Leaders' PAC fell short on favors

Before former State Senate President John Valentine and Majority Leader Curt Bramble faced re-election for their leadership posts earlier this month, a Political Action Committee they help manage gave more than $38,000 to GOP senators and Senate candidates in the Nov. 4 election — people who could have helped decide the pair's leadership fate.

They lost their leadership posts anyway. Still, the senators maintain that their PAC's giving was not intended to help them in the top Senate post contests.

"We gave money to several (senators or GOP Senate candidates) who were not votes for me for president," said Valentine, R-Orem, who was bumped from a third presidential term by Sen. Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville. "We were really blind to leadership races — we wanted to help (Republican Senate) candidates who needed the help."

Bramble, R-Provo, agrees with Valentine. "It was not done because of leadership elections. It was done to help elect more Republicans. But it is one of the responsibilities of leadership to help Republicans get re-elected," he said.

But the PAC gave more money to GOP Senate candidates outside of Utah County than it gave to Utah County legislators, even though it is by name a Utah County PAC. And the PAC gave five times more money to Senate candidates than it did to House candidates this year. (House members can't vote in Senate leadership contests.)

It has become custom for top legislative leaders to give money to their party candidates, hoping in return those newly elected lawmakers will vote for them for leadership positions.

For example, in 2008, Rep. Dave Clark, R-Santa Clara, the current House majority leader, gave GOP House candidates — some incumbents, some seeking office for the first time — $55,000 from his personal campaign account. Clark was unopposed when he ran for House speaker, the top House post, and will assume the speakership in January.

Such donations by hopeful leaders usually come out of their personal campaign accounts, like Clark's, not out of group PACs, like the Utah County Legislative PAC. It is also of note that that PAC got $54,000 from the Utah County Republican Party, while no other county Republican parties in Utah gave money to an independent PAC, a review of county party financial filings shows.

In addition, the PAC, which has the same address as Bramble's Provo home, paid JCB Consulting, a firm set up by his son, Jeffery Curtis Bramble, $12,120 over the last two years. The PAC also paid the firm $7,000 in various reimbursements associated with the PAC's work.