House Speaker Marty Stephens says growing frustration about Gov. Mike Leavitt has the northern Utah banking executive thinking hard about running against the state's most popular elected official.
Some people perceive the governor has a "preoccupation with style over substance" said Stephens, R-Farr West. Numerous people have asked him to consider a run at the office, so he is.Escalating tensions between the two state leaders led to private discussions that became public this week while Leavitt was out of town at meetings of the Republican Governors Association in California.
"I was hopeful that we could we could work these things out behind the scenes," Stephens said Friday. "That we could go and sit down with the governor and see what changes needed to be made or what we need to do about this."
It is unclear who called who and who first talked to the media, a fact contested by GOP House leaders and members of the governor's staff. But the discussions this week illustrates an undercurrent of tension between the two camps.
"There has been a high degree of frustration with the current administration about how the state is being led and how the (GOP) party is being led," said House Majority Leader Kevin Garn, R-Layton.
House leadership has estimated that 60 percent of House GOP members would support Stephens' run for the office, Garn said, and backing for Stephens extends into state government, the business community and local leaders throughout the state.
Neither Garn nor Stephens will talk specifically about frustrations over Leavitt, who continues to have a record level of popularity with the general public.
"We don't want to go public with the disagreements we've had, we just know frustration has been growing and that a lot of people think it may be time for a change," Garn said.
Despite Garn's aggressive words, Stephens won't say for sure that he's running. "I'm not convinced yet that it's a winnable fight. And I'm not yet convinced that there wouldn't be some way that things could be worked out with the governor."
But the two are clearly butting heads.
Stephens accused Leavitt's staff of alerting the media about Stephens consideration of the office and said the governor was trying to spin Stephens' efforts as a "right-wing wacko issue." In the past, Stephens has rejected Leavitt's proposals to keep guns out of schools, churches and private homes and the two have disagreed on other points.
"This is not a gun issue. I have not talked to the NRA about this. Although I know he's going to frame this as a right-wing wacko issue."
But Vickie Varela, Leavitt's deputy chief of staff said nothing was discussed with the governor until lawmakers and concerned parties called the governor in California Wednesday.
"We started hearing from legislators and other political players Wednesday that this whole thing was being launched," Varela said. "The people we heard from were blindsided. That's how the governor found out about it."
So the governor called Stephens, Varela said. "The governor expressed his surprise."
"We're continuing on course for a very big agenda," Varela said. "We simply don't know if it is something to be taken seriously yet."
Still, it may make the next legislative session more difficult. "We had expected this will be a difficult legislative session to begin with. The governor has education as his top priority and he is looking for significant education spending."
Early on, it looked like the Legislature might be willing to spend for education, "but it does not appear at this time that Marty will support the governor in a strong education package."
The Utah Education Association's relationship with the House Speaker has been off and on, said UEA executive director Susan Kuziak. While he has supported some school issues and listens to the UEA, he's not 100 percent aligned with everything the 19,000-member union values -- "but I don't think anyone is," she said.
Last week, Leavitt and Stephens clashed publicly in a meeting of the Constitutional Defense Council, which advises Leavitt on legal strategy. In the recent meeting, Stephens, who sits on the council, was upset that Leavitt, who chairs the panel, did not share certain legal documents with him on the issue of suing the federal government over the Grand Staircase-Escalante Management Plan.
Stephens nipped at Leavitt's heels repeatedly through the meeting, irritating the governor in front of the council and about a dozen members of the public. Stephens then left the meeting.
Garn says Stephens' decision wasn't based on a single event. "It's something that's been growing," he said.
After last year's legislative session, Stephens said he was approached by conservative House members and asked to consider a run at the office. He dismissed the suggestion but reconsidered later when he started getting calls from "people who are not on the fringes," he said.
"I think it's an indication of the growing concern and there's a certain level of dissatisfaction," said Susan Koehn, R-Woods Cross, a member of a group of moderate Republicans in the House. "I think it's an indication that people may be ready to consider a change."
"Does Marty Stephens have a chance? I don't know," said Scott Simpson, executive director of the Utah Republican Party. "The governor is well-liked. It would be a tough, tough campaign for Marty."
The discussion does make Simpson a little anxious about workings of the party. "It would be great to have 100 percent unity in this party, but we're a party of individuals. We'll work this out."