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Show TheSalt Lake Tribune OPINION Sunde y, May 30, 1999 AA3 Longtime Leavitt Press Aide to Work for Bush Presidential Campaign Vicki Varela, longtime press secretary and policyadviser to Gov. MikeLeavitt will coordinate the presidential campaign of Republican Texas Gov. George W. Bush least, is anxiously awaiting Varela will continue herfull-time job with Leavitt and says shewill perform her duties for Bush in herspare time. But political operatives knowa multi-state coordinator for a majorpresidential cam- decision. Leavitt wants to support Bush and rumors aboundthat if his fellow governor from Texas is elevatedto the presidency, the Utahnmight seek a cabinet position, say Interiorsecretary in the Intermountain West paign is a full-timejobin itself. While Varela sa: me autonomy”in her decision to work for Bush, she concedes she could not do the job without the approval of her boss. So her inclusion in the Bush campindicates a firm commitment by Leavitt to the presi. dential fortunes of the Texas governor, a GOP candidate several members ofthe Utah Republican establishment have prelimanarily endorsed. candidacy of Bush. who, to the Hatch’s their states’ chairs for the Bush cam. paign, Leavitt waits for Hatch. Some say thereis a fear he may miss thetrain. Leavitt could endorse Bush regardless of whether Hatch runs. But it would be politicallyk awkward for the governor should Hatch end up Utah’s favoriteson. TheRepublican-dominated Utah Legisla ture passed a bill this year allowing a candidateto run for the U.S. Senate and for president simultaneously. That was donespecifically for Hatch, whois upfor re-election in 2000. mittee has toyed with the idea of a presi- Hence, the volunteerism for the Bush dential bid in 2000 ever sincePresident campaign of Varela, the most visible Clinton wasre-elected nearly three years ago. He has been one of the GOP's most active fundraisers and has become areg- staffer in the Leavitt administration the ei ‘ould servea dual purpose: serves for Leavitt the political kin- ular on national television news programs. ship with Bush while leaving him anout brass in Washington and throughout the nation have shownhehas theinterest. publican insiders attended a small get should Hatchget into therace Leavitt. Varela and several Utah Re together for the Bush campaignat the homeof developer JohnPrice, finance But he has not made afinal decision. “If I decide to run, it will befor the right chairmanfor Bush’s campaign in Utah reasons,” he told melast week. “It won't be for ego.If I run,it will be becauseI believe my candidacyis the best thing for They met Karl Rove, national campaign coordinator for Bush, whoindicated his candidate would formally announcefor president sometimein June. He also announced Bush wouldvisit Utah in early July Hatch is aware ofthe anxiety he is the country.” Hatch says he must be convinced he has a reasonable chanceof winning. If he does not run, he said he, too, likes the Democrats also felt Caro] Clawson, Graham's former solicitor general, was snubbed in her at tempts to become a district court judge Legislature recently rem leral from that bo ie County Commission awarded a controversial $80,000 contract to lobbyist Paul Rogers to represent the county bi PAUL ROLLY A.G.'s 1999, The Salt Lake Tribune in Graham's office and among Demo. fore the Utah Le ature. The contract was criticised as favoritism by, ami others, commission chairwoman Mary Callaghan. Rival lobbyist Doug Foxley offered a bid of half that amount, but was rejected by the commission's majority as nota serious bid. This year, four lobbyists atic politicians to launcha ballot ini tiativeovertheissue in the 2000 election In order to get an initiative on the bal clude a joint-venture among Nancy becauseofher association with Graham If the governor is holdingout anolive branch, however, it may be short-lived Besides thethreat of a lawsuit over the are, one, by one, becoming But Leavitt andall the other pro-Bush types have a problem: Orrin Hatch. Utah’s senior senator andhigh-profile chairman of the Senate Judiciary Com- His conversations with Republican wasfirst elected in 1992. But while other western Republican governors that DePaulis would not be considered because of his closeness to Grahe a thorn in the side of Republicans since she THE ROLLY REPORT But his lingeringindecisionis causing heartburn for Leavitt, causing Leavitt by his indecision. “I promised the governorand others that | will make afinal decision soon,” he said, adding that it would be some time in June. Hatch also said if he does run forpres ident, he would keep his Senateoption open, “If, after a few months,thepresi dential campaigndoes not look viable,1 could still run to keep my Senate seat.” Calm Before the Storm? Gov. Mike Leavitt has shown an inter esting friendliness toward Democratic Atty. Gen. Jan Grahamlately, especially after the caustic rhetoric between them during the Legislature’s and Leavitt's coup d'etat stripped the attorney general of the authorityto file civil lawsuits. Some were amazed whenLeavitt asked Graham to participate in his annual fundraising bash, the Governor's Spring Gala. Then when Graham had her own fundraiser, the Law Day Ball, she re frained fromblasting the governor over that controversial bill. Then Leavitt ap: pointed former Salt Lake City mayorand Graham's chief confidante Palmer DePaulis to the State Tax Commission, an ap: pointment Depaulis had unsuccessfully sought before Infact, Democrats had been told before civil powers, there is a movement lot, sponsors wouldneed the signaturesof registered voters amounting to at least 10 percent of the number who voted in the last election for governor. Since nearly 700,000 voted in 1996, 70,000 signatures be required he initiative would be a clarification of the Utah Constitution that would in sure the independence of the attorney general Political