Is the 1st Congressional District race driving a wedge between Councilwoman Renee Coon and Mayor Bob Linnell? Or are their differences just a friendly little suburban squabble?
Friction between the two ignited June 5 during a special meeting called by the mayor to discuss issues surrounding the natural gas pipeline proposal, which Coon has strongly opposed.Toward the end of the meeting, Coon announced she was sick of the "corruption" surrounding the issue and accused "government officials" of compromising their integrity.
Though Coon didn't specify who the culprits were, Linnell became concerned the following day that someone might think he was the corrupt one. So he telephoned Coon to request she clarify her statement.
Coon told him she would make a statement in that night's regular City Council meeting to say she didn't mean any Bountiful officials were corrupt.
She later changed her mind, however, and made no statement in the meeting.
So the mayor called the Deseret News, which had reported Coon's "corruption" allegations.
"I don't think we ought to leave it to the imagination of the public to pin that label (corrupt) on just anyone they want to," Linnell told the paper. "I'm not willing to wear it . . . I'm disappointed she didn't handle it in City Council meeting like she said she would, but that's her choice. She's a grown woman."
Though no one in Bountiful city government is corrupt, according to Coon, she suggested that the mayor and his staff may be a little weak in the integrity department.
"If (my statement) bothers the mayor, it's his own conscience, I guess," Coon said. "If people have to ask, `Does that mean me?' then it speaks for itself."
The mayor's response was: "I've absolutely got a clear conscience and nothing to hide."
Coon was outraged last week to learn the mayor and city manager had been meeting with the pipeline companies without her knowledge and without inviting her. She said she believes the mayor has given up the fight against the pipeline.
Asked why she didn't clarify her "corruption" statement in City Council meeting, Coon said she felt Linnell was trying to corner her.
"I think what he wants me to do is name names so he can use it for political purposes. He's looking for things to discredit me, and my guess is because of his support for Jim Hansen."
Hansen, a Republican, is seeking a sixth term as representative of the 1st Congressional District, which includes Davis County.
Coon has publicly supported Hansen's Democratic challenger, Kenley Brunsdale, a former aide to Rep. Wayne Owens, D-Utah.
Brunsdale served as an attorney for the Bountiful Hills Residents and Concerned Citizens Association, of which Coon is president, and, according to Coon, has done "more to fight the pipeline than Hansen has ever dreamed of doing."
The mayor thinks differently.
In a June 1 letter he sent to the Davis County Clipper, Linnell wrote: "Congressman Hansen has been extremely responsive to Bountiful's concerns . . ."
The letter also closely parallels a news release Hansen sent out on May 28.
Unlike Coon did for Brunsdale, Linnell has not publicly endorsed Hansen.
"I haven't endorsed anybody at this time," Linnell said.