This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Financial woes keep piling up for the Utah Republican Party, despite the GOP's dominance in state elections.
I wrote earlier about bill collectors contacting prominent Republicans trying to get someone to pay what the party owed from its 2015 and 2016 state conventions.
Party Chairman James Evans told me at the time that expenses to the South Towne Expo Center for 2015 and the Salt Palace for 2016 either had been paid or were in the process of being paid.
But a vendor who provided services to the party this year has filed a lawsuit in 3rd District Court against the GOP for nonpayment. Bountiful-based Redstone Design provided lanyards and identification cards for the GOP's convention last spring and duffel bags, caps, buttons and notebooks for delegates who went to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last summer.
Total bill: about $11,000.
Payment: Zero.
"I'm a Republican. I'm not trying to throw the party under the bus," said Redstone owner Steve Theobald. "But we're a small business, and it's hard to operate if we don't get paid.
Even if it were on a payment schedule over time, it would be OK. But we have received nothing, not even to reimburse us for our expenses."
Redstone sued in October and the party has not responded, according to court filings.
Evans said part of the problem is a lack of communication between party officials. He said he thought another company had provided those services and the Redstone bills "just fell through the cracks."
He said he would ensure Redstone would be paid, but added that part of the blame goes to powerful Republican officials who have discouraged traditional donors from giving money to the party.
"Normally this could be taken care of pretty easily," Evans said. "But because of efforts to deprive the party of money, it has become more difficult. I appreciate the fact that the [Donald] Trump folks have reached out to help us raise money so we can make good on all our commitments."
Evans was referring to national GOP operatives close to the president-elect's campaign who apparently have offered to help the state party with donations.
Part of the financial problem can be traced to resentment from GOP factions over the party's lawsuit that targeted the Legislature's passage of a compromise bill providing two paths to the primary ballot — the caucus-convention system or the gathering of signatures.
Some Republican legislators have questioned why they should contribute to a party that is suing them.
Other traditional donors have said they wanted their donations to go to efforts to elect Republicans, not to fight a lawsuit.
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Alternate elector? • Democratic Party activist Weston Clark shared on Facebook his 6-year-old son Xander's contribution to the assignment given to his first-grade class.
Class members were asked to write to the new president-elect about their hopes and dreams.
Wrote Xander: "Dear Trump. Can you leave?"