Letter: Will we feel the "Byrne" again when voters reject Johnson?

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

In 2007, Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne told Utahns to accept the school-voucher program established by the Legislature. Instead they voted overwhelmingly in favor of the referendum rejecting vouchers.

Byrne called the referendum a "statewide IQ test" that Utahns failed (Tribune, "Vouchers go down in crushing defeat," Nov. 7, 2007). "They don't care enough about their kids," he said.

Now Byrne is telling Utahns to oust Republican Gov. Gary Herbert by making fellow voucher fan and corporate colleague Jonathan Johnson the GOP nominee.

The Supreme Court has ruled campaign contributions are speech, and Byrne is speaking quite loudly, almost exclusively funding Johnson's campaign. He has donated $850,000, and he and his wife have donated or loaned another $191,000 to the campaign.

Whatever will Byrne say when voters once again spurn him?

Robert Kuesterman

West Valley City