The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a right to speak its mind during legislative sessions, but its most recent lobbying activities were probably "overkill," Gov. Norm Bangerter said Thursday.
Addressing the topic during and immediately after his monthly KUED press conference, the governor acknowledged the church's influence and said it had the same right as any other organization in America to exercise that influence.However, he said the church would have been better served at the Legislature by a simple, open statement of its position rather than applying political lobbying techniques. The church's most visible lobbying was done by Bangerter's former aide, Bud Scruggs, in opposition to the proposed pari-mutuel betting.
"Bud Scruggs was a mistake," Bangerter said. "It was overkill."
As for the church's influence on his own administration, the governor said, "I don't tell them what to do and they don't tell me what to do."