Salt Lake County Commissioner Brent Overson knows what President Clinton feels like when confronted with the angry attacks of Bob Dole.
Overson holds a strong lead in the polls over his opponents, including Democrat Paulina Flint. He believes his lead is the reason that his personality, not government, has become the focus of this rough-and-tumble race."I guess if you don't have any real issues and you don't have any real chance of winning, the best thing to do is to take potshots to bring down the front-runner with false allegations, rumors, innuendos, whatever you can find," he said.
But Flint says the biggest problem in county government these days is the way Overson subverts the public process. She pointed to the recent secret meeting between Overson, colleague Randy Horiuchi and several members of the Utah Transit Authority Board. The meeting led to an attempt by board members to fire UTA General Manager John Pingree.
"That absolutely ignores public process," said Art Kimball, Flint's campaign adviser, who spoke on behalf of Flint.
Flint also cites Overson's attempts in several county commission meetings to silence Salt Lake County Attorney Doug Short when he objected to decisions the commission made.
"He's done that to a lot of people. He has a proclivity to disallow public comment," said Kimball, who has also been asked by Overson to stop speaking at a public hearing. "If I get up and say I don't agree with him, I'm persona non grata. Anybody, I don't care who you are, if you disagree with Brent, you are persona non grata."
Flint's complaints about Overson highlight what she believes is the fundamental issue of this race: Which candidate will give the public a greater voice in county government.
Overson isn't surprised that his publicized fights with fellow Republican Short have become campaign fodder. Early in the campaign, he asked Republican bosses to chat with Short about the damage he may do to Overson. Overson has also repeatedly included questions about Short in polls his campaign commissioned to measure his popularity.
But Overson denies Flint's claim that he excludes the public in favor of the voices he wants to hear. As the chairman of the commission, he has to make certain that meetings remain focused and on schedule, he said. Sometimes he has asked people to limit their remarks or told them that their remarks were off the subject. "I have been firm," he acknowledged. But he has always invited public input, at hearings and in person, he said. He asked Kimball to stop speaking because Kimball was not a citizen who would be impacted by the topic of that public hearing, Overson said.
However, Overson has publicly lost his temper with Short, Short's staff and some public groups, such as the United Association of Community Councils.
Although third-party candidate Pearl Meibos is expected to carry a slim percentage of the vote, she has challenged Overson's integrity at almost every public debate, and her signs, "Stop the Corruption," have rankled Overson.
"This is the most negative campaign I've ever been involved in. I think the most important issues are public safety, more jail space, developing programs to prevent juvenile crime, increasing parks and recreation programs and providing more open space," said Overson. "I've tried to address those issues. But all I get are negative attacks from my opponents."
But Flint's refusal to accept campaign donations from any political action groups has muted her attacks. Refusing PAC money is a way of emphasizing the difference between herself and Overson, Kimball said. Flint believes Overson gives special treatment to special-interest groups who have supported him, particularly the South Mountain housing development in Draper.
By refusing donations from special-interest groups, Flint underscores her commitment to answer only to the public, not special-interest groups.
Her slim campaign purse has made it tough for her to broadcast that commitment. Flint has clashed both with Kimball and Salt Lake Democratic Party Chairman Joe Hatch over this issue. Both men have urged Flint, as recently as last week, to accept donations that would buy radio ads in the critical weeks of the election.
"She's adamant about not taking any money," Kimball said, praising her integrity and determination to call the shots in her own campaign.