Source: Deseret News, KSL
Most of Utah County’s state lawmakers are calling on embattled Utah County Commissioner Greg Graves to resign.
The all-Republican group has grown significantly since Tuesday, when four of the lawmakers said they would sign a letter urging the commissioner to step down immediately. The letter is signed by 17 of 22 legislators whose districts cover at least part of Utah County.
The bolstered calls follow a county investigation that found employees view Graves as a bully who often is explosive and vulgar. The commissioner did not immediately return a message Wednesday.
The lawmakers’ note to Graves is dated Dec. 13. In it, the group said they “have lost all confidence” in his capacity for public service.
“We see no need to debate the merits of any particular allegation,” the lawmakers wrote, saying “the sheer volume of negative evidence included in the county investigator’s report, public accounts and first-person testimony over the past few weeks” has shown his behavior to be “unacceptable by any standard.”
County leaders last week released a 100-page complaint detailing a sexual harassment complaint against Graves that in part accused him of rubbing a female employee’s thigh during an employee golf outing.
The county said it could not corroborate the sexual harassment claim, but in interviewing 14 witnesses, its investigator found Graves is “widely viewed as a workplace bully, dishonest, demeaning, intimidating, threatening and explosive.”
Graves’ fellow two commissioners, the Utah County Republican Party, the group Alliance for a Better Utah and Cedar Hills Mayor Gary Gygi have called for Graves’ resignation.
Sen. Curt Bramble said Tuesday said lawmakers will likely discuss proposing a new law to remove elected officials who create hostile work environments or who have diminished capacity to serve due to medical reasons. Current Utah law requires a conviction before an official is removed.
State lawmakers who signed Wednesday’s letter:
Rep. Mike McKell, Spanish Fork
Sen. Curt Bramble, Provo
Rep. Marc Roberts, Salem
Sen. Deidre Henderson, Spanish Fork
Rep. Norm Thurston, Provo
Sen. Dan Hemmert, Orem
Rep. Keith Grover, Provo
Sen. Jake Anderegg, Lehi
Rep. Jefferson Moss, Saratoga Springs
Sen. Margaret Dayton, Orem
Rep. Cory Maloy, Lehi
Sen. Howard Stephenson, Draper
Rep. Kay Christofferson, Lehi
Rep. Val Peterson, Orem
Rep. Mike Kennedy, Alpine
Rep. Brian Greene, Pleasant Grove
Rep. Brad Daw, Orem
Read the entire KSL article here.
Read the entire Deseret News article here.
