Gov. Gary Herbert might have been the Li’l Abner character “Available Jones” to give one-on-one time to campaign donors during his 2016 re-election, but for those who don’t heed his commands, he turns into the jinxed character “Joe Btfsplk.”
Herbert had scheduled a ceremonial signing of HB216, which creates the Jordan River Recreation Area and provides for improvements along the river.
That so excited the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mike Winder, R-West Valley City, that he sent out invitations to public officials to attend the event, set for 9 a.m. Wednesday.
But Winder got a call Tuesday from Paul Edwards, Herbert’s deputy chief of staff, asking how he was planning to vote in Wednesday’s override session on two bills dealing with separation-of-powers issues that the governor had vetoed.