In her bid to unseat Republican incumbent Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, Democratic challenger and U alumnus, Jean Welch Hill, is in a battle reminiscent of David facing Goliath.
Hill is running for public office for the first time, while Shurtleff is a political veteran mounting his third statewide campaign. Hill is the candidate of the party that is almost an asterisk in Utah politics.
Hill, however, is not known for being intimidated or backing away from a fight. Since 1999 she has been prosecuting wayward educators as an attorney for the Utah State Board of Education.
“I go after teachers who are looking at pornography on their computers, trying to develop relationships with students or stealing the kids’ Ritalin8212;that sort of thing,” she said.
However, money is often what matters most and Hill is currently at a daunting financial disadvantage to Shurtleff. Shurtleff has raised seven times the campaign cash as hers.
Campaign finance reports filed in early September show her campaign has raised almost $48,000 with a little more than $18,000 on hand at the beginning of the crucial fall season.
Shurtleff, however, has raised a staggering $346,000 to date and still has $241,000 in the bank8212;a 13 to 1 advantage over Hill.
To level the playing field, she is relying on a grassroots effort.
Hill will also get some help from the state party. Utah Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland, said his group is working on a vote by mail program in remote areas of the state so that Hill will not have to use her limited resources in those areas.
He said he felt Hill’s freshness could work to her advantage.
“The current attorney general has more vulnerability,” Holland said. “He’s been there longer and so he definitely has a deeper list of those who would like to see him defeated.”
Holland said Hill first caught his attention during the state’s school voucher battle in 2007. When Holland initially approached Hill about the possibility of running for office she declined. But she said as she worked more with the Utah State Legislature she became increasingly concerned about the tremendous imbalance of political power in a state dominated by the Republican Party.
She said she saw state government losing its focus on the public interest, even becoming a threat, because of that lack of balance.
“It was just that moment when you realize that if you’re not part of the solution then you’re part of the problem,” she said.
Hill is facing an uphill battle. A Dan Jones and Associates poll conducted in early September showed her trailing her opponent 61 to 16 percent, a slight improvement from the results of a June survey with Shurtleff ahead 68 to 17 percent.
If she is able to pull off the upset and win in November, Hill said she would immediately implement ethical reforms at the attorney general’s office that don’t require legislation.
However, the first on her to-do list is a conflict of interest check on campaign contributions. She said the attorney general should not be taking money from anyone involved in litigation with the office.
Hill said she would also implement a system to review pending legislation and make sure it is legally defensible before it becomes law.
“Avoiding unnecessary litigation saves taxpayers money,” she said.
