Davis prosecutor subject of Republican party rift
GOP leadership critical of Wilson's previous support of Democrat
Wed, Mar 27, 2002
By NESREEN KHASHAN
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
FARMINGTON -- Four years ago, Davis County Attorney Mel
Wilson ran for re-election unopposed.
Since then Wilson has taken on a number of high-profile cases, including the
successful prosecution of murder-for-hire suspect Paul Allen and most recently,
the breakthrough confession of Todd Jeremy Rettenberger, the first man charged
in the Motel 6 slaying.
But Wilson's current re-election campaign has been more about the thorny
issue of party loyalty than his deeds as county prosecutor.
A series of letters exchanged between the Davis County Republican Party,
Wilson and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff reveal a rift between the dominant
political party's leadership and the incumbent county attorney now seeking a
fifth term. The conflict ostensibly began two years ago, when Wilson, a Republican,
appeared in television ads supporting Reed Richards, the then-Democratic
candidate for the AG's office.
After drawing the ire of local Republican leaders, Wilson, in a statement
released Tuesday, said he regrets campaigning on behalf of the defeated
Democratic candidate.
"Even though I felt my reasons for supporting Mr. Richards were indeed
valid and my support had nothing to do with political persuasion," Wilson
said, "I was wrong to lend my name and title to his campaign in a public
manner."
Wilson faces competition in his party from former county attorney Loren D.
Martin and political newcomer Russell A. Cline. Arguably, however, his biggest
foe is the Davis County Republican Party leadership. On March 8, the party's
executive committee wrote a letter informing Wilson that he would be sanctioned
for supporting Reed.
Several days later, Shurtleff, responding to requests by the county GOP to
address the issue, delicately stated his view.
"While I hold no anger or desire for retribution, I do believe it was
inappropriate for an elected Republican to appear in campaign ads for Mr.
Richards," Shurtleff wrote. "I am disappointed that Mel didn't feel as
strongly about Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment ("not to speak ill of our
fellow Republicans"), as I do."
Paul Murphy, a spokesman for Shurtleff, said this week that the attorney
general would prefer to let the statements in the letter speak for itself rather
than comment further on the matter.
Davis County Republican Party Chairman Craig Foster said the committee issued
a resolution to inform all party delegates of Wilson's endorsement of Reed
before the April 13 county convention, to be held at Davis High School in
Kaysville.
During the convention, delegates will select candidates to represent the
party. In the case of the county attorney's race, the most likely scenario is
the top two candidates selected will face-off again during a June 25 primary
election. No Democrat filed for the office.
Despite the issuance of the resolution, Foster said Wilson is being treated
with the same impartiality as the other candidates. As is customary "the
party right now does not have any specific candidate that we are supporting
except for those who are candidates without any Republican competition," he
said.
Fighting perhaps the most challenging political battle of his career, Wilson
said he has owned up to his mistake and wants to be judged by his experience in
office.
Wilson adds that his endorsement of Reed was not such a departure from his
party values as some have perceived. Reed, a former deputy attorney general was
a champion of victim's rights and established the state's first Children's
Justice Center.
"Sure, you should have an allegiance to your party and your party
philosophies," Wilson said. "But I've never known Richard Reed not to
have the same qualities and shared Republican beliefs and principles that are
incorporated in our party platform."
Copyright ©2002, Ogden Publishing Corporation