The formal complaint deputy state Treasurer Richard Ellis filed against fellow Republican Mark Walker last week brings back memories of a similar controversy involving the state treasurer's race 20 years ago.

Ellis and Walker are vying for the Republican nomination in hopes of replacing Treasurer Ed Alter, who is retiring after 28 years in the job.

Ellis last week alleged in his complaint filed with the Utah lieutenant governor's office that Walker had offered to retain him as chief deputy and give him a $160,000 job if he would drop out and let Walker have the nomination and, presumably, the election.

That is illegal, under state law, and Walker has denied it.

When Alter was running for his third term in 1988, he faced a strong challenge from popular Salt Lake County Treasurer Art Monson, who actually was leading in the polls in the final weeks of the campaign.

Alter summoned me, a state government reporter at the time, with the lure of an important story. He then showed me names of folks who had attended a political fundraiser for Monson in New York. Alter claimed Monson had violated election laws because he had not disclosed those donations in his campaign finance report.

I balked at doing the story when Alter said he couldn't be quoted or tied to leaking the information. It also was unclear by the dates of the donations whether Monson was required to report them then, or in a later reporting period.

A few days later, with a week to go before the election, a woman named Linda Tracy, acting as her own attorney, filed a lawsuit in 3rd District Court, claiming Monson violated state election laws by failing to declare contributions from that June fundraiser.

The allegations in the lawsuit were identical to what Alter claimed during our meeting.

After the lawsuit was filed, Alter ran campaign ads on the radio that alluded to the lawsuit and questioned Monson's integrity.

Alter won a close race. Later, a judge dismissed the lawsuit as frivolous.

Incestuous Utah politics? If the lieutenant governor's office finds merit in Ellis' complaint against Walker, it will be turned over to the Utah attorney general's office to investigate and possibly prosecute.

Lovely.

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is co-hosting a fundraiser Friday for Walker, along with Senate President John Valentine and House Speaker Greg Curtis, at the Alta Club. The suggested donation to Walker's campaign is $500 a head.

rolly@sltrib.com