Utah gets F on campaign laws

A political quiz: Who are Bruce Bastian, John Beck and Doug Holmes?

They are the top three individuals contributing to Utah legislative races so far this year. But Utah disclosure laws don't make it easy to know much about them beyond that, which is one reason a coalition of good-government groups gives Utah campaign disclosure laws an F.

"You have no disclosure of occupation and employer for contributors, no last-minute reporting of contributions," says Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies.

His group, plus the UCLA Law School, the California Voter Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts, created the Campaign Disclosure Project to rank disclosure laws in the 50 states. It says Utah's laws are 45th worst and rate an F.

One example of problems, it says, is Utah does not require disclosure of a donor's employer or occupation, as do most states and the federal government for federal races. Such information makes it easier to spot if workers for a company or an industry are banding together for or against some candidate.

But Bastian, for example, has only his Orem address listed in Utah disclosures, as the law requires. He gave the most of any individual or group to Legislature races so far this year: $21,000.

He is more than just an Orem resident. He is the retired co-founder of WordPerfect and a gay rights activist — who has said in interviews he donates only to candidates who will support gay rights. He gave only to Democratic incumbents this year.

Beck was the No. 2 donor among individuals in legislative races, giving $5,000 to Democratic House candidate Boyd Petersen in Provo. Disclosure forms list just a post office box number in Phoenix for him.

A quick online search showed at least five John Becks living in Phoenix. The former BYU quarterback John Beck was from Mesa and is now with the Miami Dolphins.

But Petersen said the Beck who gave to him is not the quarterback and is in fact his own ex-brother-in-law. "He's a good friend with some extra money," he said. The $5,000 from him amounted to 61 percent of the total raised by Petersen.

Holmes gave $4,250 to Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Lehi. Holmes' Farmington address is listed on disclosure forms. But he is also chairman and co-founder of Parents for Choice in Education, the force behind the failed movement to allow public-money vouchers for private schools. Madsen is on the board of Parents for Choice and is on the board of a charter school.