In prepared testimony delivered in a closed hearing, Bird said Hughes had approached her supervisors in the Utah Office of Education and questioned why she would challenge him.

She said her bosses were clear that they supported her right to run, but “it was also crystal clear to me that my supervisors felt there could be repercussions.”

Hughes heads the House Education Committee, which oversees public schools.

"I feared both for my continued employment, and I feared the consequences to the [office of education] and the board if I made the decision to run," Bird said.

One of her supervisors, Carol Lear, legislative director for the state school board, recounted the exchange in prepared testimony. She said Hughes approached her and two other officials from the state office after a committee meeting, asking why they were letting Bird run against him.

Hughes, Lear said, told them that letting Bird run “was not a way to build trust with the Legislature."

Both Bird and Lear were subpoenaed to testify. Lear said she would not have come willingly, fearing retaliation from lawmakers.

Bird said she was also approached multiple times before the filing deadline by Hughes' colleagues and urged not to run.

She said that House Majority Leader Dave Clark, R-Santa Clara, told her during the session that he owed his leadership position to Hughes' support, and he would not have sponsored legislation helping the school-trust lands if he had known Bird was going to take on Hughes.

Clark told the committee that those statements are "blatantly false." Clark said he was straight with Bird, telling her he would support Hughes no matter who ran against him. He said she asked how that affected the bill, and he told her it didn't change anything. Clark's bill passed the House 71-0.

Bird ran anyway and lost to Hughes at the Republican convention.

"During my candidacy, and even now, I felt and feel that challenging Representative Hughes put my personal employment at risk," she said. "I continue to have grave anxiety for my employer and the trust [lands] in the upcoming session."

Hughes' attorney, Thomas Karrenberg, said his client never talked to Bird before or during her challenge and never threatened her. "She's made lots of allegations that we contend are all untrue."

gehrke@sltrib.com