Corroon asks Herbert to pledge to return donations of more than $10K

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake Mayor Peter Corroon, the Democratic candidate for governor, challenged GOP Gov. Gary Herbert on Wednesday to join him in taking the "big money" out of the race.

Corroon announced at a news conference that he was ready to give back any campaign contributions of more than $10,000 if Herbert agreed to do the same plus return any contributions from individuals or companies doing business with the state.

The mayor's proposal came on the eve of the Thursday morning taping of the first debate between the gubernatorial candidates. The Corroon campaign said it would mean giving back more than $308,000 of the nearly $1.8 million collected.

Herbert's campaign declined to discuss the request, instead issuing a three-paragraph statement that did not directly address whether the governor would agree to refund what Corroon's campaign said amounts to at least $850,000 of the nearly $2.6 million the governor has raised.

The statement from Herbert campaign manager Joseph Demma said the governor "has maintained an open, transparent and ethical administration and campaign. How he governs the state of Utah is not affected by who does or does not support our election campaign."

Campaign cash has been at the center of a controversy over whether contributions to the governor have influenced the awarding of state contracts, including a record $1.7 billion road project.

Members of the winning bid team for that contract contributed $87,500 to Herbert. Most of that money, $50,000, came from a single donor, Guy Wadsworth, who had two private meetings with the governor before the contract was awarded.

"Right now, the wild-west-anything-goes amount doesn't work well in Utah, and we've seen what happened because of that," Corroon said. "The problem is, you have companies that are doing business with the state giving large campaign contributions."

The mayor has called for a $10,000 limit on campaign contributions in state races, an amount proposed in failed legislation pushed by Lt. Gov. Greg Bell when he was a state senator.

Herbert, however, has opposed capping contributions, saying they hurt a "little guy" like him who can't afford to finance their own campaigns. Instead, the governor backs what he calls instantaneous disclosure of contributions.