An excerpt:
By the mid-1990s, Moab and Grand County citizens—especially voters—were worn out. So was I. Beginning in 1987, with Moab’s economy in tatters and its elected officials proposing a toxic waste incinerator at Cisco to boost property taxes, it was one crisis after another.
A forced referendum in 1988 put an end to the incinerator, tossed out the incumbents, and installed a Democrat majority. The lame duck Republicans created an independent special service road district, with its own mineral lease funding, and moved forward on a massive highway project.
Two years later, the Republicans gained the majority on the three-person commission and appeared to be unstoppable for the next four years. But by 1992, Moabites, especially angry tourism-related business owners, were infuriated by an ill-advised Travel Council appointment. They rebelled and gained the momentum and public support, via yet another referendum, to toss out the entire form of government and install a new 7-person council.
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