Questions surround Pike's endorsement of Caplin in controversial race for county attorney

Written by Michael Flynn

The Republican runoff primary in the uncontested race for Washington County Attorney has generated an unprecedented amount of money in political contributions, and an unusual amount of controversy in a race for an office that serves a largely administrative role in county government. Adding fuel to the fire is a copy of a leaked Facebook conversation between St. George Mayor Jon Pike and a member of incumbent Brock Belnap’s campaign staff that recently surfaced.

An email that includes a screenshot of the conversation was leaked to The Independent by a third party, who asked not to be named in this article. The email, which has been making its way around to various Belnap supporters, depicts Pike explaining his reasons for endorsing challenger Nate Caplin with the phrase, “sometimes political chips get cashed in.”

The conversation, which Pike subsequently confirmed is genuine, has been interpreted by some to suggest a quid pro quo element to his endorsement of Nate Caplin; however, Pike said that such allegations are the result of a poor choice of words on his part.

The leaked conversation, which began in April, shows Pike responding to a request that he endorse Belnap. Pike initially commits to publicly staying neutral (endorsing neither candidate), but goes on to say that he is “very happy” with Belnap’s performance as county attorney, and suggests that he will make private comments endorsing Belnap.

Several weeks later, after Pike publicly endorsed Nate Caplin, he explains his decision to the Belnap supporter in the same Facebook exchange, stating that, “I tried very hard to resist endorsing either, but sometimes political chips get cashed in.” Pike also indicated in the message that because Nate Caplin’s father, Steve Caplin, supported him in the 2013 mayoral race against Dan McArthur, he felt obliged to support the Caplin campaign in return, despite having a personal relationship with both candidates.

Pike said that he regrets his choice of words in the exchange, which he understood to be a private conversation. He said that after meeting with Nate Caplin, he had a genuine change of heart, but explained his decision the way he did so as not to alienate Belnap’s supporters.

“I am supporting Nate Caplin, and I am doing so both publicly and privately,” Pike said, and explained that he did not mean to say that his endorsement was purchased with political favors. “My ‘political chip,’ if you will, was my friendship [with Steve Caplin], which basically propelled me to meet with Nate and reconsider my stance to stay neutral.”

Steve Caplin said that while he and Pike have been friends for nearly a decade, both having served on the Dixie State University Board of Trustees, he did not pressure Pike or anybody else to endorse his son. 

Steve Caplin also serves on the board of directors of Dixie Regional Medical Center, a division of Intermountain Healthcare, where Pike is employed. However, both said that their positions with the company are not closely related. As regional operations director for SelectHealth, Pike works for a completely separate division of Intermountain Healthcare. 

“He has no direct tie, no overseeing opportunities, and no governance over my position at SelectHealth; nor my future job, salary, or future opportunities,” Pike said. He explained that his position at Intermountain Healthcare deals strictly with providing medical insurance, whereas Caplin’s position on the governing board of Dixie Regional involves running the hospital itself. “It really is completely separate,” he said.

As far as political support, Steve Caplin said that his only involvement in the St. George mayoral race was donating $250 to Pike’s campaign and recording a short radio endorsement.

“This support was unconditional, with no strings attached and nothing expected in return,” he said in a statement to The Independent, which can be found in its entirety here. 

Nate Caplin said that as far as he knows, there were no “political chips” cashed in to receive Pike’s endorsement; his father simply asked Pike to meet with him.

“For people to suggest that Jon Pike is supporting me for reasons other than that I’m the best candidate in the race is insulting to his integrity,” Nate Caplin said. “Jon Pike is a man of integrity. He would not support someone who he didn’t believe was the best candidate.” 

Pike said that one reason he decided to endorse Nate Caplin was his focus on planning and listening to citizens, also focal points of his own campaign, as well as the lawyer’s enthusiasm about constitutional issues. 

“I really liked what I heard, and I made a decision at the time to endorse him,” Pike said. 

Then why didn’t Pike simply explain to Belnap’s campaign staff member that he preferred Nate Caplin’s platform in the Facebook exchange?

“I was trying not to hurt feelings and trying to please everybody, when I shouldn’t,” he said. “I was attempting to explain it briefly. I wish would have included more things that helped explain my rationale.” 

It’s difficult to predict who will come out on top after the runoff primary, which is set for Tuesday, June 24. Both candidates have drawn enthusiastic support from the community. 

Financial disclosures from both campaigns, released on Tuesday, revealed that Belnap and Nate Caplin have raised over $84,000 in funds combined. Of that amount, over $57,000 was raised by the Caplin campaign, nearly doubling Belnap’s fundraising efforts; however, while Belnap lists over 50 individual donors to his campaign fund, Nate Caplin’s disclosure shows that nearly all of the funding for his campaign is derived from donations made by his parents, which total more than $52,000.

Nate Caplin said that while he is aware some people might question how he has funded his campaign, he decided to start rejecting donations from non-relatives early in the race, to minimize the potential of real or perceived conflicts of interest.

“I know that not every person has that opportunity,” he said. “Ideally, when a person is running for an attorney position, he should avoid as many conflicts of interest as possible.” 

Because there is not a Democratic or third-party contender for the county attorney position, the winner of the runoff primary will win the general election by default. Polls are open to all registered Republicans in Washington County. For details about how, when, and where to vote, visit the Washington County Clerk’s website.