No incumbent Salt Lake County Republicans were booted from office during the GOP county convention Saturday, although several state House members do face challenges in a June 27 primary.
There will be no primaries for candidates vying for the brand-new Salt Lake County Council and mayor seats, with enough GOP convention delegates (at least 60 percent) uniting behind a single candidate in each race there. The Democrats will likewise have no primaries in county office races.U.S. Rep. Merrill Cook got some laughs Saturday when he admitted that he's put his foot in his mouth too often. But he's learning to be better, the embattled incumbent told the 1,400 delegates meeting in the Salt Palace.
Cook and GOP challengers Jeff Wright and Derek Smith will have their fate voted on May 6 in the state GOP convention. The trio briefly addressed the county convention because all of the 2nd Congressional District lies within the county.
Cook asked the rhetorical question if he'd put his foot in his mouth too often. Yes, replied the crowd (not rhetorically). Had he had bad press? Yes, was the answer again. But if Republicans next week don't send him out of the convention as the lone party nominee, then a $1 million Republican primary fight only helps Democratic 2nd District candidate Jim Matheson, Cook said.
Saturday's gathering of Republicans was lively but cordial. And it moved quickly. While convention chairwoman Enid Greene, a former U.S. congresswoman, put up with nine hours of haggling and revoting in the 1998 Salt Lake County GOP convention, this year the convention's business ended around 2 p.m.
And no one got arrested, as was the case two years ago, for trespassing for passing out literature illegally. At the end of the week, county party officials and Salt Palace officials agreed that some dissatisfied GOP delegates could pass out literature in the hallways and exhibit hall where candidates set up their booths.
That avoided a potentially volatile situation.
Streamlining things further was the fact that delegates to Saturday's convention weren't in the mood to debate convention rules, platform planks or resolutions. All those items were taken care of relatively quickly.
When Mike Ridgway, who heads a group that's been battling county and state party officials over various rules and election procedures, tried to "resign" as county party secretary (Ridgway believes that a resignation by the previous secretary automatically put him in the office he lost in a county convention a year ago), Greene ruled him out of order. And delegates loudly upheld a challenge to her ruling.
It spelled the end of the kind of intra-party squabbling that painfully extended the 1998 meeting of county Republicans.
Still, the day was disappointing for many candidates who couldn't force a primary for the new county mayor and council offices and for losers in the Utah House and Senate seats whose districts lie wholly in the county.
Many candidates, that is, but not all. Current County Recorder Nancy Workman breezed through convention with only token resistance from Calvin Reed Brown and none at all from Frank Irish, who didn't bother showing up.
Brown, however, provided some variety to the stump speeches, taking the lectern and momentarily bursting out into song. "If the Lord be willing . . . " he belted out.
"If I should accidentally win, I would probably ask Nancy Workman to be my vice president," he said.
Was she nervous? Workman was asked. "I'm only nervous about getting out of here in time for our horse thing Sunday morning," she said. Workman raises and shows horses.
In County Council at-large Seat A, former county and state party chairman Richard Snelgrove beat out newcomer Alan Blood and long-time party insider Michael Montgomery for the chance to go against former county commissioner Randy Horiuchi.
(Montgomery's name recognition may have suffered a bit when former county party chair Bill Quist, in nominating him, called him "Mike Ridgway" -- twice.)
In at-large Seat B, familiar candidate Steve Harmsen (he has run for Salt Lake mayor, Salt Lake County Commission and the 2nd Congressional District in recent years) avoided a primary by beating Robert Bergman and Les Titus, despite the latter's catchy "Les is More" campaign slogan.
House Minority Whip Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, fell just 1 percentage point short of eliminating KTALK conservative radio talk show host Patrick Henry Hansen in the District 49 race.
And Rep. David Hogue, R-Riverton, faces Randy Browning in a primary as well.
Rep. Dave Zolman, R-Taylorsville, eliminated two Republican challengers and avoids a primary.
Zolman has been a controversial figure in the House at times. He was challenged by more moderate Republicans, while Curtis was one of the leaders of the so-called "mainstream" Republican caucus in the body.
"When Zolman can win more than 60 percent (of the delegate vote) and avoid a primary and Greg is pulled into a primary (by a challenge from the right), this tells you that the Salt Lake County Republican Party is still pretty far to the right," said one former Utah House member.
Said another former legislator: "Sometimes crazy things happen here" in the county convention. "The right seems to take over." And if Republicans aren't careful, the electorate "will vote in a bunch of Democrats." --
GOP Gov. Mike Leavitt said he's "watched the delegate process intimately since 1974. And there are usually 20 percent of the delegates who are just plain mad, 10 percent to 15 percent have some issues, but they're willing to listen. And the rest -- 60 percent or so -- are good everyday Republicans who come and do their duty."
Earlier this year Leavitt -- who has several Republican challengers in next week's state convention -- joined with U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, who also faces re-election this year, in beginning a delegate recruiting program.
They began a canvass of former delegates to see if they would support Leavitt and Hatch. "But we gave that up, quit it. We found such widespread support that we figured we'd just go for a large turnout at the (Republican Party mass meetings, where delegates are picked) and count on the regular good mix" of delegates being elected. After weeks of meeting with state delegates in small groups, Leavitt believes he and Hatch were right about the delegate selection process this year -- not too many dissatisfied delegates were itching to kick out incumbent Republicans. --
And Republicans were feeling good Saturday. At a Friday night party-fund raiser, they raised more than $27,000, a record, said county party chairman John Rosenthal.
The fact that Ridgway and other unhappy Republicans didn't change the convention rules, get arrested or otherwise make a show left Rosenthal saying "I'm elated at how the convention went. We have a few primaries, but that's how the system works."
The convention nominated the following party candidates and primary finalists:
County offices
Mayor -- Nancy Workman
Council at-large A -- Richard Snelgrove
Council at-large B -- Steve Harmsen
Council District 2 -- Michael Jensen.
Council District 3 -- David Wilde.
Council District 4 -- Russ Skousen.
Council District 5 -- Winston Wilkinson.
Utah Senate races
District 5 -- Chris Buttars wins the nomination, eliminating two others, by just one vote.
District 8 -- Dennis Baird and Carlene Walker go to a primary.
Utah House races
District 22 -- John Hohlbauch and Jack Nielsen go to a primary.
District 24 -- Bruce Reading.
District 28 -- Rep. Afton Bradshaw.
District 29 -- Henry Bertoch.
District 31 -- Scott Romney.
District 34 -- Rep. Kory Holdaway.
District 35 -- Russell Johnson and Paul Walker go to a primary.
District 39 -- Rep. David Zolman.
District 41 -- Mark Steffensen.
District 42 -- Max Meng and Peggy Wallace go to a primary.
District 43 -- Rep. Wayne Harper.
District 48 -- Art Haddow and Dan Simons go to a primary.
District 49 -- Rep. Greg Curtis and Patrick Henry Hansen go to a primary.
District 50 -- Merlynn Newbold and Clark Reber go to a primary.
District 52 -- Rep. Dave Hogue and Randy Browning go to a primary.
You can reach Bob Bernick Jr. by e-mail at bbjr@desnews.com and Alan Edwards at alan@desnews.com