This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

I start this column out with a correction and an apology to the Republican majority in the Utah State Senate for my statements in last Saturday's column that the Legislature deliberately delayed the confirmation of State Tax Commission Chairman John Valentine so he wouldn't resign sooner and leave an opening for candidates to appear on the ballot.

Had Valentine resigned from the Senate before Aug. 31, his seat could have been on the ballot for other candidates, both Republican and Democrat, to run against each other.

Because he resigned after Aug. 31, in fact just last Monday, Sept. 29, it is not possible for other candidates to appear on the general election ballot and his successor will be determined by a special election among the Repuiblican delegates in his Utah County district later this year.

I said his confirmation didn't come up in the August Interim Committee meetings, which would have been before the Aug. 31 deadline to put candidates on the ballot.

My mistake: There was no August Interim Committee meetings. The legislators usually take one month off each year to attend national meetings such as the National Conference of State Legislatures.

So there was no opportunity for the Senate to confirm Valentine.

I actually talked to two senators and a Senate staffer prior to my column about the issue, but because I neglected to ask the question and just assumed there was an August day of meetings, they didn't think to tell me.

Call it Murphy's law.

That said, Valentine could have resigned from the Senate before his confirmation to the Tax Commission by the Senate, since there was little doubt the senator, popular with his colleagues whom he had previously served as their Senate president, would win confirmation once the opportunity to vote on him arrived.

Gov. Gary Herbert announced as early as Aug. 3 he was nominating Valentine for the position and the fact that Valentine didn't resign until late September creates a number of obstacles for the Senate and the Republican Party.

One of the candidates running for Valentine's Senate seat is Rep. Kevin Stratton, R-Orem.

Two other hopefuls who have let it be known they are in the race for the Senate seat are former State Rep. Ken Sumsion and former Utah County Republican Finance Chairman Alvin Jackson.

If Stratton were to win the race among the delegates, he would have to resign his House seat and the process would have to be repeated among the delegates in his district to choose a new House member. That process would have to be repeated after the first of the year since it will be a new Legislature, so the House membership chosen by the delegates this year would expire at the beginning of the 2015 legislative session.

Because of the confusion that would arise if Stratton, say, were chosen by the delegates before the election and he would be on the ballot as a house candidate while already serving in the Senate, the Utah County Republican Party has decided to wait until Nov. 15, nearly two weeks after the general election, to choose Valentine's successor.

That means Senate District 14, which will be vacant for a month and a half, will have no representation when the Legislature meets in interim session Oct. 15.

And, because the Senate will have its leadership elections Nov. 6, two days after the general election, Senate District 14 will not have a vote for the new Senate leaders.

That probably is not a big deal since Senate President Wayne Niederhauser and his leadership team seem popular with the members and seem to have no serious opposition.

But if one were to arise, who knows? There have been several leadership elections in the Senate and the House that have been decided by one vote.

One year, Reps. Marty Stephens and David Ure tied in their race for Speaker of the House and had to have a runoff.