Summit County party boss pleads guilty to misdemeanor

COALVILLE — The chairman of the Summit County Democratic Party pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after offering to cover the expenses of a candidate if he would drop out of a state House race.

Rob Weyher, 54, left a recorded message on the answering machine of Josh Ewing's boss, saying he was willing to "try to make him whole for what he's spent so far."

Weyher wanted Ewing to drop out of a Democratic primary in District 25, which includes Summit and Salt Lake counties. Ewing stayed in the race and lost to Christine Johnson, who subsequently won the general election.

Weyher pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of prohibited elections activity. The charge will be erased if he stays out of trouble for six months. He immediately paid a $500 court fee.

Weyher, a construction-company owner, said he was trying to avoid a nasty primary election.

"It was not as big a deal as they made it sound," defense attorney G. Fred Metos said. "They made it sound like he was trying to bribe the guy."

It was not Weyher's first brush with the law.

In November, he pleaded guilty to alcohol-related reckless driving. He also entered a guilty plea to attempted assault on the officer who stopped him in April, but that charge will be dropped if he has a clean record for 12 months.