Some legislative candidates opt against answering News questionnaire

All four House Democratic leaders fully answered the questions: Minority Leader Brad King, D-Price, (running for the Senate this year); Majority Whip David Litvack, D-Salt Lake; Assistant Minority Whip Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay; and Caucus Manager Phil Riesen, D-Holladay.

In the Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, did not respond, while Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo, filed out only the biographical data. Called for a comment Tuesday on filing out only the biographical data, Bramble offered to fill out the rest of the questionnaire, but editors declined that request. (Other Senate GOP and Democratic leaders are either retiring or not up for election this year.)

All 13 state House members from Utah County are Republicans. Nine of 12 House GOP incumbents didn't answer; 11 of 26 Utah County state House candidates didn't answer.

Only three Utah County incumbents filled out the questionnaire: Reps. Lorie Fowlke, R-Orem; Keith Grover, R-Orem; Mike Morley, R-Spanish Fork.

Apparently Rep. Becky Lockhart, R-Provo, didn't take the advice of her husband, state GOP chairman Stan Lockhart, on answering questionnaires. Rep. Lockhart didn't fill out the newspaper's request.

Finally, some Democratic candidates had some help in answering the questions. Moss said she "cooperated" with several other candidates and a state Democratic Party staffer in working on the questionnaire. Moss had to change one of her answers after the filing deadline because of an "oversight" — one answer criticized legislators for helping fund the Real Salt Lake soccer stadium in Sandy, but Moss actually voted for that bill.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com