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A complaint has been filed with the state elections office and law enforcement agencies asking for an investigation into whether Gov. Gary Herbert broke the law by expressing an eagerness to hold private meetings with lobbyists' clients provided they donate to his re-election bid.
The letter was sent Monday by Joshua Mills, a Republican and former mayor of Herriman from 2010 to 2013, who requested a thorough investigation by Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, who runs the state elections office, Attorney General Sean Reyes, and Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.
Mills said he is a supporter of Herbert's Republican opponent, Overstock.com chairman Jonathan Johnson, and he contacted the Johnson campaign about the complaint and the campaign provided him with additional information about Utah law before he sent his letter.
"The certainly didn't discourage it," said Mills, who provided a copy of the letter to The Tribune.
Herbert's campaign manager, Marty Carpenter, blasted the complaint as an underhanded tactic.
"Throughout this campaign, Jonathan Johnson and his political operatives have filed complaints, threatened lawsuits and called for investigations. All were found to be baseless and resulted in a waste of taxpayer money," Carpenter said. "Now they are hiding behind one of their supporters to make another D.C.-style character attack."
Johnson's campaign previously lodged a complaint with the lieutenant governor, accusing Herbert's campaign of fraud in its signature-gathering to get on the primary ballot, and filed another complaint accusing the Herbert campaign and state Sen. Todd Weiler of obtaining Johnson's voter registration and illegally posting it online. Both complaints were dismissed.
"Governor Herbert is committed to discussing issues that matter to Utah families like building a strong economy and preparing our students to succeed, not engaging in political games," Carpenter said.
As of Tuesday evening, state elections director Mark Thomas said his office had not seen the letter but would handle it like any other complaint if and when it arrives. He said a determination also would be made at that time if the office would have to recuse itself, since Cox was in attendance at Herbert's meeting with lobbyists and other supporters at the Alta Club last month.
Attorney General spokesman Dan Burton said that office also had not seen the letter and would screen it once it arrives.
"Rarely has a sitting governor so brazenly offered to sell favors in private meetings. Only an investigation will settle the truth of the matter and determine what was being proposed and what might have resulted," Mills wrote. "I believe this method of campaign fundraising is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to solicit bribery."
Herbert's statements at the meetings that there would be no quid pro quo for any donors is meaningless, Mills contends, because he also told the lobbyists, "We'll give you the results that you want."
"I don't think we've done anything unethical," the governor said Monday, explaining that he has to raise money to run and has asked people for support and posted the names of donors online. The fundraising, he said is "as legal as can be."
The controversy stems from a meeting Herbert held with lobbyists and supporters at the exclusive Alta Club days after Johnson beat him at the state Republican convention.
In an audio recording obtained by The Tribune, Herbert's campaign finance director, Liv Moffat, explains an arrangement where Herbert went to lobbyist Doug Foxley's office and met with seven of Foxley's clients for 20 minutes each. Each client brought in checks of about $5,000 for Herbert's re-election campaign.
Moffat said the campaign wants to raise $1 million before June 1, and Herbert explains that he would be handing off the job of running the state to his chief of staff and his lieutenant governor, Cox.
"However we want to do this. If we want to have multiple meetings or we sit down and talk and you give us a check later or before, however you would like to do it, I'll just say, I'm available. I'm Available Jones," Herbert said.
Available Jones is a character in the comic strip Li'l Abner who would provide any service for a price.
Herbert said Monday that he regrets the tone of the discussion and would change his approach in the future.
"I think we need to be more sensitive to the optics and how we do things, so I think we will, in fact, probably change, a little bit, the tone," the governor said.
Twitter: @RobertGehrke