2 disagree on law enforcement

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jun 21, 2006 | by Lisa Riley Roche Deseret Morning News

Sen. Dave Thomas, R-South Weber, a Summit County deputy attorney, considers himself a friend of law enforcement. But he's being challenged in Tuesday's GOP primary by Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner, who said Thomas is anything but.

"I've never understood his issues with law enforcement because I've always been one of law enforcement's 'go-to' people in the Legislature," Thomas said. "I'm a deputy county attorney. I know law enforcement."

Greiner, though, said members of the law enforcement community urged him to enter the race earlier this year against the first- term senator because they felt their issues weren't getting enough attention.

"He won't talk to us about the needs," Greiner said, claiming that Thomas wouldn't meet with him or others last session to discuss several law enforcement-related issues including funding for Utah Peace Officer Standards Training (POST).

Greiner said Thomas is more focused on legislation benefiting his employer, Summit County, than he is on his Senate district, which includes portions of Davis and Weber counties.

"He's been there more for his full-time job, which is in Summit County, than he has been for the district he's supposed to be representing," Greiner said.

Thomas, who heads the Summit attorney's civil division, said such claims are unfair. "Just look at my record," he said. "The Summit County thing, that's just a cheap shot. I sponsored a lot of bills for the Utah Association of Counties. I know a lot about local government and county government."

A former member of the South Weber City Council, Thomas said he's done a good job for his Senate district, such as having "waged a war" to secure money to design new buildings to replace some of the original structures on Weber State University's campus.

He said his leadership in the Senate is also a plus for his district. Thomas serves as chairman of the Senate Education Committee and is co-chairman of the Legislature's Executive Offices and Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee.

Thomas was forced into a primary after receiving 51 percent of the votes cast by delegates at the party's state convention, short of the 60 percent needed to advance to the general election. Greiner won 49 percent of the vote at the convention.

According to pre-primary financial disclosure filings with the state, Greiner has more contributions so far than Thomas, more than $15,500 compared to just over $11,500 for the incumbent senator.

Greiner has come up with more than half that money himself, his filing states. Other contributions to his campaign include $1,000 from the Workers Compensation Fund of Utah and $500 from the law firm of Siegfried & Jensen.

Thomas has not loaned his campaign any cash, according to his filing, instead relying on contributors such as Parents For Choice in Education, a pro-voucher group that gave nearly $3,000; the Republican Senate Campaign Committee, which gave $2,500; and Citadel Investment Advisors, which gave $3,000.

E-mail: lisa@desnews.com