A lot of Utah Republican Party insiders are wondering how newly-elected state party chairman Rob Anderson will go about bringing Utah’s majority party back on solid ground, both fiscally and politically.
And the key to that, Anderson tells UtahPolicy, is the state’s 180-member Central Committee deciding in September to drop the party’s lawsuit against SB54 before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Anderson believes he can get a majority of the new SCC to do just that – ending a two-and-half year legal battle that saw the GOP lose twice in federal court and before the Utah Supreme Court.
The legal fees are more than $300,000, but the attorneys say they will take what the party can raise specifically for them – around $80,000 so far.
The Central Committee, which usually meets quarterly, but can meet more often, really sets the policy for the Utah Republican Party.
The SCC, as it is known, was the reason the party sued the state over SB54 – the 2014 compromise law that allows candidates to pick how they get on a party’s primary ballot – through signature gathering, the delegate/convention vote, or both routes at the same time.
The SCC saw major changes in its membership at the various county GOP conventions elections this spring – with new county chairs and vice-chairs (automatic members of the SCC) and new state committee members picked.
Interviews with several GOP insiders gives UtahPolicy these insights:
— Utah County got rid of old county party leadership. Gone is former state House member Craig Frank, who was the longtime chair of the Utah County party.
Frank and his county colleagues did some weird stuff – including getting the state SCC to change its collective mind earlier this year and reinstate the state party’s appeal of SB54 to the 10thCircuit Court of Appeals.
Frank will not even be on the SCC this coming two years – he failed in that county election, as well.
Gone from the Utah County delegation to the SCC is also former state Rep. David Lifferth – a strong opponent of SB54.
— Salt Lake County “did a fine job of getting rid of some wackos” it had on the SCC, as one GOP insider put it to UtahPolicy.
Out of 31 slots on the SCC – by far the largest county delegation in the state party – 18 are new to the SCC (or at least new from the 2015-2017 membership).
That’s nearly a 60 percent turnover in its SCC delegation.
Gone from the Salt Lake County delegation are Merrill Cook, Julie Dole, and Michelle Mumford, wife/attorney of the state GOP’s SB54 attorney, Marcus Mumford.
New are seven state GOP legislators and a Salt Lake County councilwoman.
GOP legislators have not been happy with the SCC for some time, and vice versa. A number of party insiders complain that the SCC has taken out after many GOP legislators over SB54 – remember, the 2014 Legislature approved the bill/compromise with the Count My Vote folks and their citizen initiative petition that would have done away with the delegate votes on candidates.
New to the SCC from Salt Lake County are Reps. Bruce Cutler, R-Murray; Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville; Adam Gardner, R-West Jordan; Dan McCay, R-Riverton, the House sponsor of SB54; Susan Pulsipher, R-South Jordan; and Mike Winder, R-West Valley.
SLCounty Councilwoman Aimee Newton (Winder’s sister) is also new on the SCC from the county.
— One GOP insider noted that Davis County GOP did not do a good job of moderating its SCC 14-member delegation. In fact, it may have strengthened its hard archconservative leanings, with former Davis County chair (and former state vice-chairman) Phil Wright earning a post on the delegation even as he finished second to Anderson in the state chairmanship race.
Another former state party leader, Drew Chamberlin, a definite right-winger, is also new to the SCC from Davis County.
So Wright and Chamberlin will remain a thorn in moderate-Republicans’ sides on the state SCC.
A few other interesting SCC changes:
— Longtime state Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan – much loved in Cache Valley – comes on to the SCC from that county’s Republican Party.
Hillyard, while a conservative, has been a voice of reason and fiscal responsibility in the Legislature for 37 years.
— Rep. Christine Watkins, R-Price, is new to the SCC. Just four years ago Watkins was a Democratic state House member, even in minority leadership.
After losing her seat to a Republican after redistricting, she switched parties. She lost a state GOP convention fight three years ago, but won the nomination and won the seat in 2016. Now she is on the GOP’s SCC.
— State Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, just missed his re-election to the SCC from Davis County. But Anderson, who stepped down as Davis County chair to run for state chair, got an SCC slot at the county convention. Since Anderson is on the SCC via his state chairman win, that opens a Davis County slot – which will be filled by Weiler.
— Stan Lockhart, husband to the late-, much loved, House Speaker Becky Lockhart is on the SCC from Utah County. Stan Lockhart is a past chairman of both the Utah County and state GOP, and should bring some moderation to the state party leadership, again.
The new SCC members don’t officially take office until their first quarterly meeting.
And Anderson said he cancelled a summer SCC meeting because four county conventions have not been held – and those dozen or so new SCC members would miss the summer meeting, and the opportunity to be selected to various party committees – and that would be unfair.
Anyway, Anderson said he needs time to do a financial audit of the messed up party finances (the state is $450,000 in debt, much of it owed to Marcus Mumford and other party attorneys for anti-SB54 legal work) and make other organizational decisions.
The first SCC meeting will be in September, says Anderson. And by then the SCC/Anderson should be in a position to make an educated decision on whether to continue the costly SB54 battle.
“I believe (the SCC) will drop it,” said Anderson.
While welcomed by the Count My Vote citizen initiative leaders, it doesn’t end the SB54 controversy.
GOP state House members grumble they want to repeal SB54 – with more political battles still likely ahead.
