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A South Jordan City councilman is being sued for defamation after he accused a one-time opponent of bribery.
Andrew Petersen filed the lawsuit Monday in 3rd District Court against Chuck Newton, the incumbent from District 2.
In August, Newton wrote a letter to city officials claiming city council candidate Petersen offered him $10,000 to drop out of the race so that Petersen could replace him on the November ballot.
Petersen claims in the court filing that the allegations aren't true — and that Newton has cast him "in a false light, impugned his integrity, damaged his reputation among voters and the public at large, [and has] damaged his business relationships."
Petersen is seeking at least $300,000 in monetary damages, along with a court order prohibiting Newton from making any other defamatory statements.
No court date had been set as of Wednesday.
Petersen claims in court papers that he did meet with Newton on Aug. 13 — two days after the primary election — at his home to discuss the election results.
Newton asked for Petersen's endorsement, but Petersen never offered that endorsement and didn't offer him money, according to the complaint.
"Plaintiff [Petersen] never offered defendant Newton $10,000 in exchange for withdrawing from the campaign," the complaint reads.
Newton claims in his letter that Petersen told him the money would go towards Newton's run for mayor in 2017.
Newton said that Petersen offered him $5,000 now for a political campaign contribution and another $5,000 in 2017, when he actually gets into the mayor's race.
Newton's letter was turned over to the South Jordan city attorney and police department. It has been referred to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office.
District Attorney Sim Gill confirmed that his office had received the complaint and is determining whether to launch a formal investigation.
Newton finished second by 34 votes in the primary to challenger Brad Marlor. The two will square off in November.
Twitter: @jm_miller