Prosecutor takes on his boss

PROVO — A government prosecutor announced Monday his candidacy for Utah County attorney — a job his boss has held for the past 16 years.

Jeff Buhman, who has worked in the Utah County Attorney's Office for nine years, says he wants to unseat Kay Bryson to reverse the low morale in the County Attorney's Office and improve communication between prosecutors and police.

At an announcement Monday in downtown Provo, Buhman also said he wants to scale back the number of plea agreements with defendants in criminal cases.

"This has nothing to do with Kay's personal life and personal issues," Buhman said, a reference to Bryson's high-profile divorce, which was finalized in October 2004.

Kay Bryson's split from former longtime legislator Kathy Bryson made headlines. The county attorney was accused of improperly using police surveillance equipment in a Salt Lake condominium.

Kay Bryson said the equipment was installed in the condo for safety measures. Instead, he said, the tape caught Kathy Bryson with another man.

Authorities became involved when Kathy Bryson complained to Salt Lake police that Kay Bryson had taped her without her knowledge or consent.

The Utah County Commission asked the Utah attorney general to investigate — but prosecutors decided not to file criminal charges against him.

In a telephone interview Monday, Bryson said he intends to run for his job again. He said he will file candidacy papers before the March 7 deadline.

Even though Buhman said he will steer the campaign away from Bryson's personal life, some of the 40 family members and friends at the campaign announcement cited events related to the divorce as the need for a new county attorney.

"There's a lot of baggage I think the administration has that will be changed by another person," Orem resident David Runnells said. "The whole hubbub about using county resources to investigate one's wife."

But Bryson said he's been cleared of wrongdoing.

"The equipment was placed there when my daughter was receiving harassing telephone calls" that indicated she was being stalked, he said. The video surveillance was an attempt to capture the person making the calls.

Morale is low at the 52-person County Attorney's Office, which includes 20 attorneys, Buhman said. Many prosecutors have left for other jobs, including Tim Taylor, now a city prosecutor for Saratoga Springs.