A Blueprint for Battling Corruption

September 29, 2024

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A Blueprint for Battling Corruption

Dismantling the layers of deception and corruption in Utah’s government is one of the most critical steps to ensure a future of freedom and prosperity for our state. The deceitful practices of the current administration are directly counter to our values as Americans and Utahns because they prevent transparent rule by the people and stifle our free market economy. We cannot continue to let the same few dozen elites control this state.

Sweetheart Deals, the GOEO, and COVID

First we must return to a merit-based economy where companies succeed or fail based on their actions, not sweetheart deals from the government. The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO) is a perfect example of the cozy relationships that allow well-connected companies to get an advantage over their competitors. The current GOEO board chairwoman Carine Clark also sits on the board of tech company Domo and has served as Chief Innovation Officer for solar company Lumio, both of which have received tax incentives from the very same GOEO board that she chairs. Domo received a $23 million tax incentive in 2022 while Lumio got a $40 million tax break in 2021. She is also affiliated with Pelion Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that has invested in three tech companies that received tax incentives from the GOEO board. She wasn’t yet hired by Lumio when they received their incentive, and she claims to have recused herself or not been involved for the others, but she nevertheless continues to approve or decline government incentives for her friends and competitors. She also sits on the board of Silicon Slopes along with the CEO of Domo and other tech influencers.

Relatedly, the no-bid contracts handed to Silicon Slopes companies during the early days of the COVID pandemic provide a stunning example of elites benefiting from their connections. Three tech companies with no experience in lab testing and a fourth that was on the verge of being de-listed by the NASDAQ ultimately received over $1 billion across five states to provide COVID testing. The criticisms over every aspect of this operation were immediate and sustained, spanning from lack of FDA Emergency Use Authorization approval due to Chinese tests to inaccurate results to an alleged pump-and-dump scheme. When things started to fall apart, then-Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox and others called in consultants for a coverup operation. One of the companies involved was Domo, the very same discussed above. Many publications have reported on this scandal in bits and pieces, including the Salt Lake Tribune and USA Today, the latter of which did an excellent job exposing the connections to Cox and the donations to his campaign, Mitt Romney, and others in its four-part series (unfortunately pay-walled). The CEO of Nomi Health, the general contractor of the operation, openly admitted that they were paying for a seat at the table.

Public-Private Partnerships and Accountability

Secondly, we must stop blurring the distinction between the public and private sectors. Public sector boards must be accountable to the public, and private sector boards should not be able to push policies, or control their implementation, without proper accountability to the public. Utah currently has multiple projects, involving billions of dollars, controlled by shadowy public-private partnerships with no accountability. The key players, unsurprisingly, are the usual suspects. Big League Utah is a perfect case study of legislators sitting on boards while passing the bills to secure public funding that helps other board members with their private projects, all the while multiple board members contribute generously to the campaign of Spencer Cox, who also sits on the board. The project is currently in the hands of a land use authority with state-appointed members, while private Larry H. Miller Company executives run the Big League Utah board. The Point and Envision Utah operate in similar fashion with a state land authority in addition to the Envision Utah board, both of which have significant overlap with those involved in the MLB push. This deliberate blurring of responsibilities, with the same mostly unelected players calling the shots, makes accountability more difficult. It is intentional.

We must dismantle both the web of key players using the revolving door between companies and government boards to benefit themselves and other elites and this pay-for-play system that trades contracts and influence for campaign contributions.

Conflicts of Interest Abound

Thirdly, there must be more transparency for elected officials as well as high-level appointees to keep conflicts of interest in check. Clark of GOEO did not disclose her connections to Pelion because it was not a paid or full-time position. KSL recently reported that the Department of Human Resources Management denied a request to view conflict-of-interest forms for members of Cox’s cabinet. Oddly, the request was initially granted with acknowledgement of the public interest but then reversed two days later without explanation.

While Utahns list affordable homes as one of their most pressing needs, 38.5% of state legislators, including the House Speaker and Senate President, are profiting from real estate in one way or another, while in many cases listing their occupation as something unrelated. Election Hive, the company managing Cox’s campaign, is also one of the state’s biggest lobbying firms. Greg Bell, the “independent” advisor appointed by Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson for the 2024 governor’s race served as former Governor Herbert’s LG before Cox did. One of Bell’s former appointees is now the executive director of Count My Vote, the organization that pushed for the signature path to the ballot that Cox utilized. That board also includes Gail Miller of the Larry H. Miller Company (BLU board) and former Governor Mike Leavitt (Envision Utah board). This “hive” of conflicts of interest is astounding. Our state is run by the political establishment and their friends in aristocratic fashion. Transparency is a cornerstone of trust in government; proper conflict-of-interest reporting is truly just the beginning.

Elections and Transparency

Finally, transparency must also be the standard for elections. This obvious statement has been tested this year as the current administration continues to obstruct all attempts to verify their position on the ballot, as well as their primary results, as legitimate. Signatures on petitions must be verifiable. Elections results, such as Cast Vote Records which include no PII, must be public — as they used to be. We continue to fight this battle, in court and with our write-in campaign, because we cannot tackle corruption in Utah until we can rest assured that those in leadership positions earned those spots legitimately.

Demanding that the leaders running our state were legitimately elected, and are operating in the best interests of the people of Utah instead of undisclosed private interests, is so basic a standard that these ongoing scandals amount to a spectacular failure. It is critical that we correct course before it is too late.