LAYTON -- State and Davis County Republican Party leaders stopped short Friday of asking Layton lawmaker Rep. Kevin Garn to resign, but expressed shock at his confession that, when he was 28, he was naked with a 15-year-old girl in a hot tub 25 years ago.
However, others, including Republican Party members, believe Garn should step down and are irked that Utah lawmakers reacted to Garn's confession by giving him a standing ovation.
In his statement from the House floor late Thursday, Garn said he has no plans to resign.
"I guess we will have to wait and see what comes out of this," Davis County Republican Party Chairwoman Shirley Bouwhuis said Friday.
Before the Legislature adjourned Thursday, Garn publicly shared with peers his involvement in the hot tub incident with Cheryl Maher.
"I sat in a hot tub naked with her. Nothing happened," he said.
Garn said the incident did not result in any criminal charges.
However, in order to keep the incident quiet, Garn admitted to paying Maher $150,000 under a confidentiality agreement in 2002 when he and Rob Bishop were vying for the Republican nomination for Congress in the 1st District.
Maher, who now lives in New Hampshire, recently contacted media with the story.
State Republican Party Chairman Dave Hansen said Garn's comments came as "quite a shock to all of us."
"It is certainly not the way you would expect a legislative session to end," he said of the confession.
The incident is a human tragedy for Garn, his family and the woman involved, Hansen said.
But as of Friday, Hansen said, everyone was still trying to get a handle on the situation. He said he doesn't believe anyone can answer whether Garn will resign, opt not to seek re-election or run for another term.
"(Garn will) make that decision," Hansen said.
Candidates have until March 19 to file for candidacy for state office.
However, one Davis County Democrat said Garn should step down.
"(Garn) doesn't represent the values of the state of Utah -- Democrat or Republican," said J. Dell Holbrook, longtime Democrat.
Holbrook said he is concerned that the Utah Legislature would give Garn a standing ovation after his admission.
Garn might get a standing ovation from the in-crowd on Capitol Hill, but Holbrook said his hope is Davis County voters will remember their values and see it differently.
"Garn doesn't deserve to be there."
Local Republicans, who readily admit they don't know all of the details surrounding the incident, said they will support whatever decision Garn makes.
Bouwhuis said the GOP supports its candidates and it will let Garn make the decision on his political future.
Garn has been an "outstanding legislator" and an incredible asset to the county and Republican Party, she said.
"People make mistakes," Bouwhuis said. "I will support (Garn) 100 percent with whatever decision he makes."
Layton Mayor Steve Curtis said he expects the city will maintain a good working relationship with Garn as a developer and business owner.
"He has done a lot of good for Layton. He has brought a lot of commerce into Layton," Curtis said.
Garn is involved in several area businesses, including the Hilton Garden Inn and the Fort Lane Village property at Gentile Street and Fort Lane.
Garn has provided exemplary service to the residents he serves, Curtis said, adding that does not excuse any indiscretion that might occur in one's life.
"It's unfortunate something like this would transpire. There is no excuse or reasoning behind what possibly transpired," Curtis said.
But the mayor says Garn shouldn't have to resign from the Legislature.
"We've all tripped. We've all fallen," he said.
However, many callers to the Standard-Examiner are not as supportive of Garn or the way lawmakers reacted to his public confession.
"I think it is awful," said Roy resident Merna Smith. "And I'm a Republican."
Instead of Garn receiving a standing ovation from lawmakers, Smith said he should have been hauled off to jail because the girl was only 15 years old at the time.
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SALT LAKE CITY — A late-night confession by Utah’s House majority leader about sitting nude in a hot tub with a minor 25 years ago has shocked this conservative state’s political establishment but has not prompted calls from party leaders for him to resign.
Rep. Kevin Garn, 55, acknowledged the indiscretion late Thursday immediately after the Legislature adjourned for the session. He said he paid the woman, Cheryl Maher, now 40, $150,000 to keep quiet about the episode when he unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2002.
“Although we did not have any sexual contact, it was still clearly inappropriate — and it was my fault,” said Garn, of Layton.
Garn owns KSG Distributing Inc., which sells books on tape, CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes to retailers such as truck stops, grocery stores and convenience stores. Maher worked in his warehouse at the time.
Scandals of this nature are rare in Utah politics, where there’s a heavy Mormon influence, so the fallout Friday was pronounced.
“If you have those kinds of incidents in your background, I think you’d be less inclined to want to run for public office, in part, because of the risk of exposure and what that would do to your career,” said University of Utah political scientist Matthew Burbank. “For the most part, it would end your career. There’s a fairly strong moral sense in Utah.”
Garn said Friday that he wouldn’t resign, but it wasn’t clear whether he would seek re-election this year.
“Anytime you are involved with an underage girl, that really raises the ante quite a bit. There’s just a taboo there — big time,” said Garn’s Republican colleague, Rep. Mike Noel. “It’s shocking to me. It puts a damper on the whole session. When that happened, I just put my head down and put my hands over my eyes and said ’Man oh Man,’ it’s like watching a man break down.”
Garn said Friday that reliving the decades-old episode and trying to absorb the massive amount of public scrutiny has been painful.
“I’m dying. I’m just dying,” he said.
The story unfolded because Maher, who now lives in Derry, N.H., began calling Salt Lake City news media in recent days to tell them about being naked with Garn when she was 15 years old. Maher said Thursday night he was 28 at the time but Friday said he couldn’t really remember.
