Salt Lake City school board member charged with bribing election opponent says he is 'innocent man'
Salt Lake City school board member Mohamed Baayd was charged Monday with trying to bribe his election opponent to drop out of the race months before Baayd handily won his seat in November.
Baayd faces one count of bribery in elections, according to charging documents. Despite the third-degree felony charge, the school board cannot remove the elected incumbent — or any board member — from the board under state law, said Salt Lake City School District spokesperson Yándary Chatwin. The district declined to comment Tuesday on Baayd’s case.
In a text late Tuesday afternoon, Baayd told The Salt Lake Tribune he’s declining to comment other than to say he’s “an innocent man.”
The Utah attorney general’s office asserts in charging documents that Baayd on Feb. 20 first texted his opponent, Russell Askren, asking to “meet up and talk.” The two agreed to meet at a coffee shop March 7.
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2024/12/03/salt-lake-city-school-board-member/