is due today, October 29 http://www.disclosures.utah.go.... Please note that this is not legal advice, but the opinion and interpretation of our office.”
In an effort to let the voters decide who their city council members will be and in deference to the interpretation of the Lt. Governor’s office of the October 29, 2013 disclosure deadline Riverdale’s City Attorney Steve Brooks contacted Mr. Griffiths and let him know that although he had missed the reporting deadline he agreed to abide by when he filed as a candidate, the city would not be removing his name from the election ballot because he did submit his disclosure by the state’s interpretation of the deadline 5 p.m. October 29, 2013. Mr. Brooks did warn Mr. Griffiths that if any of the other five candidates who met the October 28, 2013 disclosure deadline set by the city wanted to challenge Mr. Griffith’s name being left on the ballot, a judge would make the final determination.
Riverdale City Recorder Ember Herrick
Source: Ember Herrick Comment; Financial disclosure deadline confusion prompts questions in Riverdale election -Standard-Examiner 11/8/13
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