Utah's leading credit union advocate, Scott Simpson, has turned down an offer to become a top aide for the state's senior U.S. senator, Orrin Hatch.
Simpson, president/CEO of the Utah League of Credit Unions since 2003, said family considerations were a factor but also his present job continued to provide fulfillment in a noble cause.
An article in Tuesday's Deseret News said Simpson had been first choice to become chief of staff for Hatch, the veteran Republican.
In a formal announcement, Michael Kennedy, a Salt Lake City lawyer/lobbyist and member of a prominent and wealthy Republican family, and the son of a Utah district judge, was picked by Hatch for the staff post.
Simpson, a former top executive of the Utah Republican Party, said he was flattered "and mystified" by the Hatch offer but "my daughters are at a critical stage in their lives and I couldn't disrupt that."
Simpson and his wife, Samantha, have three daughters: Kate,15, Alison, 12, and Fran, 10.
"As a political hack, there are only a few places where a guy can be in the arena and defending a noble cause and credit unions in Utah have certainly provided that," Simpson said.
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