A chance to win a free night at Karl and Kay Malone's bed and breakfast. Free meals, some with cliff diving. Dancing to a big band.

All are incentives to 2nd Congressional District Republican delegates to meet with GOP candidates Jeff Wright, Rep. Merrill Cook and Derek Smith.As Saturday's state Republican convention nears, the pressure builds on the 1,126 GOP district delegates who will vote on the three men there and on the three men's campaigns.

And subtlety is going out the window as the three camps exchange charges of "set up" debates and "no shows" at legitimate forums before delegates.

Meanwhile, in the background considerable sums of money are being spent.

Smith, who co-owns an Internet application firm, has put $330,000 of his own money into his race in the past month, about $200,000 of it going into TV advertisements.

Wednesday night he's meeting with delegates and friends at Larry H. Miller's Jordan Commons, where after Smith addresses them in a theater the group moves over to Miller's new Mayan Restaurant for food and cliff diving. (Professionals cliff dive; delegates eat.)

Wright, also a millionaire, has spent $70,000 recently on contacts with delegates, including a Tuesday night bash in Sandy with the Joe Muscolino Orchestra in Miller's Entrepreneurship Training Center. Miller, the owner of the Utah Jazz, is not endorsing either man, but it's interesting how the popular Miller's name keeps coming up in the campaigns' entertainment invitations.

Wright also offers a drawing to any interested party, the winner at the GOP convention getting a stay at the Malones' Wolfe Krest Inn on Capitol Hill.

Cook must love pies, because he's held upward of 50 delegate breakfasts and lunches at various Frontier Pie restaurants around the valley over the past several weeks.

If you're a delegate, the three camps have been calling you and calling you and calling you.

Cook, believing he can outdebate newcomers Wright and Smith, says he's looking for any opportunity to go toe-to-toe in front of delegates.

When a debate offer is made, Cook's staff starts calling delegates asking them to show up at the meeting. That's led to some confusion and anger, as Cook appears but Wright and Smith don't.

In one case, Wright and Smith yelled foul, believing they were "set up" by Cook supporters.

Wright's campaign officials wonder if a "debate" arranged last week at Vintage Square was a cloak of the Cook campaign itself -- as was a debate put on by U.S. Senate GOP candidate Greg Hawkins last week. Wright and Smith didn't show up at either, leaving Cook aide Richard Snelgrove to say the two are afraid to debate the incumbent. "The debate was not set; it was legitimate," says Snelgrove.

"We never agreed to (debate) Merrill at his own campaign headquarters. And we didn't agree to appear at Hawkins' event, because Hawkins has his own agenda that we won't go along with," said Wright.

Some of the debate invitations came late, he adds. "I'll debate Merrill Cook any time, any place. But it has to be a public setting where all three of the candidates agree to appear, and not with just two hours notice," adds Wright.

Todd Thorpe, Smith's campaign manager, said Smith would have appeared at both the Vintage Square and Hawkins' debates but was informed of them too late to change his already-set campaign schedule. "But we're not interested in anything where he plants delegates for a "debate" that is really a Merrill Cook love-fest," said Thorpe.

"We appeared at a Republican Women debate Monday afternoon, even though we found out about it late, because we could make it. Derek wants to show the differences between himself " and Cook and Wright, Thorpe said.

Snelgrove says that Wright and Smith showed up late at a West Jordan debate last week, driving around the building in their cars until enough delegates showed up. "When about 90 delegates showed, then they came in" and a debate was held, Snelgrove said.

View Comments

Snelgrove agrees that the Cook campaign does have a telephone operation in the basement of one of the Vintage Square buildings. But the debate, organized by a group of delegates, not by the Cook campaign, was held in the foyer of another building in the complex, not at the Cook headquarters, Snelgrove said. The other camps question that assertion.

"Merrill showed up. The other guys didn't. That's because Merrill knows the issues and does well in debates. They don't," said Snelgrove.

Wright said he likes the contrast that his campaign has against Cook and does not fear joint appearances. "But we won't play into the agenda of Hawkins and Cook, nope."

You can reach Bob Bernick Jr. by e-mail at bbjr@desnews.com

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.