Estimated read time: 1-2 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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 — Rep. David Lifferth, R-Eagle Mountain, backed off statements Friday that he made on his blog suggesting that Gov. Gary Herbert has a preferred site for a new state prison.
"I may have misunderstood it," Lifferth said of the conversation he had with the governor Wednesday at an open house for lawmakers after his State of the State speech. "Maybe I was just hearing everything I wanted to hear."
Herbert spokesman Marty Carpenter said in a statement the governor had casual conversations with a number of legislators and Lifferth "misunderstood the nature of the governor's comments."
Carpenter said "like many Utahns, the governor is thinking through the benefits and drawbacks of the potential sites for the new prison, but he is not taking a position at this time as to which site he believes is the best."
Lifferth posted on his blog Thursday that the governor told him "the wisest location" for relocating the Utah State Prison in Draper is a site near the Salt Lake International Airport" and it "would not be wise to put the prison in Eagle Mountain."
I may have misunderstood it. Maybe I was just hearing everything I wanted to hear.
–Rep. David Lifferth, R-Eagle Mountain
He also posted that Herbert said the prison "may end up staying at the Draper site, but that may not be the wisest choice."
Both the west airport and Eagle Mountain sites are currently on the Legislature's Prison Relocation Commission shortlist, along with a site in Tooele County. Commission members are expected to review other possible sites at their next meeting on Feb. 6.
Lifferth said after talking with members of the governor's staff, he now believes he should not have have shared what was a private conversation. "I was out of bounds by saying too much about it publicly," he said.
