Utah House Speaker Marty Stephens says he will lead the National Conference of State Legislatures — one of two major local government associations — next year.
Stephens, R-Farr West, will replace Nebraska Speaker Douglas Kristensen, who resigned his state seat last month to become president of a local university.
Stephens had sought a leadership stepping-stone post at a NCSL conference a year ago. That slot would have lead to becoming president-elect in the July 2002 national convention.
But current NCSL leaders told him then his candidacy depended on a promise not to run for a major office in 2004, when he would be NCSL president, and so he dropped out of contention.
"I refused to make such a commitment on my political future," Stephens said Wednesday.
Stephens said he repeated his position when he received a call last week saying current NCSL leaders wanted to have him stand for election in Kristensen's place in a July 22 NCSL meeting. "And they accepted that," Stephens said.
Stephens said he will be unopposed in the election to be president of the large organization from July 2003 to July 2004.
Stephens is often mentioned as a GOP candidate for governor in 2004. Stephens' elevation within NCSL could also help his chances of being re-elected House speaker after this November's election. House Majority Whip Dave Ure, R-Kamas, has already announced he'll challenge Stephens for the top post. But GOP House members would be hard-pressed to push Stephens out of the speakership when he will lead NCSL just a year later.
NCSL says it is a bipartisan organization that serves nearly 7,500 legislators and their staffs from the nation's 50 states, its commonwealths and territories.