So far, 35 former Utah lawmakers -- Republican and Democrat -- have endorsed the ethics reform initiative that has now come under heavy fire from many sitting legislators and GOP politicos.
Former Republican Gov. Olene Walker, flanked by several ex-legislators, told a small crowd Tuesday on Capitol Hill that the time had come for Utahns to get meaningful ethics legislation.
"For 30 years I have watched ethics legislation not escape the rules committee," Walker said. "And a few that do pass allow the relationships between lobbyists and legislators to continue."
Walker's support for the citizen-led ethics measure -- advanced by a group called Utahns for Ethical Government -- puts her at odds with many of her friends in her party and on the Hill.
"It is with some degree of personal conflict that I am here," Walker said, "because we are on opposite sides of the ethics legislation."
This past weekend, the Republican state central committee voted 102-to-1 to oppose the initiative as heavy-handed and punitive to legislators who are in the midst of crafting their own reforms.
However, former Democratic state Sen. Karen Shepherd, who also served one term in the U.S. House, sees that perspective as part of the problem.
"It's basically a matter of common sense," Shepherd said. "People in power are in a conflict of interest when it comes to monitoring their own actions."
Both the 21-page initiative and a draft 35-page bill before the Legislature would create an independent advisory commission to investigate ethics complaints against sitting lawmakers. However, backers of the separate measure have not found common ground.
"They have a purely cosmetic piece of legislation that does not establish independence in any way," former Republican state Sen. Karl Snow said of the Legislature's current effort.
On the heels of Republican leaders passing a resolution to dissuade people from signing the initiative's petitions, Snow urged Utahns "of all political persuasions" to do just that -- 95,000 signatures are needed by April 15 to get the measure on next November's ballot.
Democrat Karl Swan, who served in the state Senate for 20 years, commented on the push-back from those in power.
"It's so paranoid in a way," Swan said. "This can do nothing but good and won't do harm to anyone who's honest, ethical and plays by the rules -- which really haven't been spelled out too well."