strategists believe Republi can bullyingtactics in the last session maybe the Democrats’ best issue in 2000, soaballot initiative would keep that issue fresh in the minds of voters. Back Room Smoke Republican Salt Lake County Com. missioner Mark Shurtleff has decided to run for attorneygeneral in 2000. Shurtleff hadconsidered running for Congress or Salt Lake County mayor. One irony Shurtleff recently was appointed by the Utah Association of Counties as one of two representatives of that body on the state's Constitutional Council, an advi sory board chaired by the governor to study constitutional issues and make recommendations to the Legislature. If Shurtleff is elected attorney general, he have answered a requestfor bid proposals from the county. Besides Rogers, they in. Sechrest and Cap and Sue Ferry, Ron and Maurine Casper, and Craig Moody. Fox ley did not apply, but his lobbying com pany did show a draft proposal to Shurtleff that would call for an ordinance prohibiting the county's legislative lob byist from representing other Clients on issues before the county. That proposal has not, as yet, been formally offered There Was SON ift recently in the fi nancial services industry over a bill be fore the last legislative session to remove thecaps on penalties for bounced checks to banks and for late credit card pay ments. The bill was pushed mostly by the Utah Association of Financial Services, represented by Foxley. The Utah Bankers Association (UBA), engrossed in the leg: islative controversy with the credit unions, did not play an active role After the session, UBAdirector Howard Hez lee, concerned about comments he had heardthat implied he had torpedoed the bill, wrote a memo to bank executives ex. plaining he did nothing to hurt the bill and implied it had been pooly handled Headlee then gotaletter from anattorney representing Foxley that threatened to sue Headlee foralleged defamation. The controversy apparently has died down Cox Report on Spying Demands Careful Reflection, Not Passions of the Moment BY MAX BAUCUS FOR THE WASHINGT( POST With the releaseofthe Cox report, it is important that wenot allow the passions of the moment to overwhelm our objec tivity. We must analyze what has happened during the past 20 years, understand the report's conclusions and rec: ommendations, and determine what actions we must take to ensure our na: tional security and maximize our trade and economicinterests with China. We can get the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks back on track by getting to the bottomof the embassy bombing and the Cox report. We areat a critical june: ture and cannot afford to lose this opportunity. The Cox report catalogues a decades-long effort by the Chinese gov: ernment to acquire U.S. nuclear t ogy. This has been a long-term, planned effort to obtain our country’s mostsensitive secrets, from the W-88 nu: clear warheadin the1980sto the neutron bomb in the 1990s. At least three American administr: tions Reagan, Bushand Clinton have presidedoverthis unprecedentedlapsein security at our nuclear laboratories. Chi na’s systematic effort to steal our secrets has advancedits nuclear programby de cades and potentially put ournation’s in terests at risk. What are thetasks before us now? First, we must ensure the spying stops. It is naive to think that China oranyU.S. adversary will cease its intelligence ac tivities. It is the responsibility of our in telligence agencies to foil Chinese espionageefforts Second, weneed afull, public explana tion about how such counterintelligence failures could have happened, whythey continued forso long and howwe canen. surethey are fully corrected. Third, we must prosecute and punish anyone who has brokenoursecuritylaws or failed to enforce them. People and institutions must be held accountable. Fourth, we must reassess oursecurity and geopolitical strategy in view of the increased military power China will as it turns this technology into w Whatdoesthis meanforthe during thenext 20 years than China, with the world’s largest population and the fastest growing economy Am 's national security is para mount, but our trade and economic in terests with China also are vital. It is tical to incorporate China into the glo: bal trade community. WTO membership, which entails permanent normal trade relations status, is the appropriate vehi cle to bring China, its industry and its consumers fully into the world economy Through the WTO, we will see China move toward following internationally accepted trade rules. The WTO will im prove market access and open China's economic reform process underway in China. We want no backpedaling on the agreements reached during Chinese Pre- mier Zhu Rongji’s visit to Washington. We want an early resumption of the trade negotiations and arapid conclusion, This will reap enormous benefits for our ex porters, our manufacturers, our farmers ourservice providers and our economy These trade arrangements stand alone and separable from our security in terests. WTO membership is not a favor we are doing for the Chinese. This is a clear gain for the United States: China opens its markets to American goods and services, helping create jobs at home. markets to American agricultural prod. ucts, services and manufactured goods trading community will help sustain the Sen. 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CALL THE OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS TO oO LE pa ee - e oes smi mat buried Cometoa is a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee andthe Select Committee on Intelligence A sneak preview for seniors. ak EiG comeso. it will be This increased integration into the world Howthe United States manages this aH COL China relationship? No nation will be of greater concern relationship will determine much ofthe world’s future. If weact as if Chinais the enemyfor the next Cold War, Utah 84117 4522 South 1300 East, Salt Lake City, J |
