On the record with Peter Corroon
Now that Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon has nabbed a second four-year term, here’s a look at the public records that came in handy while investigating his record and the allegations lodged by his Republican rival, Michael Renckert.
Claim: Corroon staffs his office and the county’s highest administrative posts with fellow partisans.
Useful records: The Salt Lake County Clerk’s Office maintains records of all registered voters and their respective party affiliations. By snatching an organizational chart off the county’s Web site, The Tribune submitted a records request to the clerk asking for the partisanship of the mayor’s top employees. Turns out, the Democratic mayor had hired only two registered Republicans, compared with 14 fellow partisans. Ten others remained unaffiliated on the rolls.
Trouble spot: The Clerk’s Office needed home addresses to identify the party labels of county employees with common names. The Tribune ended up contacting those staffers directly.
Claim: Corroon had refused to allow Kennecott to conduct mineral exploration on the publicly owned Rose Canyon Ranch on the southern edge of Salt Lake County.
Useful records: All communication received or transmitted by the county is fair game under the state’s open-records laws, unless specifically designated as protected or private. This issue was best resolved by requesting all letters and e-mails received by the Mayor’s Office about the Rose Canyon Ranch property, plus all communication from the county’s open-space department that is trying to protect it. Those records revealed a tense relationship between the county and Kennecott, not to mention a threat of trespassing if company prospectors tried to access the property.
Trouble spot: None.
Claim: Corroon has relied too heavily on consultants.
Useful records: The county’s contracts and procurement division maintains records on all outside contractors. The Tribune examined eight years of that data and found that overall contractors (including engineers, architects and consultants) has grown considerably. Has the mayor relied to heavily on those individuals?
Well, that’s a political decision.
Trouble spot: None.
JS
Claim: Corroon staffs his office and the county’s highest administrative posts with fellow partisans.
Useful records: The Salt Lake County Clerk’s Office maintains records of all registered voters and their respective party affiliations. By snatching an organizational chart off the county’s Web site, The Tribune submitted a records request to the clerk asking for the partisanship of the mayor’s top employees. Turns out, the Democratic mayor had hired only two registered Republicans, compared with 14 fellow partisans. Ten others remained unaffiliated on the rolls.
Trouble spot: The Clerk’s Office needed home addresses to identify the party labels of county employees with common names. The Tribune ended up contacting those staffers directly.
Claim: Corroon had refused to allow Kennecott to conduct mineral exploration on the publicly owned Rose Canyon Ranch on the southern edge of Salt Lake County.
Useful records: All communication received or transmitted by the county is fair game under the state’s open-records laws, unless specifically designated as protected or private. This issue was best resolved by requesting all letters and e-mails received by the Mayor’s Office about the Rose Canyon Ranch property, plus all communication from the county’s open-space department that is trying to protect it. Those records revealed a tense relationship between the county and Kennecott, not to mention a threat of trespassing if company prospectors tried to access the property.
Trouble spot: None.
Claim: Corroon has relied too heavily on consultants.
Useful records: The county’s contracts and procurement division maintains records on all outside contractors. The Tribune examined eight years of that data and found that overall contractors (including engineers, architects and consultants) has grown considerably. Has the mayor relied to heavily on those individuals?
Well, that’s a political decision.
Trouble spot: None.
JS
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