GOP chief for Utah is taking lobby job

State GOP executive director Scott Simpson is leaving the frying pan for the fire. He'll turn from overseeing hundreds of party elections to lobbying for the Utah League of Credit Unions in its battle against banks in the Legislature.

Next week Simpson, 33, will become senior vice president for government affairs for the credit union trade group, which made Utah political history earlier this year when it ran radio and TV ads — some naming House Speaker Marty Stephens, R-Farr West — in an attempt to sway legislators against an effort to tax the largest nonprofit financial institutions.

The ad campaign and other lobbying seemed to work, watering down a proposed income tax to a two-year study.

But hard feelings linger in publicly going against some of the Legislature's influential GOP lawmakers — and part of Simpson's new job apparently is to mend Republican fences.

Simpson said: "I have pretty good relations with most of the Republican legislators — I helped get them elected. Maybe not such good relations with the Democrats."

Qwest government affairs manager Chris Bleak (pronounced "Blake") will take over as GOP executive director, Simpson said. "That appointment is made solely by the chairman" — Geneva Steel boss Joe Cannon, Simpson added. Before joining Qwest, Bleak headed government relations for SLOC.

While state Democratic Party executive director Todd Taylor has held his post for 11 years, Bleak will be the 10th state GOP top paid executive in as many years. "And that counts Simpson coming and going twice," jokes Taylor.

Simpson worked for the state party organizing some of the largest state conventions in the party's history in the 1990s, then was picked as executive director in January 1999. He left to join Sen. Orrin Hatch's Washington, D.C., staff in 2001 but came back to the state party in March 2002 to oversee last November's elections. Republicans did well in those races, but fell just short of unseating Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson in the 2nd Congressional District.

"This job (as top party executive) is heinous just before an election," said Simpson. "A guy wears himself out. I worked 70-hour weeks August through November. I had a sleeping bag in my office, slept on the floor many nights. In October, we put out 1.5 million pieces of mail from here."

And while the job is cyclical, "it really never ends," said Simpson. A month after an election the Legislature meets, dealing with some party issues, then it's time to organize the next convention, hold party elections "and it just starts all over again," he said.

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