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Utah's House Democrats want their freshman colleague, Rep. Justin Miller, to resign amid accusations he stole campaign funds from Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams.
They believe a lengthy criminal investigation, along with Miller's refusal to defend himself publicly, has "significantly impaired" his ability to serve in the Legislature, according to House Minority Leader Brian King, who represented the 12-member caucus in a news conference Monday.
King, D-Salt Lake City, also believes the scandal has reduced public confidence in state lawmakers.
"We want to make sure that this does not continue to undermine the credibility of elected officials here at the Legislature," King said at the Utah Capitol. "That is why we are acting."
Miller has no plans to immediately step aside.
"It is unfortunate that, despite an ongoing investigation, the House Democrats have rushed to judgment and called for my resignation," he said shortly after the Democrats' announcement. "I take their position on this matter very seriously and will be taking the next several days to discuss with family the next actions to take."
House Republicans, so far, have left this matter in the hands of the Democrats, but House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, had a "very frank conversation" with Miller late last week, according to Greg Hartley, Hughes' chief of staff.
"The speaker told him," Hartley said, "that his priorities need to be to his family and, as a member of the House of Representatives, protecting the integrity of the institution — and with that in mind, act accordingly."
King said he privately asked Miller to step down Wednesday. Miller urged the Democrats to wait until the criminal probe concludes. King, Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City, and Miller met again in King's law office Sunday. Miller brought financial documents that, he believes, show that while he may have made accounting errors, he didn't embezzle any money from McAdams.
King and Briscoe left unpersuaded.
"It raised as many unanswered questions as it answered," Briscoe said. "There were so many holes in it."
Briscoe noted some Democrats have said they plan to run for Miller's District 40 seat next year. That includes Amy Fowler, a public defender, who ran against Miller in 2014 and lost at convention.
Fowler said she's not jumping into the race because of this controversy, but added that the accusations "reminded me of the reasons I want to run. It made me think why we need more voices, different voices and different perspectives on the Hill."
Miller isn't thinking as much of the next campaign as he is about the current Legislature. He asked King to launch "a legislative inquiry into the claims against me," believing the results of such a probe would prove his case.
At this point, King said, Miller is unlikely to face a House ethics investigation, since the accusations stem from actions that took place before Miller became a state lawmaker.
These allegations burst into public view a month ago, when it came to light that Miller intends to sue Salt Lake County for wrongful termination.
McAdams, joined by Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, a fellow Democrat, promptly held a news conference arguing that Miller performed poorly in his role as associate deputy mayor and may have, as McAdams' campaign manager, illegally taken funds. The Democratic mayor also released a secretly recorded conversation in which he and campaign adviser Donald Dunn confronted Miller, who acknowledged he wrote a $24,000 check to himself that he needed to repay.
Miller has said it was a mistake involving a caterer who wouldn't take American Express.
He has claimed that McAdams fired him from his county job last October, not due to this money dispute but because Miller raised questions about a government contract obtained by Exoro Group, a public-relations firm with ties to McAdams' campaign.
Gill looked into that matter and said it has no merit. He forwarded the embezzlement accusations to Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings, who also said he will review Miller's claims against McAdams. Rawlings is waiting on the Salt Lake City police department, which received the case last October, sent a series of subpoenas last week and doesn't expect to wrap up its investigation for at least two months.
McAdams said he was "gratified" by the House Democrats asking Miller to step down, adding that he looked forward to the conclusion of the police probe.
"As a victim of Justin's misconduct, I want this to be resolved as quickly as possible, not only for me and for Salt Lake County constituents but also for Justin's family," the county mayor said in a statement.
Peter Corroon, chairman of the Utah Democratic Party, wouldn't go as far as King and the House Democrats. Instead of asking Miller to resign, Corroon said: "We urge him, if he has information to exonerate himself, to release the information to the public as soon as possible."
Miller has said little since the dueling accusations surfaced, leaving his friends and top Democrats to grow increasingly impatient. Miller said he wasn't talking on the advice of his attorney. But he offered another explanation Monday for his silence and, at the same time, criticized the pace of the police investigation.
He noted that Exoro owner Maura Carabello is dating former Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank, who resigned last week under pressure from Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker. He also suggested that Burbank slowed the investigation to make it hard for Miller to address the accusations publicly, though nothing has legally stopped Miller from talking to party insiders or the news media.
"I encourage Mayor Becker, now with better police leadership, to call for a speedy end to my investigation," Miller said. He also called for "a further ethics investigation into the role Chief Burbank played in the delay."
Becker declined to comment.
Burbank called Miller's claim "absurd," saying his relationship with Carabello has no bearing on the case. McAdams brought the matter to Burbank's attention last fall, and he passed it to detectives. He hasn't tracked the probe much since then.
"It is not something that is on my personal radar," he said. "I have nothing to do with it."
Burbank said he does know the investigation stalled as Gill grew concerned about a conflict of interest, since the case involves prominent Salt Lake County officials. That's why Davis County's Rawlings is overseeing it now.
House Democrats didn't take into account Miller's accusations involving McAdams and Exoro, saying that was outside of their purview. King said they were concerned about Miller's actions only and the decision to ask him to quit was unanimous. Then he added: "Well, Representative Miller doesn't agree with our action."