Controversial mailers traced to newly registered PAC

PROVO — The great Provo campaign mailer mystery is over.

A Brigham Young University political science student named Jacob Runyon came forward Friday and said he is part of a group behind Utahns for a Better Future, a political action committee that registered with the State Office of Elections earlier this week.

Utahns for a Better Future angered both candidates for the District 5 seat on the Provo City Council by sending two postcards to district residents attacking incumbent Cindy Richards. Challenger Adam Clark was mad because Richards supporters believed he was lying when he said he had nothing to do with the group, which was unknown to the candidates and city officials.

City recorder LaNice Groesbeck mailed a letter Thursday to Utahns for a Better Future, informing the group it might be acting illegally. Runyon had not received the letter Friday but learned of the questions about the group from a Deseret Morning News article. He said the group registered as a PAC with the state on Tuesday, which Tyler Allen of the Lt. Governor's Office confirmed Friday afternoon.

"We have tried to do everything in compliance with the laws of the state and city," Runyon said. "Under the Provo City Code, all we have to do is disclose our financing within 30 days after the election. We're not trying to cover up anything or hide."

Provo's campaign disclosure ordinance was rewritten after the 1997 election when an unknown group calling itself "Ethics 4 Provo" ran newspaper ads attacking several candidates. Outgoing Mayor George Stewart considered a lawsuit. The new ordinance was meant to unmask such political action committees and includes a section that states that a political committee must take responsibility for a direct mailing by including the names of political committee members responsible for its publication.

It was unclear Friday, when city offices are closed, how the city would interpret the code and the PAC's action. Provo spokeswoman Raylene Ireland said city attorneys couldn't comment until they review the situation further on Monday.

The two postcards, sent only to District 5, attack two-term incumbent Richards. One says, "Don't vote for Cindy Richards." But Runyon said the mailers aren't backing Clark, just advocating change.

"This has nothing to do with either of the candidates," he said. "I, along with a couple of other citizens and students, think this is a district that affects students the most."

Cindy Richards did not return a phone message Friday night, but her husband, LeGrand "Buddy" Richards, told BYU students in a campus appearance Thursday night that his wife was the best candidate for their interests and attacked the ads.