Lehi campaigning called unethical

LEHI — A city employee's involvement in the campaign of Lehi incumbent Mayor Kenneth J. Greenwood has his challenger crying foul as the election nears.

But the employee says she is only exercising her right as a citizen and that her campaign duties don't conflict with her professional ones.

Lehi Chamber of Commerce President Heather Miller, who draws a part-time salary from the city, leads a group called Citizens to Re-Elect Mayor Greenwood, which has raised $8,150 for the mayor's bid for a third term.

Greenwood's challenger, Chamber of Commerce member Howard Johnson, said Miller's involvement is "unethical."

"She's out there doing all this, and people see her and associate her with the Chamber of Commerce, but she's not clarifying that she's doing it on her own," he said. "She can do what she wants as an individual, but the appearance is not good."

But Miller said she has kept her job and her campaign efforts separate and doesn't understand why others are complaining.

"It's silly," she said. "I'm a citizen, I pay taxes, and I want to be involved in seeing the right candidate win. You look at the credentials, you look at what has happened here in the last eight years, and that's Mayor Greenwood."

Johnson said it should be illegal for city employees to campaign.

While city employees are banned from using city time or resources for campaign purposes, there is no law restricting what city employees do on their own time. State laws only require candidates to submit financial disclosure statements; other than that, cities make their own rules in local elections.

Miller, a part-time employee who receives no benefits, said she has not done any campaign work on city time and does not mention her job to voters.

"When I go door-to-door, I never, ever mention that I'm with the Chamber of Commerce," she said, adding she has "absolutely" kept the two worlds apart.

Concern over Miller's involvement arose about three weeks ago. Lehi resident Charles Olha received a flier for a meet-the-candidates night in his community, but when he went, only the three incumbent candidates were in attendance.

"It seemed strange that only incumbents were there," Ohla said, "I went expecting that all the candidates would be there."

Ohla said he was led to believe the Chamber of Commerce had sponsored the event and was concerned that something inappropriate could be happening, so he alerted Johnson.

Miller acknowledged attending that meeting but said it had been arranged by one of the community's residents, not the Chamber of Commerce.

"The chamber does not endorse candidates," she said. "Our basic purpose is to educate the public and make them aware of who the candidates are and where they stand."