Legislators shouldn't use staff for political gain

A warning this week to Utah legislators, who, more and more, could be accused of using their professional staff for political reasons.

This inappropriate use of the staff, I believe, has been increasing since the 1980s.

In a way, one can understand it — but not accept it.

As we approach 2010, the first decade of the new century, Republicans have been in control of the state's executive and legislative branches for 25 years.

They have been in the majorities — for much of the time with two-thirds majorities — in the Legislature for more than 30 years.

(Unlike Congress and some states, Utah's Legislature has only one staff, theoretically nonpartisan, while some legislative bodies have a majority and minority staff.)

When the Utah Legislature's professional staff has to answer to bosses of one party for so long, it is understandable that they begin to reflect the majority's style and opinions.

But to force the staff to be hit men for political reasons is just wrong, plain and simple.

Now, I know that in theory the Legislature itself is run in a bipartisan manner. The Legislative Management Committee is made up of equal numbers of Republican and Democratic leaders of both the House and Senate.

The Audit Subcommittee (more about it later), which decides which audits the legislative auditor general's staff undertakes, consists of the president of the Senate, speaker of the House and the minority leaders of both bodies.

So, one may argue on the face of it that GOP and Democratic political desires should balance out and the Legislature itself operates in a bipartisan manner.

On many issues that may be true.

But as I said above, more and more I'm seeing the professional legislative staff pulled into political issues.

This week The Salt Lake Tribune reported that a state senator — whose wife has done paid political work for U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah — says perhaps the legislative auditor general should conduct an audit on the interplay between the State Attorney General's Office and the Commerce Department.

As reported previously by all news organizations, Commerce Department executive director Francine Giani, frustrated over Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's refusal to prosecute a suspected white-collar criminal, took the evidence to U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman . Shurtleff says Giani didn't provide sufficient evidence for action. But Tolman, after putting together some of his own evidence, indicted the man on fraud charges.

Clearly, such an audit would take months and keep Shurtleff's name in the media during the 2010 election — where Shurtleff is running to unseat Bennett within the Utah Republican Party.