They’re here! Americans For Prosperity at work in our local elections. Yesterday, a man from the AFP knocked on my door in Midway to deliver a pamphlet and hearty recommendation to vote for Luke Searle for Utah District 59 representative.   The man was from Utah County working to affect our election in Wasatch/Summit. So I wondered why the AFP was so active, why they were spending big bucks to elect a freshman legislator and who they represent. Turns out this is the Kansas Koch brothers organization that promotes libertarian ideas to benefit wealthy donors and large corporations by opposing policies that protect consumers and workers. They are the angels of developers who want to make the most money building on every square inch of our town or county without our approval.  They are the promoters of anything goes by wealthy individuals like those who want to build a giant data farm without anyone questioning the impact on our resources or our community. The Koch family fortune ($114 billion in 2024) comes from a vast number of privately owned companies. They choose to spend a some of it to try to buy elections in Midway, Utah. This is not a charity donation. They except to make a return on that investment.  The most I know about Luke Searle is that he is a school teacher and as a Wasatch County councilman, he cast the only “no” vote to protect a parcel in our North Fields from development (a project near and dear to most Wasatch County voters).  He seems to be a nice young guy. It’s unclear why the AFP has chosen to fund his election campaign so heavily except that we can assume they expect he will align with their positions.   I believe this is a continuation of the buying of our government by wealthy oligarchs from all over America, and it’s happening right here in our own little communities.  Let’s hope we’re not selling ours. Do some research on Americans For Prosperity and decide for yourself. William Hobbs Midway The post Buying elections? appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less