The arrogance of power rears its ugly head once again. This is not an uncommon occurrence when power is concentrated in a small group of hands. And it is happening in Utah government right now.
Last July, Robert Gehrke, a reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune, sought records from the Utah attorney general’s office (under an open records request allowed by law) to determine whether an accusation by San Juan County Assessor Howard Randall against San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman had been investigated by the AG’s office. The accusation was that Lyman had abused the powers of his office by giving favorable tax assessments to his accounting business clients.
The attorney general’s office delayed responding to the request, then denied it, and refused to even explain why it had denied it. Knowing this behavior violated the law, Gehrke then appealed to the State Records Committee. Attorney General Sean Reyes asked for a private hearing to discuss the matter with the State Records Committee. The committee, whose mission is openness rather than secrecy, properly refused. Then, when the committee actually met, it sided with Gehrke and ordered the attorney general’s office to hand over the records.
Rather than comply with the legal request for the records and the State Records Committee’s order to turn them over, Reyes is now taking the matter to state court. Why is the attorney general refusing to comply with a legal records request? Why is he ignoring the directive from the committee charged under the law with settling such matters? Does the AG have something to hide?
The subject of the records request may be the sticking point here. Lyman has become a hero of the Republican Party after breaking the law by riding his ATV in a canyon closed to vehicular traffic. Lyman later admitted he made a mistake in leading the illegal protest. He was convicted by a jury of the federal crime and is scheduled to be sentenced next week.
Nevertheless, leading Republican politicians have supported Lyman in his illegal act. Rep. Mike Noel said Lyman’s act was not a crime. The Republican-dominated State Stewardship of Public Lands Commission voted to support Lyman’s appeal of his conviction. Rep. Ken Ivory urged the state to use taxpayer money to pay Lyman’s legal fees. Some Republican politicians, including Gov. Gary Herbert and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, offered to pay Lyman’s legal fees.
Could the reluctance to reveal the AG investigation of Lyman be related to the fact that Reyes will face Republican delegates next year to attempt to win a full term as attorney general? We already know Reyes is highly sensitive about satisfying the Republican Party. He sits on the Republican State Central Committee. He refused to participate in his own office’s defense of SB 54, likely to avoid offending the Republican party leadership and delegates. Moreover, he failed to investigate accusations against Beaver County Sheriff Cameron Noel when Noel was accused by his own deputies of choking a prisoner in his custody. Instead, he turned the case over to the Davis County prosecutor. Significantly, Noel is the son of Republican Rep. Mike Noel, a powerful legislator.
The state has been here before — attorneys general who use their office to play favorites. Both Mark Shurtliff and John Swallow have been accused of breaking the law, rather than upholding it, to serve personal, political interests. Are we sliding into that sinkhole again?
In a one-party state where there is less fear of re-election defeat, a vital brake on the behavior of politicians in office is removed. When some in the dominant party can reward each other with impunity, feather their own nests, or serve their own personal or partisan interests without fear of being caught, then such behavior goes on.
Arrogance in the face of the citizenry should be punished. Reyes should comply with the law, whether it helps or harms his party or him personally. Our state’s attorney general should be above reproach. The Phil Lyman case is just another example of how, in Utah, that is not the case.
Richard Davis is a professor of political science at Brigham Young University. He is the author of "The Liberal Soul: Applying the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Politics." His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of BYU.