A vote Saturday by Salt Lake County Republican Party Central Committee members means elected officials will no longer be automatic shoo-ins for delegate spots after this year's state convention.

Those pushing for the change hailed it as a victory, saying it will loosen up the "political" establishment and result in a more level playing field for all candidates.

"The party should be about the people and the principles and not about a reign of power," said Rep. Morgan Philpot, R-Midvale.

Philpot carried the measure, which passed 174 to 134 in a change proponents said has been long sought. The result is that all county delegates will have to stand for election at neighborhood caucus meetings.

Salt Lake County's Republican Party has 1,600 delegates, 64 of whom have been appointed because of their party position or status as an elected official. The county gets to send 1,235 delegates to the state convention, including the 64 appointees.

The practice of Republican incumbents and party officials being deemed automatic delegates has been going on for at least the past 20 years, said committee member Mike Ridgway.

As a result, he and Philpot said long-term incumbents and party officials entrenched in the county organization have had inordinate control over party direction and principles, even the selection of candidates.

"This issue has been going on for a long time. Our motivation for the change starts from the basis of principle that the delegate is the most grass roots, most sacrosanct level of any political party," Philpot said. "The nature of the delegate is that they are elected by their neighborhood, their community to go and fulfill a purpose."

Ridgway said the practice of letting incumbents be automatic delegates has resulted in a party that is too insular and skewed toward one particular voting bloc — leaving other potential delegates shut out of the process.

"There will be no more coronations," Philpot said.

However, others say that the hailed change will not result in that drastic a difference.

Republican Salt Lake County Councilman Russell Skousen said he voted against the measure but says the concern over insider manipulation is overblown.

"I don't think it really makes a big difference one way or the other," he said. "If they think it is a moral victory, then great."

Skousen, although an incumbent politician, was elected as a delegate from his precinct and not appointed by the party leadership.

A political insider said there may be some change in the makeup of delegates selected, but not a lot.

Incumbents, he said, will simply get the "official" support via an election. "The irony of this is that a lot of these elected delegates who have been clamoring that everyone should be elected will be the ones who actually lose their jobs as delegates."

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