Governor plans big-money fundraiser

Gov. Gary Herbert has been in office just more than a month, but already he's planning his first major fundraiser, an event on Oct. 30 that will cost as much as $50,000 to attend.

"Just as every governor has had a gala like this, it's intended as the big one" for his political action committee, Herbert spokeswoman Angie Welling said.

Herbert's "Friends of Gary PAC" has been growing since he assumed the governorship from former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who resigned in August to become U.S. ambassador to China.

As of Aug. 31, the most recent disclosure deadline, the PAC had collected more than $123,000. Herbert has an election coming up next year, when he has to run for the remainder of Huntsman's term.

Herbert has yet to formally declare he's running, but Welling said the former lieutenant governor will make that announcement before the 2010 Legislature begins in January.

The money raised at the gala also will be used for some of Herbert's expenses as governor, such as those associated with his inauguration. "It's not simply a campaign event," Welling said.

The theme for the fundraiser is a tribute to Broadway and it will feature local performers, Welling said. The cost is a minimum of $500 a plate, and sponsorships will be sold for between $10,000 and $50,000, she said.

The event, being planned with the help of first lady Jeanette Herbert, won't be the last fundraiser for the governor before the race gets under way, but it will be the most prominent, she said. Welling said he has already held several smaller fundraisers.

"This will be a very visible fundraiser because of the gala-type atmosphere," she said. "There will be others."

Unlike Huntsman, who easily won a second term, Herbert may face a battle for the Republican nomination next year. Possible GOP challengers include Sen. John Valentine of Orem, a former Senate president who has nearly $189,000 in his campaign account.

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