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“They are claiming it was Speaker Hughes who came out with this compromise, but Marty spelled it out in the email back in June. This is a plan the Church was leaning towards and tried to execute on their own,” Stenquist said. “They were talking about killing the initiative before the vote, so I don’t believe this was Speaker Hughes’s idea. I believe it was the Church’s idea and they needed a jockey to ride that pony.”
Hughes has been quite concerned about public perception of the opposition and has been making a point of explaining in the local media that he originated the compromise, not the Church. He dismisses any idea that the announcement of a compromise was intended to derail the initiative.
Although Drug Safe Utah threatened via LDS Church lobbyist Marty Stephens to spend $5–10 million to defeat Proposition 2, according to the Utah Secretary of State total contributions were just $900,000 compared to the less than $500,000 raised by Utah Patients Coalition (the Libertas-led campaign for Prop 2). Of the money raised by Drug Safe Utah, $50,000 was moved to another political issue committee (PIC) “The Truth About Proposition 2”, which paid for a marketing stunt involving a Uhaul truck driven by local police advertising marijuana sales to children in front of schools. Another $7,500 was sent to an affiliated out-of-state group Drug Free Idaho.
While spearheading Drug Safe Utah, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not contribute directly but instead via a who’s who of the state’s prominent Mormon businessmen; Nearly $270,000 came directly from organizations owned by pharmaceutical company owner and real estate developer Walter J. Plumb III in cash and in-kind services. Donations between $10,000 and $100,000 rolled in from Mitt Romney’s son Joshua and his affiliates, the estate of the former Utah Jazz and car dealership owner Larry. H Miller, wife of multi-millionaire NuSkin founder Kalleen Lund and real estate developers Roger Boyer, Kem Gardner, Keller Investments and John R Miller Enterprises (whose other company, Woodbury Strategic Partners received some of this money back in rent paid by the campaign). Also according to filings with the state, the Drug Enforcement Administration Salt Lake Metro Narcotics Task Force is listed as an affiliated organization with the Drug Safe Utah PIC.
Church machinations in Cannabis legalization
Church machinations in Cannabis legalization
"God" is the original deus ex machina. --Maksutov