Courtesy photo

Utah County Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner on Thursday called out what she believed to be a misquote from Utah County Attorney David Leavitt through a campaign mailer.

Many county residents may have recently seen a mailer asking residents to re-elect Leavitt. Also on the mailer was a photo of Powers Gardner and a quote she made March 2021 stating, “He once again shows that he is a true defender of true justice. We are so lucky to have a county attorney who cares more about justice than prosecution numbers. His reforms should be a model for the nation.”

The quote was referring to Leavitt’s pre-filing diversion program that all three commissioners voted for, and allotted almost $5 million toward.

On Thursday, Powers Gardner released a statement about the mailers.

“I have learned that Utah County Attorney candidate David Leavitt sent a mailer that included an item that could be taken as an endorsement from me,” she said. “To be clear, I have made no endorsement in the Utah County Attorney race and did not give consent for my name, picture or quote to be used.”

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

In an interview with the Daily Herald, Leavitt said the mailer was never intended to come off as an endorsement from Powers Gardner.

“That was not the intention of the mailer,” Leavitt said. “The intention of the mailer was to demonstrate that I had unanimous support from the county commission for my pre-filing diversion program — which all three commissioners voted for and appropriated nearly $5 million for — and to emphasize just how enthusiastically they supported the program. We used a quote Amelia put in the public domain herself. The purpose was to show the commission’s support of our redemptive approach to criminal justice.”

The mailers were sent out early this week by Leavitt’s campaign team. Powers Gardner told the Daily Herald she wasn’t happy when she first saw the mailer in a post office.

“I was upset that my name, picture and quote were being used without my consent and offended that David wouldn’t reach out and ask permission before he printed the mailer,” she said. “I think he knew that I wouldn’t give my consent which is why he informed me after it was too late to do anything about it.”

Leavitt has a different viewpoint on the matter, and said he told Powers Gardner she would be featured on the mailers before they hit the mailboxes.

Connor Richards, Daily Herald file photo

“We didn’t ask for her permission because I didn’t believe we needed it,” he said. “It was a statement she made to the public. She doesn’t deny making the statement, and the action of the county commission was what the statement was enforcing.”

In her announcement, Powers Gardner made it clear she wasn’t supporting anyone in the race for Utah County Attorney.

“I will be working closely with whomever wins this race, so I need to have a good working relationship with that person,” she said.

Leavitt said he and Powers Gardner have talked about her staying neutral in the race for county attorney. Although he hasn’t received endorsements on his campaign from the commissioners, Leavitt said he has a close relationship with all three of them.

“The mailer wasn’t intended as an endorsement,” Leavitt reiterated. “If it was, it would say Amelia Powers endorses. It doesn’t say that. It quotes her verbatim from something she posted herself. We simply added the quote because we like it, and it affirms what her perspective is on our pre-filing diversion program.”

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