Wayne Watson has taken a leave of absence as chairman of the Utah County Republican Party while he runs for county attorney, but a group of elected officials and local GOP leaders say that's not enough.
Critics believe Watson is in violation of the county party constitution because he is a member of the party's steering committee and a Republican candidate for county attorney.According to the county party constitution, members of the steering committee should not publicly endorse or support any Republican candidate for office while the candidate is opposed by another Republican candidate for the same office.
Watson will face Deputy County
Attorney Kay Bryson in the primary this fall after he received 14 percent of delegate votes at the county convention Wednesday night. Bryson received 65 percent.
In a letter to Watson, some party officials said his leave of absence as county party chairman is not acceptable.
"It does not resolve the obvious conflict in . . . the party's constitution. Taking a leave of absence is an inadequate attempt to superficially address the problem."
An earlier letter, sent May 9, asked Watson to resign as party chairman or withdraw from the race. Watson announced his leave of absence that same day.
The second letter, sent last week, was signed by 17 county officials, local legislators and former county GOP chairmen and asks again for Watson's resignation or withdrawal from the race.
"I don't think a leave of absence will do it," said Commissioner Brent Morris, one official who signed the letter. "It doesn't remove him from the title of the job."
One party worker, who wished to not be identified, said the matter should be resolved within the party and didn't believe a letter was the solution to the problem.
Watson said the issue was thoroughly discussed in a party executive committee meeting and steering committee meeting and was resolved with his leave of absence.
Watson may be on a leave of absence, but his name still appears in the party's stationery letterhead, officials contend.
But, Watson said: "Anybody who is running for an office could run for county chairman. Anybody could have spent hundreds of hours and contributed personal expenses to further the goals of the Utah County Republican Party. Because they didn't and weren't interested enough is not my fault."
The letter states: "It is an insult to every standard of fair play to have the county delegates receive a letter designating you as still the party chairman. Failure to promptly stop and correct this mailing shows a willingness to only pay lip service to the party's principles."
But one party worker said those letters were formulated long before Watson announced his leave of absence and could not be changed.
"To hold the title of party chairman at the same time you are campaigning for office not only gives you an unfair advantage over other attorney candidates, it also sends a message to the public that compromising ethics is acceptable for our county leaders," the letter reads.
State Rep. Byron Harward, R-Provo, signed the letter a second time for the "fact that the chairmanship still existed and was prominently promoted" even though Watson had taken a leave of absence.
"I didn't think that what I understood of the leave of absence was being done. The whole idea is to eliminate conflict and his involvement in the nomination process. He ought not to be seeking to benefit from the process."
Watson said: "It's obvious that some who have signed the letter have reached public confidence while in public office, and I have no intention of standing for that. Some are concerned about me looking into those problems."