Two recent Tribune articles are chilling to read: Kevin Reynolds on arena funding and Leia Larsen’s on Mike Siaperas, owner of a wealthy hunting lodge in Eastern Utah. Both articles are about wealthy people getting tax-payer money for their businesses.
Our Legislature has given the Larry H. Miller Company, the Smith Entertainment Group and Mike Siaperas millions of dollars. The newest request is from Black Diamond Resort in Ivins, which wants $5 billion to build an arena.
Quoting Larsen’s article, “The funding is part of a pattern of questionable contracts the state — led by a Republican governor and a Legislature with a GOP supermajority — has awarded over the past decade to politically connected people pushing money-making projects they claimed had ecological benefits.”
Behind all of these projects are lobbyists and friends of these businesses “donating” money to the legislators. Siaperas donated to the campaigns of politicians Spencer Cox and Brad Wilson.
Our Legislature is filled with realtors, developers and realtor attorneys, so no wonder they want control of federal lands. Larsen mentioned an attempt by our legislators to sell off Utah’s largest freshwater lake to a private company … but the attorney general said it was unconstitutional.
No wonder our legislators are fearful of attempts to upend their gerrymandering scheme — the “foreign” money they said would influence voters is actually money influencing the legislators.
Onie Grosshans, Salt Lake City
