A decision to cut down on groups without floats and VIPs in convertibles in Provo's Fourth of July parade has caused some last minute scrambling and a written complaint.
The parade, which is on Saturday, will be slightly shorter than last year, said Paul Warner of the Freedom Festival. But organizers feel the trade-off is worth it if the quality of entrants is higher.
"People are more interested in the car than the person in it," Warner said of the many VIPs that populate the parade route.
But the move has also left two political parties scrambling for a presence on a day that promises tens of thousands of attendees.
Democrats weren't accepted into the parade, and Republicans won't have it any better.
They were on foot and used Segways last year and were surprised to find out they couldn't do something similar this year.
"We have a float, but it's in bad shape," said Utah County Republican Chairman Taylor Oldroyd.
Instead, the party's Plan B is to have two tents -- one at the beginning and one at the end of the route. But even that has created some friction -- this time within the party.
The tent at the beginning of the route will be on the same block as Provo mayoral candidate John Curtis's headquarters. Though the mayoral race is non-partisan, Curtis opponent Steve Clark sent out an e-mail Thursday condemning the placement. Both men are Republicans and Provo is widely considered one of the most conservative cities in the country.
"I think this is below-the-belt tactics and I am hoping you will express this to [Oldroyd] if you agree with me," Clark wrote using the e-mail assigned to him as a state representative.
Oldroyd, who does endorse Curtis, dismisses the complaint.
"It was the first place we considered and the steering committee said 'Sounds like a great spot,' " he said.
Posted in Local, Provo on Friday, July 3, 2009 12:30 am Updated: 11:09 am.
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