Buttars' fate up to voters

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Thursday he was "offended personally" by statements made by Sen. Chris Buttars that have been described as racist but said it's up to the West Jordan Republican's constituents to decide whether he stays in office.

"Voters own their districts. They put people into power, they take people out of power. They put pressure on people who do stupid things," Huntsman said during his monthly press conference broadcast on KUED Channel 7.

Buttars used the word black to negatively describe the "baby" being divided by a school equalization bill, saying, "This baby is black, I'll tell you. This is a dark and ugly thing."

Although he apologized for the statement made on Feb. 12 and said he did not intend it to be racist, he has since described his critics as a "hate lynch mob." The NAACP has called for his resignation, saying both statements were racist.

"I thought they were highly inappropriate and intemperate remarks. I was offended personally by them," the governor said. But, he said, it's up to voters in Buttars' district "to determine how long he serves and to express whatever level of outrage they think is appropriate in this particular case."

Buttars, who said he intends to seek re-election in November, refused to meet with leaders of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People earlier this week after the media was invited to attend. Buttars is backed by the Utah Eagle Forum, which provided him with T-shirts for his supporters to wear.

Huntsman said he attended services at the largely black Calvary Baptist Church Sunday, where the Rev. France Davis talked about Buttars in his sermon and asked people to pray for the senator and "for there to be greater understanding on all sides in this particular debate."

The Rev. Davis told the Deseret Morning News earlier this week that he was hopeful Buttars would "take an opportunity to learn about people who are different than him. After that he might want to assess whether he can genuinely represent all of the people of Utah or not."

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