Davis County Commission GOP candidate Ed Snow says he's personally offended by statements made by his Republican challenger Jack Bangerter during a recent debate in Clearfield.
Snow says that Bangerter said he (Bangerter) is "free, white and ready to go" as a commissioner. Bangerter couldn't be reached Friday for comment. Ogden Standard Examiner reporter Bryon Saxton confirms that Bangerter made the statement.Snow says the statement is offensive to minorities and others and that he is sensitive enough not to offend Davis County residents with such talk.
Bangerter, a former state senator and trucking company owner, was known in the Legislature for his salty comments. In a debate over a bill aimed at identifying AIDS victims, Bangerter said the AIDS virus was so dangerous that the state should "paint them (victims) red" and place them on an island in the Great Salt Lake. He later apologized for the statements, saying they were misinterpreted.
"I'm sure Mr. Bangerter didn't intend his `free, white and ready to go' statement to be mean-spirited," said Snow. "But the Davis County Commission has had its share of bad publicity during the past few years, and it doesn't need any more. I am concerned because Mr. Bangerter has a penchant for these types of insensitive statements and, if history is any sign, my opponent will probably continue to make them."
Snow says that Bangerter told a reporter at the meeting that he learned the phrase during naval service in World War II and didn't mean any harm in the statement. "Mr. Bangerter should realize that since the 1940s, almost all Americans have lived through a civil rights revolution and a change in attitudes that have greatly benefited all Americans," Snow said. Snow promised he won't embarrass the voters with statements that reflect poorly on "our wonderful county."