Daily Herald, October 6, 2010
Joe Pyrah

The second verse is the same as the first for county Democrats who are pushing for ethics reforms among state lawmakers.
A number of the party's candidates publicly pushed for specific change on Tuesday, similar to a push they made in 2008.

"This has been on the public consciousness for some time," said Don Jarvis, who is running against Republican Dean Sanpei for House District 63.

Jarvis pointed to recent headlines about Gov. Gary Herbert who took donations, then had office meetings with donors who then won state contracts. Herbert has vigorously defended himself, saying there was no wrongdoing.

Wrongdoing or not, Jarvis said Herbert's stand against campaign donation limits creates a bad perception.

"That may not be enough evidence for a jury to convict ... but it's certainly enough evidence for the jury to want to convict," he said.

The party is proposing three reforms to the system:

• Make it illegal to serve as a lobbyist while being a legislator and for two years after leaving office. Specifically mentioned on Tuesday was Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, who is president of the Utah Taxpayers Association and a registered lobbyist. His Democratic opponent David Hogue, who was once a GOP representative, pulled no punches.

"All I can think of is fox in the hen house," he said.

• Create campaign contribution limits of $2,500 from individuals and $5,000 from political action committees. Caps, Democrats argue, would cut down on the amount of influence large donors might have on politicians.

Sanpei rejects the argument for caps, saying that transparency takes care of most problems.

"The problem is when something is inappropriate and you can't see it," he said. When people can see what money is going where, they can make appropriate decisions.

"Who's going to accept $10,000 from one institution? No one would get elected that way," he said of legislators.

• Disallow passing campaign money to other candidates. The system, argues Democrats, allows party leaders with plenty of money to dole it out to newer or key politicians, thus helping them and creating a sense of owed favors.

Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, said that may happen "on the margins" but that his own giving to other candidates was spurred by a desire to help those falling short. "I gave money to guys who couldn't raise money," he said, citing money he gave to Sen. Chris Buttars in 2008 despite knowing the two had fallen into disfavor with each other over several issues.

Deon Turley, who is running against Rep. Keith Grover in District 61, would like to see some additional clarity in the way finances are reported. Several Utah lawmakers -- including Herbert -- have a personal campaign fund as well as a political action committee to raise funds. PACs have different reporting requirements.

"What they do is add another layer of obscurity," said Turley, who wants to eliminate any possibility of a personal PAC.

(Independent lieutenant governor candidate Steve Maxfield has filed a petition with the Utah Supreme Court to disallow such a practice.)

All the Democrats at Tuesday's press conference support the ethics initiative proposed by Utahns for Ethical Government, which organizers hope will be on the ballot in 2012. While many Democrats and former Republican lawmakers support it, currently serving Republicans including Sanpei say it's too far-reaching. It contains measures that would significantly reduce the number of people who could run for office.

"It doesn't take into account that we have a volunteer Legislature, or recognize our volunteer Legislature," Sanpei said. "We would lose a wealth of expertise."