When his office suspected fellow Republican Summit County Attorney David Brickey did not actually live in Summit County, Shurtleff moved swiftly to right the wrong.
Brickey maintained he had a condominium in Park City, where he and his family spent most of their time and his children went to school. But the A.G. was not to be deterred. He filed legal motions to remove Brickey from office. Brickey retained attorney Dan Berman, the litigation battle ensued - consuming reams of motions and counter-motions - and, in the end, 2nd District Judge Thomas Kay ruled in favor of Brickey.
Contrast that with the attorney general's investigation of an elections fraud complaint stemming from last year's race for Daggett County sheriff.
That would be the same Daggett County sheriff, Rick Ellsworth, who left one deputy - who spent much of the day throwing up in the bathroom - to guard 120 inmates, including two murderers whose escape Sept. 23 went unnoticed for several hours.
Ellsworth, a Republican, defeated Democratic incumbent Allen Campbell in a photo-finish election fraught with allegations that Republican County Clerk Vickie McKee allowed people from all over the state and parts of Wyoming, many of whom were relatives of Ellsworth, to register and vote in Utah's tiniest county. Conversely, the votes of many Campbell supporters who actually do live in Daggett County allegedly were thrown out as ineligible.
Although the attorney general has had the complaint for a year, nothing has happened. After the escape, one Daggett County resident sent a letter to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. requesting he launch a state investigation of the voting irregularities.
The governor's office promptly forwarded the complaint to the Attorney General's Office.
Consulting the guru: Dick Morris, the former political adviser to President Clinton who resigned in the 1990s amid a call-girl and toe-sucking scandal, subsequently repented his wayward ways, including being a Clinton supporter. Now a regular Sean Hannity buddy on Fox News, he's joined Utah's voucher fight.
Morris contacted the pro-voucher Parents for Choice in Education recently and offered his expertise in campaign strategies, said PCE's Joe Hunter. He said Morris is not a full-time consultant, but lent his counsel to the campaign several days ago. Hunter said he doesn't know how much Morris was paid, but doubted it was much.
Changing with the times: The National Conference of Community and Justice formerly was called the National Conference of Christians and Jews, a decades-old organization dedicated to bringing different cultures together for a common understanding.
The NCJJ locally is well known for its retreats named Anytown (for high school students) and Everytown (for adults) that focus on tolerance and understanding.
That goal has prompted another name change - to the Inclusion Center for Community and Justice.
An open house celebrating the new name will be held today, 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Westminster College's Walker Hall.
prolly@sltrib.com
