The Commonwealth PAC had until Friday refused to say whether longtime Romney friend Don Stirling was still with the organization, giving rise to speculation he had been placed on leave for e-mails he sent alluding to a collaboration between Romney's potential 2008 presidential campaign and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
But PAC director Beth Myers told The Salt Lake Tribune Friday that Stirling remains in his position.
"There's no change in his status," Myers said. "He continues to be a finance consultant to the PAC. He was not put on leave or disciplined in any way."
Stirling was the author of two e-mails, first reported on by the Boston Globe, seeming to show collusion between Romney and a high-ranking LDS Church leader to set up a nationwide network of Mormons, including alumni associations of Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management, to boost Romney's presidential chances.
Church officials and Romney's PAC have denied any collaboration, though shortly after Romney political advisers and a top church official held a meeting in the faith's Salt Lake City offices, two Marriott School of Management deans sent an e-mail to supporters and alumni from their BYU work accounts soliciting volunteers and supporters for Romney.
Earlier this week, Commonwealth spokesman Jared Young would not confirm or deny Stirling's status, instead pointing to an ambiguous statement the PAC issued earlier saying Stirling had "overstepped his bounds" and the PAC had "taken appropriate action to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Stirling has not returned repeated calls this week to The Tribune. His assistant said he was not in the office this week.
The Globe, citing e-mails from Stirling the paper obtained, reported that key advisers to Romney had discussed with Jeffrey Holland, a member of the LDS Quorum of the Twelve, the idea of creating a nationwide web of Mormons to help Romney. One e-mail from Stirling suggested Holland had been appointed by the church or at least assumed the role as heading up the program they dubbed the "Mutual Values and Priorities" effort, or MVP.
Meanwhile, this week Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., also a Mormon, said using an alumni list from a college - the University of Utah, University of Pennsylvania or even BYU - "is what any candidate would do."
"But having someone affiliated with the institution intervene directly in some way is probably problematic territory," said Huntsman, who is backing Arizona Sen. John McCain's potential 2008 White House run.
Huntsman said he never used Mormon church membership lists in his campaign for governor.
Another prominent Mormon, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, said in a statement that, "I cannot speak for the Mormon Church, but it has been a long-standing policy of the church that its leaders do not become involved in partisan politics."
While Romney's PAC says Stirling has been a key adviser, Romney's political filings show only infrequent reimbursements for fund-raising expenses and one payment for "consulting" of $2,800 in August.
Stirling's address is still listed as being in Massachusetts, where he was working in Romney's administration as the head of the Massachusetts Sports and Entertainment Commission.
A press release issued last summer by the commission announcing Stirling's departure said he was returning to Utah as manager of Rainmaker Sports & Entertainment and listed his partners as Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller and Blake M. Roney, chairman of Nu Skin Enterprises.
Utah Department of Commerce records do not list Miller and Roney as company principals, but Rainmaker's offices are within Miller's corporate offices in Sandy.
And the company's registered agent is Robert D. Tingey, who is Miller's in-house counsel.
Romney and Stirling first met working on the 2002 Winter Games. Stirling was marketing director for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.
tburr@sltrib.com
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* MIKE GORRELL and REBECCA WALSH contributed to this story.
