Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Gary Herbert held a breakfast meeting with lobbyists to seek their help raising money for his primary election race but told them it was "not a quid pro quo situation," his campaign manager, Marty Carpenter, said last week.
"The governor is very clear to make sure there's not an exchange, that it's on the up and up. No one should have the impression that there's anything inappropriate going on. But in politics, you do have to raise money," Carpenter said.
He said about two dozen people, including campaign staff, attended the Wednesday breakfast at the members-only Alta Club. The guests were invited based on their previous support of the governor, Carpenter said.
"It was a pretty straightforward meeting," said Howard Headlee, president of the Utah Bankers Association, where the governor talked about upcoming fundraisers including golf and skeet shooting tournaments.
When several participants asked whether the governor would meet with contributors who couldn't attend those events, Headlee said it was made clear there would be no such opportunities to discuss issues.
"It was the governor himself who raised it as a sensitivity and something he wasn't going to tolerate," Headlee said. "The governor is totally sensitive based on Peter Corroon's tactics, and he's not going to let this happen again."
Corroon, now chairman of the Utah Democratic Party, was Herbert's 2010 general election opponent. He alleged the award of state contracts, including for a $1.7 billion I-15 rebuild, were influenced by campaign contributions to the governor.
Herbert, who ultimately won that election, denied the allegations and said he had no knowledge of a $13 million settlement quietly paid by the state to one of the losing bidders for the freeway project.
At the breakfast meeting Wednesday, Headlee said the governor told those gathered at the table, "we're not going to get into that quid pro quo again. … He was the guy who basically put his foot down."
The meeting followed Herbert's 45 percent to 55 percent loss at Saturday's Utah Republican Party State Convention to Overstock.com Chairman Jonathan Johnson. The race will be decided by voters in the June 28 GOP primary.
Johnson's campaign manager, Dave Hansen, had no comment about the governor's meeting with lobbyists. The most recent state filings from the candidates showed Herbert had about $800,000 available compared with just over $11,000 for Johnson.
University of Utah political science professor Tim Chambless said it will be up to voters to determine whether the meeting with lobbyists becomes a campaign issue for the governor.
"It's a matter of perception," Chambless said. "This is all about power. And if you're the incumbent and you have the power, how do you use it? The voters will have to decide if that power is being used in an ethical way."
