A.G. John Swallow doesn't attend, but GOP leaders don't ignore elephant in the room

As a Republican elected to statewide office, Swallow is a member of the party's Central Committee. Gov. Gary Herbert also did not attend Saturday's meeting. Party officials said 110 of 180 committee members were in attendance.

Swallow has also been accused of taking campaign donations from companies in exchange for favorable treatment should they run into regulatory problems. He has strongly denied all of the allegations against him. The FBI is investigating the accusations.

• In other business, the Central Committee voted 58-29 to condemn statements and actions of Drew Chamberlain, the state party secretary. Chamberlain posted blogs on Utah's Clean Politics Facebook page that referred to President Obama as "Husein" (sic) and made a derogatory remark about first lady Michelle Obama's appearance.

The resolution puts Chamberlain on notice that "any future public comments or acts unbecoming a state party secretary, as determined by the State Central Committee, may result in his removal from party office."

• Committee members also supported a resolution that called on Congress to find reasonable and responsible solutions to resolve the nation's broken immigration system.

The resolution also says the party will be more proactive reaching out to Hispanics, acknowledging that their values align well with Republican values.

Marco Diaz, chairman of the Utah Republican Hispanic Assembly, said passing such a resolution likely would not have been possible two years ago.

Diaz said he has been active in Utah Republican in politics for 13 years. "I've never had as much support as I've had the last three months," he said.

But after the disappointment of the November election, Republicans know they must do a better job of reaching Latinos, women and youth, he said.

"What a great opportunity."

E-mail: marjorie@desnews.com