What would you do if grown men insisted on campaigning at your kid’s birthday party?!
Many thanks to the City of Logan Police Department for stepping in and to the City of Logan Parks and Recreation Department for fielding my phone calls late into the night to repeatedly confirm that we were indeed the only ones authorized to use the pavilion at Lundstrum Park on Thursday. night in Logan, Utah (the city we live in) for my daughter’s 6th birthday party.
It was unfortunate that we needed you, but we are very happy that the interaction was so peaceful and respectful.
I was honestly in the middle of a panic attack/trauma response because all I could think was “why are grown men so insistent on staying at a 6 year old’s birthday party full of kids?!?”
As a mom, I bet you can imagine where my mind went. But the agent handled it with respect and calm, just like Parks and Rec. Although I wish it had been taken care of faster and easier, it is what it is.
Now that I’ve had a chance to sleep through the whole ordeal, my nerves have calmed down a bit, and I’ve looked into the situation and the people involved a bit, I’m angry.
Not just as a mother, but as a Republican and registered voter and citizen of Cache Valley.
The thing is, while looking at his campaign website, I realized that I agree with the politician’s positions. I think he has great points and his goals are quite admirable.
Except after Thursday night? I don’t think he wants to say anything either. I think he is a selfish politician who cannot take responsibility for the facts.
For example, fact number 1: I had paid to reserve the pavilion. Fact #2: I showed him and his team my receipt when I arrived when they were setting up. They had no receipt to show us. Fact #3: His name was not on the pavilion list.
Mine wasn’t either, but a quick call to Parks & Rec confirmed they hadn’t updated it.
In fact, I was the one who had reserved it, they don’t do double booking and there are no other pavilions.
Fact #4: There were other tables and seating areas around the park, so he could have set up there. Even in the shade!
He could also have brought or sent someone to find drop-down tables and put them in the shade. It’s $30 at Walmart and I think you can write it off as a campaign expense.
We asked for ONE more table in the shade to make the cake because our cake was going to melt, and my daughter (the birthday girl) and my special needs son are epileptic and on medication that dictates that avoid direct sunlight.
That’s why we chose this option. They asked, “well, how much of this will you need? How many will come?” I did some quick math and told them if everyone who has confirmed is close to 50.
“Fifty? For a kids birthday party?” They scoffed.
Yes. The pavilion has 60 seats. It says so on the Parks Department website! Most of us have more than 5 children! Two of us have 6! Why is it surprising here in Utah?!? myself? I have four children, me and my husband. That’s 6 people for a family. It was like 5-6 families came. Two or three families ended up not showing up due to illness or a family emergency. But we still had 30!
Then they said no. We just started taking over the tables with the kids as they emptied.
Two old ladies gave us their table though. This upset the men as their sign was directly in front of this table on another table so they moved it down. But not before the cake completely collapsed from being in the sunlight and melted.
They even had the nerve to ask us to be quieter at one point. My husband would say to me “… sorry, but We paid for this place and we are having a children’s birthday party. It will be strong.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off my children. I couldn’t let them use the toilets alone. If they weren’t all inside my place at any given time, I panicked and went looking. It was so stressful just having them blow bubbles and play giant checkers nearby!
We finally stopped waiting for that person to go away when we’re done talking! No, they were going to stay there all night! They planned this event weeks in advance and announced it on their website and they weren’t going to leave or move from the pavilion or anything.
Finally the police showed up and asked for a receipt. They didn’t have any. They didn’t even let him talk to the actual political candidate. I didn’t want to embarrass him or interrupt the wonderful Cache Valley family man who was wooing his constituents.
Meanwhile, I, a constituent of his, was ignored and denied access to him all night like the other members of our party. Even though he was knowingly ignorant of the rules and laws governing the use of city property for his benefit as a candidate.
Finally a receipt was given. Proving that they had indeed booked the place: Thursday morning ending at 3.30pm. Remember we got there at 6pm and they were just getting started!
In fact, according to his own website, he had planned for it to start at 6pm!!! Why would I reserve the area for a time other than when I was doing my event?
Was he just hoping we wouldn’t show up? Or did he make the reservation when the police showed up very quickly? Or does he not know AM from PM? Is it gloomy? Or is it stupid?
As a well-educated person who has won essay contests and been invited to speak at Yale, who has been a political fellow 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 quite the first either, at least I don’t want to believe it!
So I have to wonder if there’s someone on his team, a coach, a rep, who is leading him down the same path he says he’s trying to avoid, because he hates it, on his website.
Talking about this website? Values responsibility and transparency. He undertakes to uphold these values when he holds public office. But what if he can’t be responsible, transparent and honest in his daily dealings with his constituents? While moving in your own community?
If it is already acting, in my opinion after observation, as if it is too important to follow the rules and obey the laws? What happens when he gains real power and authority? What happens when it exceeds our budgets and other things? What happens when he’s “rubbing shoulders” which he says on his site he already does with our elite county politicians, no joke, even closer to the politicians?
Will this make him more honest, transparent and responsible?
Shouldn’t he be demonstrating before this special election that he can be held accountable, that he is honest and law abiding, that he can admit when he is wrong, that he is transparent with ALL of his constituents, like show me a receipt and the other Logan citizens he was at the party with?
Shouldn’t he have been able to be honest and find an amicable solution?
I would have had immense respect if he had taken responsibility for his mistake and of course corrected himself!
It would have been such a wholesome and witty move if he had corrected himself right away when he realized we had a right to be there and was in fact campaigning at a 6 year old’s birthday party.
There wasn’t even an apology, or I probably would have refrained from posting this. In fact, read on and you’ll see why I decided to post.
In the end, after the Logan City Police Department told them they were wrong and asked them to leave? they did Still, they took their sweet time.
What else? He and what appeared to be his senior adviser came forward and stood on the lawn after the police had left, talking, gesturing angrily at us, giving me nasty looks until I hid behind other adults to protect the children and me from them. they couldn’t see us.
I was so intimidated that I debated calling the police department again to keep the peace or something. But I remembered it’s public property, so they can bully and rage all they want there. Once they finally left, things relaxed a bit and we had a blast throwing our first birthday party post-Covid.
My daughter missed her third to fifth birthday. This is the first one she will remember and we had a great 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 is even someone to complain to. He is already in a position of power as a policy analyst for the Cache County Council. I’m honestly scared to post this.
But as a voter and registered Republican, I cannot remain silent.
I can’t help but think that the people of this county have a right to know what kind of man is running for county clerk/auditor and currently working as a policy analyst for our county council. Especially with the special election 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 the political campaign at your child’s birthday party?
Anna Turkel
Logan, Utah
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