John Curtis (American politician)

Controversy over sexual misconduct by Provo police chief

On March 20, 2018, five women filed a lawsuit claiming the city of Provo and former Mayor John Curtis failed to take action to protect them from alleged sexual harassment and assault by former police chief John King, despite allegations of misconduct in 2015 and 2016.^[12] Plaintiffs accused King of a broad range of sexual misconduct, including staring at their breasts, making inappropriate comments, uninvited touching, groping and, in one case, rape.^[13]

City Council members told the Deseret News that they held a closed-door meeting about King’s conduct in late 2015 or early 2016. The lawsuit alleged that Congressman John Curtis, then Provo’s mayor, chilled reporting by telling police department supervisors in fall 2014 that “he did not want to receive any more complaints about Chief King.” The complaint read, "Chief King was going to remain chief of the department as long as Curtis was in office and there was nothing the supervisors could do about it”.^[14] Councilman Gary Winterton confirmed the council had such a discussion about King, with the chief present, but he said he could not say much about the meeting because it was a closed session. Winterton said he could not say what type of administrative action, if any, was taken. The lawsuit stated the meeting did not result in any discipline of King.^[15]

In March 2017, King resigned after the rape allegation, making his exit at the request of then-Mayor and current 3rd District Congressman John Curtis, even though Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill had declined to bring charges.^[13] In an email obtained by the Deseret News through a records request, King sent Curtis a March 17 email thanking him for his support: “You did your best to protect me at the press conference,” he said. “I am deeply sorry for putting you in this terrible position.”^[14]

On March 23, 2018 Curtis clarified that as Provo’s mayor, he heard three, not just two complaints of inappropriate sexual conduct by John King. The first time, Curtis said, he warned King that even if his alleged actions had been misinterpreted, the former police chief shouldn’t put himself in positions where his actions could be misinterpreted. The second time, he ordered King to retake sexual harassment training, and reiterated that he should not go past a certain point while visiting women at the department’s dispatch center. The third time, after a student volunteer accused King of rape in early 2017, Curtis asked for King’s resignation.^[16]

In response Curtis stated, “One of the things I’m learning, is what women expect is more than checking the boxes, legally,” he said. “They need a lot of emotional support and understanding. And we don’t talk a lot about that portion of what do you do when these things happen. So, in a way, if you think about this, I’m seeing, like, ‘OK, my primary responsibility is to get this into the right hands.’ I read her comments about how what I did made her feel, and it was clear to me that she expected more from me than just getting it into the right hands. Lesson learned."^[16]

2017 election

Curtis's campaign photo

On May 25, 2017, Curtis announced his candidacy for that year's special election in Utah's 3rd congressional district to replace Jason Chaffetz, who resigned on June 30. On August 15, Curtis won the Republican nomination over fellow candidates Christopher Herrod and Tanner Ainge.^[2] On November 7, 2017 Curtis won the election over Democrat Kathie Allen and took Chaffetz's vacated seat.

Tenure

Curtis was sworn into office on November 13, 2017.

Bears Ears National Monument

On December 4, 2017, Curtis, along with fellow Utah representatives Rob Bishop, Chris Stewart and Mia Love, introduced a bill that would codify the Trump administration's reduction of Bears Ears National Monument by creating two new national monuments in the remaining areas defined by the president.^[17]

On January 9, 2018, members of the Tribes of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition testified against the bill including Shaun Chapoose, a member of the Ute Indian Tribe and Utah Business Committee.^[18]

Approval Rating

On January 31, 2018, the Salt Lake Tribune-Hinckley Institute of Politics announced Curtis landed the lowest overall approval rating among Utah’s four US Congress House members. According to the poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates, 42 percent of registered voters approved of his performance in the 3rd Congressional District.^[19]

San Rafael Swell

In May 2018, Curtis drew criticism again after introducing the Emery County Public Land Management Act of 2018. Opponents argued the bill omitted approximately 900,000 acres of wilderness in its proposed designation, including Labyrinth Canyon and Muddy Creek. Conservation groups accused Curtis of removing the existing Wilderness Study Area protection to facilitate coal mining.^[20]

On June 25, 2018 it was announced that the congressional subcommittee overstated support that environmental groups had for the Emery County Public Land Management Act of 2018. An aide to Curtis stated there was a mix-up and the record would be corrected. Seven environmental organizations were named as being in support of the legislation in a June 18 background memo ahead of a hearing before the Federal Lands Subcommittee. But just one of the groups named said it was accurate to call them “supporters.”^[21]

SPEED Act

On June 13, 2018, Rep. John Curtis introduced H.R. 6088, the “Streamlining Permitting Efficiencies in Energy Development Act” or “SPEED Act”. The legislation proposes streamlining the oil and gas permitting process by allowing Bureau of Land Management to expedite approval for drilling activities that pose little or no environmental harm. The Mineral Leasing Act would be amended by establishing procedures where an operator may conduct drilling and production activities on available Federal land and Non-Federal land.^[22][23] Community members criticized Curtis over this sponsorship, claiming it omits the required environmental impact analysis, and allows drilling on land without notifying the public or providing opportunity to comment.^[24]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Foreign Affairs
• Committee on Small Business
• Committee on Natural Resources^[25]

Curtis is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership^[26] and the Congressional Western Caucus.^[27]