Garn said Maher’s statements violated a confidentiality agreement they had but he’s tired of living in fear.
“This is something I should have done back in 2002. But I was scared. I did not want to be publicly judged by one of my life’s worst decisions,” said
Garn, who was married at the time.
Garn said he felt like the payment amounted to extortion but he doesn’t plan to press charges.
Maher said in an e-mail and text message to The Associated Press Friday that she was not taking phone calls — and questions about whether there was any sexual contact were inappropriate.
“I will NOT go into detail,” she wrote in a text message.
“I have done things I am not proud of in my past and this is complete freedom for me. I can now move on to my new adventures,” Maher wrote earlier Friday in an e-mail.
Garn’s confession was the second blow to Republican leadership in the state since January, when GOP Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack was arrested for driving under the influence. He resigned a few days later.
In recent years, Republicans have also been accused of bribery.
A major focal point of this session was to pass ethics reform that would restore the public’s faith in the Legislature.
As majority leader, Garn helped shepherd much of the ethics legislation. While in office, he has avoided sponsoring many morality bills but did co-sponsor a bill in 2009 that made it illegal for teens to send nude pictures of themselves to others.
Utah Republican Party Chairman Dave Hansen said he was stunned to read about Garn’s confession Friday morning on news Web sites.
“I’ve always known Kevin to be a very bright and very good person. It’s just one of those things I wouldn’t have expected, but let’s not forget this was 25 years ago. It’s not like it happened the last week in the legislative session, but that does not mitigate it,” Hansen said.
He said Garn’s behavior certainly won’t help Republicans’ image but any blowback probably won’t extend to other candidates.
Davis County GOP chairwoman Shirley Bouwhuis, a longtime personal friend of Garn’s, said it’s too early to comment about Garn’s behavior because she doesn’t know the legal ramifications.
“The Republican Party always supports the law and wants people to obey it, and until I know different, that there’s been (something illegal) I am supportive of what Kevin chooses to do.”
Filing for office began Friday.
Updated 3:11 p.m.
Statement from Representative Kevin Garn - Delivered from the floor of the House on March 11, 2010
Hush money plagues Garn / Representative says he gave woman $150,000 after 1985 nude incident in hot tub
By DAN WEIST (Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau)
SALT LAKE CITY -- A top leader in the Utah House of Representatives, Rep. Kevin Garn, 55, admits he paid a woman to keep quiet about an incident in a hot tub 25 years ago.
Garn, a prominent Layton businessman, said Thursday he paid a former Cedar City woman $150,000 eight years ago and that the deal included a confidentiality agreement.
"This came up eight years ago when I ran for Congress," he said.
The incident, Garn says, did not result in any criminal charges.
Garn went public with the incident in a statement on the floor of the House just minutes after lawmakers wrapped up the 2010 session.
With his wife at his side, Garn said he made a mistake and asked for forgiveness from any "shame" he may have brought the statehouse. He also apologized to the woman, whom he did not name.
"I sat in a hot tub naked with her. Nothing happened," said Garn, the majority leader.
Following the floor speech, House members gave him a standing ovation.
"We know a man of integrity and leader ... an asset to Utah," said an emotional Rep. David Clark, House speaker, just moments after Garn's revelation.
The woman earlier in the evening called the Standard-Examiner and identified herself as Sheryl Maher.
Maher, now living in New Hampshire, said the incident has haunted her. She said she was 15 at the time of the incident.
"I never wanted to do this," said Maher, explaining that she has resisted going public with the incident.
Garn and Maher differ on the details of the events of 25 years ago. Maher said there was more to the situation than sitting in a hot tub.
Garn was in the state House of Representatives from 1991-2002 where he served as assistant majority whip. He left in 2002 in an unsuccessful bid for the Republic nomination for the U.S. House 1st District seat that was eventually won by Rob Bishop.
Garn said he has no plans to resign from his position and said he had sat down with Maher and her LDS bishop to try and resolve the matter.
Reporter Joe Pyrah of the Daily Herald in Provo contributed to this story.
Updated 12:32 a.m.
SALT LAKE CITY -- A top leader in the Utah House of Representatives, Rep. Kevin Garn, 55, admits he paid a woman to keep quiet about an incident in a hot tub 25 years ago.
Garn, a prominent Layton businessman, said Thursday he paid a former Cedar City woman $150,000 eight years ago and that the deal included a confidentiality agreement.
"This came up eight years ago when I ran for Congress," he said.
The incident, Garn says, did not result in any criminal charges.
"I sat in a hot tub naked with her. Nothing happened," said Garn, the majority leader.
The woman called the Standard-Examiner and identified herself as Sheryl Maher.
Maher, now living in New Hampshire, said the incident has haunted her. She said she was 15 at the time of the incident.
"I never wanted to do this," said Maher, explaining that she has resisted going public with the incident.
Garn and Maher differ on the details of the events of 25 years ago. Maher said there was more to the situation than sitting in a hot tub.
Garn was in the state House of Representatives from 1991-2002 where he served as assistant majority whip. He left in 2002 in an unsuccessful bid for the Republic nomination for the U.S. House 1st District seat that was eventually won by Rob Bishop.
Garn said he has no plans to resign from his position and said he had sat down with Maher and her LDS bishop to try and resolve the matter.
Reporter Joe Pyrah of the Daily Herald in Provo contributed to this story.
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