On Mr. Curtis’ campaign website under the Rumors section, there is an interesting note directed towards a “gentleman in the green sweater.” [1] The note states the following:
“Last night I responded poorly to your question. In hindsight I was harsh and unfairly critical of your question. I hope you will accept my apology and give me another chance to answer your question.” [1]
Since this was posted on Friday, October 30, I looked to see what campaign events were present that Mr. Curtis was speaking at. Last night in the Grandview Neighborhood, both John Curtis and Steve Clark were speaking at the Westridge Elementary School at a debate moderated by Quin Monson, Assistant Professor of Political Science at BYU. Since I was not at this event, I tried to call some friends, family, and associates in the area to see if they had attended the debate. Through the grapevine, I found out a little more about this story and am surprised about what happened.
As the debate was ending, Dr. Monson opened the floor to the audience to ask questions of the candidates. Only a few questions were asked, but the very last question was asked by a young man, probably in his early to mid-20s, wearing a green hooded sweater. The question he asked was directed towards Mr. Curtis and it was concerning the current budget situation of Provo. From those I talked with, they said the question was in regards to how John planned to pay for increased police training, increased recreational activities provided by the City, and additional training for City employees. This young man also gave some background information about Provo’s budget, such as the nearly $3 million deficit the City is currently operating and how 45% of the General Fund is funded through a now negative Sales Tax revenue.
The manner in which Mr. Curtis responded to this question shocked the people I talked with, as they said John immediately began to badger the young man with questions of “where did you hear I was going to increase the size of the police?” and “where have I said that I’m going to spend money on recreational activities?” I don't know if these are the direct quotes, since I was not present, but I am told that the young man quoted lines from Mr. Curtis’ website, gave figures about start-up costs to fund additional police officers, and reiterated his question of how Mr. Curtis was going to pay for the changes he had talked about throughout the campaign. Those present told me that John raised his voice and adopted a very angry demeanor, criticizing the young man stating that he was not going to increase the size of government in Provo. John did agree that the Sale Tax revenue source was poor, but offered no suggestion of how to solve the current situation. The young man, relating from an earlier statement from Mr. Curtis that he was going to reduce waste, then asked how John expected to micromanage from department-to-department in order to cut waste to fund his projects, and asked how this would provide the funds to take Provo into a better future. This is where my informants stated that John became very angry and nearly yelled the following:
“You see, it doesn’t take money to make a better future for Provo! In my business, we have made huge decisions which didn’t cost any money, and it made our future much better, and I’m going to do the same thing for the City!”
After this, Mr. Curtis sat down and the debate ended. Some then told me that John’s wife, Sue, approached the young man and tried to clarify John’s positions about the budget. The young man, apparently, then told Sue that he was shocked by John’s lack of professionalism and that he would even dare to attack someone who had asked him a straightforward question during a debate.
Obviously Mr. Curtis had some time to reflect on the manner in which he spoke to this young man who simply asked a relevant question concerning the fiscal state of our City. Is this what we are to expect of Mr. Curtis if he is Mayor, that he will heckle any individual who begins to ask hard, straightforward questions of him? I find it convenient that Mr. Curtis is hoping that this young man will read his website and take him up on an offer to talk about the issues in private, when he could have easily pulled the young man aside AFTER the debate and made amends. This event only shows what I’ve been trying to say all along, that Mr. Curtis is neither a professional nor a leader. When approached with hard questions or facts that contradict his campaign opinions, he becomes angry or blames an elaborate smear campaign against his good name. Guess what, Mr. Curtis? You SMEARED a young man who was simply asking you a question, and I hope the young man doesn’t take you up on your apology. Hopefully many Provo citizens will see him going door-to-door for Steve Clark to tell as many people as possible what kind of ‘leader’ you really are. You said it yourself: “ask people what kind of person I am.” I’m sure this young man’s opinion of you is not going to reflect the mountain you’ve attempted to build out of a molehill.
[1] http://www.johncurtis.org/rumors.html
