Senate leadership changes hands

Both Senate Republicans and Democrats made major changes in their leadership Friday.

Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, was replaced by Sen. Mike Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, and Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo, was ousted by Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, by the 21 GOP senators in a closed-door caucus.

And Senate Democrats chose Sen. Pat Jones, D-Holladay, as minority leader over Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake, who had served in leadership since 1999. Jones will be the Senate's first-ever female minority leader.

House Republicans will pick their leaders on Tuesday. House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, lost his seat in last Tuesday's election and House Majority Leader Dave Clark, R-Santa Clara, is seeking his spot. House Democrats won't select their leaders until Thursday.

Waddoups, who was making his third run for the top spot in the Senate, said there was no one reason the GOP caucus chose to replace their president and majority leader.

Previously, he had described Bramble as being seen as abrasive and said he would end what he called "nastiness" surrounding how Valentine handled the controversy over a comment widely seen a racist made by Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan.

Buttars had used the word "black" to negatively describe the "baby" being divided by a bill during a floor debate, saying, "This baby is black, I'll tell you. This is a dark and ugly thing." Buttars was re-elected despite calls for his ouster.

Waddoups had nothing critical to say Friday about Valentine's leadership.

"I didn't make a case for change," Waddoups told reporters Friday after the nearly 1 1/2-hour-long long caucus. He said he told his fellow GOP senators that he'd enjoyed working with Valentine. "I don't think anybody was displeased with Valentine and the team he put together."

Killpack, too, was careful not to criticize the outgoing leadership team. "It's always difficult," Killpack said. "There's no getting around someone potentially taken it personally. That's one of the challenges." He said he ran for majority leader, not against Bramble.

Bramble had acknowledged his style could be direct but said a majority leader gets involved in tough negotiations.

Senate Republicans also elected Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, as majority whip over Sen. Pete Knudson, R-Brigham City. The current majority whip, Sen. Dan Eastman, R-Bountiful, did not seek re-election.