Tiani Coleman, the Salt Lake County Republican chairwoman, reiterated her position Thursday that the party's Salt Lake County Central Committee has met its legal obligations.
She charged that County Clerk Sherrie Swensen and District Attorney David Yocom, both Democrats, appear to be dragging the process out for political advantage.
Late Thursday, the district attorney's office delivered to Swensen a second opinion, again stating that the Republican's Central Committee has not followed its own by-laws by trying to substitute the name of Mayor Nancy Workman, who has dropped out of the race, with Ivory's name.
In its first opinion on Oct. 18, after consultation with the Utah Attorney General's Office, Chief Deputy Karl Hendrickson said:
"Until a vote and certification by the [Republican] county Central Committee officially occurs . . . Ellis Ivory cannot lawfully be placed on the ballot as the party's candidate."
Hendrickson's opinion followed an Oct. 13 request by Coleman to put Ivory - who is currently running a write-in campaign - on the ballot.
Coleman responded, "We still believe that my letter to you of Oct. 13, acting on behalf of the Central Committee to certify Ellis Ivory as the Republican candidate for county mayor, was valid and effective. . . . We have taken additional steps in this matter . . . [and] as a result, I hereby certify Ellis Ivory as the Republican replacement candidate for county mayor."
Coleman did not explain what those "additional steps" were, but said she had been authorized by the Central Committee to certify Ivory.
She does concede that the group has not met since Oct. 5, when it voted to withdraw its support for Workman. It voted to support Ivory, but did not vote on the question of replacing Workman's name on the ballot with his.
But, Coleman said, neither the DA nor the county clerk should advise the Republican Party on how to conduct its business. She would not comment on whether she would seek legal action if Ivory's name is not placed on the ballot.
"We don't want to be dealing with this the day before the election. The voters deserve to know if Ellis Ivory is a write-in candidate or if he's on the ballot," Coleman said.
csmart@sltrib.com
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Tribune reporter Thomas Burr contributed to this story
