Voucher issue unifies Demos, divides GOP

While the Republican Party is not active on vouchers, the GOP legislative leaders aren't sitting on their hands. In August they started their own political issues committee, called Informed Voter Project. That PIC's aim is to raise $300,000 to advertise and to hold dozens of town meetings across the state to encourage residents to support vouchers at the polls.

All of the Democrats in the House and Senate voted against HB148, opening the way for the Utah Democratic Party to spend time and money fighting the measure, which would give each child who goes to a private school a tuition voucher of $500 to $3,000, depending on family income. The tuition money goes to the private school, not the children's families.

Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, said she would be more than disappointed if her state party favored vouchers — "especially considering the stealth nature of the fight last fall" during legislative elections, when, Allen said, Parents For Choice In Education, the main pro-voucher group, funneled money through the state GOP to pro-voucher candidates. She said it would be unwise for state Republican Party leaders to repeat any such actions. The PAC gave the GOP more than $183,000 last year.

"We (GOP legislators) were split in our vote on vouchers," Allen said. "And it would be very wrong for the party to disenfranchise us" — the GOP legislators who voted against HB148.

"I hope that the party stays out of it," said Allen, who heads up the Davis County School District's nonprofit foundation.

Allen said she has been a loyal fund-raiser for the state party for years, especially since she was first elected to the House in 1994. And, she said, she doesn't want her money used to support vouchers.

"In fact, because of the stealth attack" by the party and PCE last fall, "my modest donations to the party have become even more modest," Allen said.

While the state GOP has so far done nothing on vouchers, the state Democratic Party has put together printed materials that are being given out to anti-voucher advocates, to be passed out by them in a neighborhood grass-roots effort.

"We're not spending that much money, maybe a few thousand dollars," Taylor said. The organized voucher opposition groups such as the Utah Education Association, the PTA and a special anti-voucher political issues committee "are doing well taking the lead, especially on the expensive TV campaign," Taylor said. The party has assisted them, however, in obtaining voter lists and campaign strategy. And on the party Web site are brief issue papers opposing vouchers.

The party may produce some other materials before the Nov. 6 election, but Taylor declined to say what that may be.