(Photo: Utah State Senate Twitter)
SALT LAKE CITY – The United Utah Party has started a petition to make the race for Utah Attorney General non-partisan.
Chair Richard Davis believes the system to become Utah’s top cop is flawed, too political, and ripe for corruption.
“They’re attempting to woo the support of party donors in order to win a party nomination. We feel like this is something that taints the Attorney General’s office, and it has for the past 20 years,” Davis said.
He points to the last three attorneys general, who have either been charged with crimes or had their ethics questioned.
“All three of them were accused of not administering the office fairly because of the ties they had to big donors,” Davis said.
Although those attorneys general are Republicans, Davis still thinks there could still be ethics issues if a Democrat was elected.
He also believes making the race non-partisan will give the Attorney General in Utah more independence.
“We think this may be a way to separate the Attorney General’s Office from the Governor’s Office, separate the Attorney General from political parties, and hopefully put the Attorney General in a better position in terms of being the chief law enforcement officer in the state,” Davis said.
Over 200 people have signed the petition to Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Brad Wilson. However, it would ultimately be up to a lawmaker to introduce legislation to change the state constitution.