Riverton City Council member and mayoral candidate Tawnee McCay broke state law with a campaign mailer she sent to residents in advance of the Aug. 12 primary, Utah election officials said.
On the mailer, a disclosure states: “Postage paid by the Utah Republican Party.” Although such an inclusion does not run afoul of state law, even in a nonpartisan race like Riverton’s mayoral contest, the campaign materials did omit a key detail that is required, according to the lieutenant governor’s office, which oversees Utah’s elections.
“While the mailer states who paid for postage, it does not say who paid for the mailer and whether or not it was authorized by the candidate,” office legal analyst Madilyn Topik said in a statement after The Salt Lake Tribune asked about the campaign material’s legality. “It is our practice in these cases to notify candidates not in compliance with [state law] that full compliance with the law is expected moving forward. This candidate will be notified, per our standard procedure.”
A recent mailer from Riverton mayoral candidate Tawnee McCay lacked a key disclosure, Utah election officials said. The Salt Lake Tribune redacted the address of this mailer's recipient.
The violation did not lead to any penalty beyond a reminder from election officials.
In a text message, McCay confirmed she received a notification from the lieutenant governor’s office and vowed to “be more careful in the future.”
After this story was originally published, The Tribune reported on two similar violations — one in Lehi and another in Hurricane. Election officials have since characterized the disclosure infractions as “a fairly common mistake.”
McCay, who is married to Republican state Sen. Dan McCay of Riverton, is one of three candidates vying for the mayor’s office. Fellow council member Tish Buroker and information technology professional John Scott are also running to replace Mayor Trent Staggs, who announced this year that he would not seek reelection. Staggs later joined President Donald Trump’s Small Business Administration.
Working with political parties is allowed
McCay’s mailer, a large two-sided postcard, featured photos of the council member posing with her family and various business and government leaders. It also mentioned her eight years on the City Council and highlighted the city’s fiscal health and success in supporting the Mountain View Village shopping mall.
A recent mailer from Riverton mayoral candidate Tawnee McCay lacked a key disclosure, Utah election officials said.
McCay said she reimbursed the Utah GOP for the postage.
“As a lifelong Republican, the Utah Republican Party’s postage permit is available to me and every other Republican candidate,” she said. “The message on the mailer centered on my financial expertise and how I have saved Riverton residents money during my time on the council.”
The Riverton race — and all municipal elections throughout the Beehive State — is nonpartisan. When voters go to the polls, they won’t see party designations next to candidates’ names.
Tawnee McCay smiles for the camera in an undated headshot.
Despite that rule, state Republican Party Chair Robert Axson said political parties can still assist in electing nonpartisan candidates they feel will uphold the party’s ideals and platform. It’s up to candidates in those races, he said, to decide if they want to align with a political party during a campaign.
“By affiliating with us in a mailer,” Axson said, “then the candidate is showing a degree of affinity for or allegiance to those principles, so they need to make that decision.”
The Utah GOP makes its nonprofit discounted postage rate available to registered Republicans, he said, including those running in nonpartisan races. Candidates interested in using that discount can submit a request to the party via a form that requires requesters to make a donation to the state GOP for the total cost of their mailer once it is approved. Axson said the party does not pay for the distribution of negative campaign mailers.
Topik, the state election official, confirmed that all candidates are allowed to pay political parties for services related to their campaign, as long as they disclose them in campaign finance reports. Riverton spokesperson Josh Lee said there was nothing in city code that prohibits a mailer like McCay’s.
Opponents respond
The other mayoral candidates, however, criticized McCay’s ad.
“It is important to keep municipal elections nonpartisan. The issues our mayor and City Council face impact all residents: land use, water conservation, public safety and growth,” Buroker said in a text. “While I am a registered Republican, local leadership should be about listening, solving problems and shaping the future together.”
Scott said he didn’t think McCay use of the GOP’s discounted rate was an issue but added that he wouldn’t do it himself.
The mayor’s office and two council seats are up for grabs in the southern suburb on Nov. 4. The mayoral primary will be Aug. 12.
Note to readers • Aug. 7, 2025, 1 p.m.: This story has been updated with additional information from state election officials about how common campaign disclosure violations are in Utah.