First it was racial gaffes, now Buttars loses chairmanship

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Sen. Chris Buttars has been stripped of his chairmanship of the Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee, which screens the governor's nominees for the bench, and replaced by Sen. Greg Bell.

Senate President John Valentine announced the change Monday, but would not say why the decision was made, beyond noting that it is the prerogative of the president to select committee leaders.

The abrupt ouster comes amid controversy over a letter Buttars, who chaired the committee since 2002, wrote to a judge supporting a friend and political supporter locked in a legal battle with Mapleton city. Buttars already has been under fire for racially charged comments he made on the Senate floor Feb. 12.

As The Tribune reported a week ago, the West Jordan Republican wrote a letter last May scolding 4th District Judge Derek Pullan after the judge ruled against developer Wendell Gibby, a prominent Buttars campaign donor, in a land dispute with the city of Mapleton.

Gibby wants to build 60 homes on 120 acres he owns in the foothills above the city, and has been in an ongoing legal dispute with the city over the zoning of the land.

In his letter on state Senate letterhead, Buttars reminded the judge that he headed the Senate committee that confirms judges and that he had been "subject to some criticism for having supported your confirmation."

But accusing the judge of "bias" in the case of Mapleton v. Gibby, Buttars, who is not an attorney, said the court's decision "lacks statutory support."

Buttars continued, "I had hoped that we had appointed a judge that would err on the side of individual rights, not a liberal activist judge who would champion government."

He went on to question the judge's integrity, concluding, ''I am embarrassed in this case to have supported your appointment.''

Reports of the letter, which the judge filed in the case as "ex parte communication," reportedly caused a stir in the legal community.

Retired University of Utah law professor John Flynn called Buttars' contact with the judge "far beyond the pale."

"No elected representative should engage in that kind of conduct, particularly if they have a position of power in the Legislature dealing with the judiciary," Flynn said. "It's just not an appropriate thing to do."

Jim Lundberg, a member of the Friends of Maple Mountain, said he was satisfied to know that Buttars' conduct in the Maple Mountain case would not go unchallenged.

"I am actually pleased that there are repercussions," Lundberg said. He said Buttars' attempts to meddle in the case deserve to be scrutinized.

Paul Boyden, director of the Statewide Association of Prosecutors, said he was not aware of the change until informed by The Tribune.

He had no comment on Buttars' action in the Mapleton case but had nothing but praise for Bell, who is an attorney.

"He is the best choice they possibly could have made," Boyden said.

Bell said he doesn't expect much to change in terms of how the committee runs under his leadership. He added that Buttars will remain a member of the committee.

Aside from the Mapleton matter, Buttars has been under a cloud for two weeks now after he said of a bill that he opposed: "This baby is black, I'll tell you. It's a dark, ugly thing."

The NAACP has called for Buttars to resign, but he has refused and said he plans to run for re-election. He attended the predominantly black Calvary Baptist Church on Sunday and asked the congregation's forgiveness.

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* DON MEYERS and DAN HARRIE contributed to this report.