What would you do if grown men insisted on campaigning at your child’s birthday party?!
A big thank you to Logan City Police Department for stepping in and for Logan City Parks and Recreation Department for taking my phone calls well into the evening to confirm repeatedly that we were in fact the only ones with authorization to use the pavilion at Lundstrum Park Thursday night in Logan, Utah (the city where we live) for my daughter’s 6th birthday party.
It was unfortunate that we needed you, but we are so pleased the interaction was so peaceable and respectfully handled.
I was honestly in the middle of a panic attack/trauma response because the only thing I could think is “why are grown men so insistent on staying at 6 year old child’s birthday party full of kids?!?”
As a mama, I bet you can imagine where my mind went. But the officer handled it with respect and calm, as did Parks and Rec. Although I wish it had been taken care of quicker and easier, it is what it is.
Now that I’ve had a chance to sleep on the whole ordeal, my nerves have calmed down a bit and I’ve done some looking into the situation and the persons involved, I’m angry.
Not just as a mama, but as a Republican and a registered voter and citizen of Cache Valley.
The thing is, as I looked at his campaign website, I realized that I agree with the politician’s stances. I think he’s got great points and his goals are pretty admirable.
Except after Thursday night? I also don’t believe he means any of it. I think he’s a self-serving politician who can’t take responsibility when faced with facts.
For instance, Fact Number 1: I had paid to reserve the pavilion. Fact number 2: I showed him and his team my receipt upon my arrival when they were just getting set up. They had no receipt to show us. Fact Number 3: His name wasn’t on the pavilion list.
Neither was mine, but a quick call to Parks & Rec confirmed they’d failed to updated it.
It was, in fact, me who had it reserved, they do not double book and there are no other pavilions there.
Fact Number 4: There were other tables and seated areas around the park, so he could have set up there. Even in shade!
He could’ve also brought or sent someone to get fold out tables and set them up in the shade. They’re $30 at Walmart and you can write them off as a campaign expense, I think.
We asked to have ONE more table in the shade more to do cake, because our cake was going to melt, and my daughter (the birthday girl) and special needs son are both epileptic and have medications that dictate they avoid direct sunlight.
That’s why we chose this option. They asked, “well, how much of this are you going to need? How many are coming?” I did some quick math and told them if everyone who’s rsvp’d comes close to 50.
“Fifty? For a kids birthday party?” They scoffed.
Yes. The pavilion seats 60. It says so on the parks department website! Most of us have 5+ children! Two of us have 6! Why is that surprising here in Utah?!? Myself? I have four kids, myself and my husband. That’s 6 people for one family. It was like 5-6 families coming. Two or three families ended up not showing up due to illness or family emergency. But we still had 30!
Then they said no. We just started taking over tables with kids as they emptied.
Two sweet old ladies gave us their table though. This displeased the men as their sign was directly in front of that table on another one so they moved it down one. But not before the cake completely collapsed due to being in the sunlight and melting through.
They even had the gall to ask us to be quieter at one point. My husband was like “… sorry, but we paid for this spot and we are having a kid’s birthday party. It’s going to be loud.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off my children. I couldn’t let them use the restrooms alone. If they weren’t all within my site at any given time, I panicked and went searching. It was so stressful just having them blow bubbles and play giant checkers nearby!
Finally we gave up on hoping when he’s done talking to this person he’ll leave! No they were going to stay there all night long! They planned this event weeks in advance and advertised it on their website and were not going to leave or move out of the pavilion or anything.
Finally the police showed up and asked for a receipt. They didn’t have one. They wouldn’t even let him speak to the actual political candidate. Didn’t want to embarrass him or interrupt the wonderful family man from Cache Valley wooing his constituents.
Meanwhile I, a constituent of his, was ignored and refused access to him all night as were the other members of our party. While he ignored the rules and laws governing the use of city property for his benefit as a candidate, knowingly.
Eventually a receipt was provided. Proving they had in fact reserved the spot — Thursday morning ending at 3:30 p.m. Remember, we got there at 6 p.m. and they were just getting started!
In fact, according to his own website, he had scheduled it to begin at 6pm!!! Why would he reserve the area for a time other than when he was doing his event?
Was he just hoping we wouldn’t show? Or did he do the reservation when the cops showed real quick? Or was it that he doesn’t know AM from PM? Is he shady? Or is he stupid?
As a well-educated individual who has won essay contests and been invited to speak at Yale, who has been a political intern in DC, who seems very well-spoken and experienced, I don’t think it’s the latter. And to be honest I don’t think it’s entirely the first either, at least I don’t want to believe that!
So, I have to wonder if there’s someone on his team, a manager, a representative, who’s leading him down the same path he claims to be attempting to avoid, because he abhors it so, on his webpage.
Speaking of that website? He values accountability and transparency. He is committed to upholding those values when in public office. But if he can’t be accountable, transparent and honest in his day-to-day dealings with his constituents? While out and about moving among his own community?
If he is already acting, in my opinion upon observation, as if he’s too important to follow rules and abide by the laws? What happens when he gets real power and authority? What happens when he’s over our budgets and other things? What happens when he’s “rubbing shoulders” – which he claims on his site he already does with our elite cache county politicians, no joke — even closer with politicians?
Will that make him more honest, transparent and accountable?
Shouldn’t he be demonstrating ahead of this special election that he can be held accountable, that he is honest and law abiding, that he can admit when he’s wrong, that he’s transparent with ALL of his constituents — like showing a receipt to me and the other Logan citizens I was with at the party?
Shouldn’t he have been able to be up-front and work out an amicable solution?
I’d have had IMMENSE respect if he had taken responsibility for his mistake and of course corrected himself!
It would’ve been such a move of integrity and resourcefulness had he corrected right away when he realized we had the right to be there and he was in fact campaigning at a 6 year olds birthday party.
There wasn’t even an apology, or I probably would’ve held back on posting this. In fact, continue reading and you’ll see why I decided to post.
In the end, after Logan City Police Department told them they were wrong and asked that they leave? They did. They did take their sweet time though.
What’s more? He and who appeared to be his senior advisor went ahead and loitered on the lawn after police had left, talking, gesturing towards us angrily, giving me nasty mean looks to the point I hid behind other adults to shield the kids and me from them so they couldn’t see us.
I was so intimidated by them I debated calling the police department again to just keep the peace or something. But I remembered that it’s public property, so they can be intimidating and angry all they want there. Once they were finally gone, things relaxed a bit and we had an awesome time throwing our first birthday party post COVID.
My daughter missed out on her third to fifth birthdays. This is the first one she will ever remember and we had a good time with family and friends.
I don’t know if we are going to rent a pavilion for future parties. I don’t know if I should call someone to complain or if there even is someone to complain to. He’s already in a position of power as the current Cache County Council policy analyst. I honestly am scared to even post this.
But, as a voter and a registered Republican, I cannot keep silent.
I cannot help but think that the people of this county have a right to know what kind of man is running for County Clerk/Auditor as well as currently working as a policy analyst for our county council. Especially with the special election looming so close. We deserve to be informed.
What would you have done if grown men refused to leave your child’s sixth birthday party? How would you have reacted to political campaigning at your kid’s birthday party?
Anna Turkel
Logan, Utah
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