'Fishbowl' prompts warning

Senate Republicans are being told to watch what they say after Sen. Chris Buttars' latest controversy, this time over a letter the West Jordan Republican wrote to a judge he helped confirm, complaining about the judge's ruling against one of Buttars' friends.

"Be careful with your communications" is the message that Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, gave Wednesday. He has brought up the issue repeatedly during the GOP's closed-door caucuses. "We live in a fishbowl and everybody is constantly looking through the fishbowl. Remember what your communications mean."

Valentine removed Buttars earlier this week as the head of the Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee after Buttars' May 3, 2007, letter to 4th District Judge Derek Pullan became public.

In the letter, Buttars criticized the judge's ruling against Wendell Gibby in a long-running eminent domain battle with Mapleton. The state senator's letter concluded, "I am embarrassed in this case to have supported your appointment."

Buttars ran into trouble earlier this session after making what have been described as racist comments that led the NAACP to call for his resignation. House leaders refused to consider a bill targeting Salt Lake City's new domestic registry until Buttars was replaced as its sponsor.

Valentine declined Wednesday to say whether he would have taken action against Buttars' position in the judicial confirmation process had Buttars not already been embroiled in controversy over labeling a bill a "black baby" and calling it "a dark and ugly thing."

"Just look at the statement," Valentine said, referring to a posting to the Senate majority's blog that stated while Buttars was exercising his "right to communicate his opinion privately with another public official" in his letter to Pullan, once the letter became public, Senate leaders were concerned it "may now have a negative effect on the confirmation process of new judges."

Valentine said Wednesday he is defending Buttars' right to express himself. "I don't have control over what any individuals do in any body. But what we do have is we do have a process that says, 'Be reasonable, be responsible with your communications."'

The Senate president said Buttars "really, truly believed that there had been an injustice. He felt like he should communicate that belief. He didn't call for action, he didn't say, 'I'm going to get you.' He said, 'I'm really disappointed."'