Complaints grow about Utah politics
GOP: Leaders accused of trying to stack deck
Jackie deGaston, who is challenging powerful Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo, announced in an e-mail Thursday that she had dropped her effort to disqualify 17-year-old Hannah Lockhart as a delegate to Saturday's Utah County Republican Convention.
DeGaston had filed an official complaint against Lockhart that would have been heard today. DeGaston said in a release that she still believes party rules disqualify Lockhart because the girl was elected as a delegate from a precinct where she does not live.
The most inflammatory new allegation is that an unnamed party official tried to block someone from becoming a delegate because the person would oppose Bramble at the convention.
The accusation was made by a respected former state GOP officeholder who requested anonymity. He said a party official called him before last month's neighborhood caucus meetings in which delegates are chosen and asked him to help keep a woman opposed to Bramble from being elected as a delegate from his precinct.
Utah Republican Party chairman Stan Lockhart, who is Hannah Lockhart's father, expressed frustration at the new allegation.
"To the best of my knowledge, that is just something that doesn't happen," he said. "My guess is this was just a misunderstanding. Have I given commentary on where I think people might be sitting in terms of how they would lean? Yes, I have opinions and I don't think it's inappropriate to make observations about the process. Where the line would get crossed would be to say, we've got to see that these people don't make it as delegates. Or if you recruited people to run against people."
Meanwhile, another flap developed over how replacement delegates are being chosen in the race for House District 60, where Rep. Brad Daw faces a challenge from Linda Housekeeper.
State party rules give the power to name a replacement to the precinct chairman. Article 12, Section 2.d. states, "If an elected delegate dies, resigns, or is disqualified prior to the convention, the County Party precinct chair shall appoint a replacement from the precinct of the deceased or disqualified delegate."
But the Utah County Republican Party's bylaws give the precinct chairman a deadline, then strip the precinct chairman of that duty and give it to the district chairman, despite a provision in state party bylaws that "any provision" in a county party's bylaws "contrary to state law or to a specific provision of (the state party) Constitution is null and void."
Recent comments
Does an automatic delegate have to reside in the legislative district...
jack | May 6, 2008 at 10:56 a.m.
well then good then thats what the point ot comment boards are! ....
person | April 28, 2008 at 4:12 p.m.
The LDS contingent is exactly why this corruption has festered in...
Jade | April 27, 2008 at 12:27 p.m.
