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A member of the Georgia Rotary is urging his associates to shun next year's international convention in Salt Lake City because of Rocky Anderson's anti-Bush protest this week.
"He has to be aware his actions have consequences," James Lyle said Thursday, a day after the mayor headlined a protest during the American Legion convention and called Bush a "dishonest, war-mongering, human-rights-violating president.
"I'm in the South," he added. "We'd say the mayor has bad manners. He showed disrespect for the president."
Lyle is the past president of a Georgia Rotary district and plans to encourage club members in his state and elsewhere to snub Salt Lake City, which is hosting the convention instead of New Orleans in June and expects 25,000 visitors. "I would encourage all Rotarians, especially those in the United States that believe in freedom and supporting our president, to skip the Salt Lake City convention."
Fred Berthrong, chief of staff for the Utah Rotary's hosting committee, has tried to persuade Lyle to bag the boycott. In an e-mail, he told Lyle it would not affect Anderson but would hurt Rotarians. He noted the city has much to offer conventioneers, including affordable stays and success at staging large events such as the 2002 Winter Olympics.
As a postscript, Berthrong, who couldn't be reached by phone Thursday, wrote: "You will find that, generally speaking, the people of Utah are as conservative in their political positions as they are family focused."
Lyle already had decided not to attend the convention before Wednesday's protest because he disagreed with Anderson's support of gay marriage. But after reading about Wednesday's protest, he decided to seek wider support for his boycott, which he is calling "Skip Salt Lake City," saying the mayor empowers U.S. enemies by showing them a divided United States.
The Salt Lake Tribune has been contacted by others who say they will avoid Utah's ski slopes because of Anderson's demonstration.
"I had planned for my family and me to travel from California to Salt Lake City and ski Park City this winter, but due to your hatred of President Bush and your love of Cindy Sheehan we have decided to spend our money in Jackson Hole," wrote Michael Lindquist of Redwood City, Calif., in an e-mail.
"It has hurt us," Sen. Orrin Hatch said of Anderson's "nasty" comments about the president.
But a few e-mailers have said the opposite - that they will come to Salt Lake City because of Anderson.
"I'm a Minnesotan, planning a vacation trek to the Southwest this fall. I now know we need to spend time in Utah so I can soak up some of the courage of your people who are fearlessly going against the political grain. May there be more courageous truth tellers like Rocky Anderson," Barbara Miller wrote.
Utah's tourism officials expect little fallout.
Scott Beck, president of the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, hadn't heard about the push for a Rotary boycott. But he noted hotel tax revenues and occupancy rates are up over last year - even after Anderson protested the president last summer when Bush was in town to speak to the Veterans of Foreign Wars conference.
"We, as a convention and visitors bureau, didn't see any change in travel patterns. We had a record year for [hotel] taxes."
Beck also noted the American Legion has urged him to submit a bid to host another convention in four years. "The citizens of the greater Salt Lake area can't be defined by one man's [Anderson's] actions."
Leigh von der Esch, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism, expects little repercussions. On Thursday, she had received no phone calls or e-mails from angry - or supportive - travelers.
It would be difficult to see a dent in Utah's $5.5 billion tourism industry by the protest, she said. "It'd have to be fairly significant."
She suggested the protest may even help the state. "We're trying to project a certain image in the state, and we're looking to overcome certain perceptions. [The protest] speaks to the fact there's a diversity of opinion in the state."
Meanwhile, Anderson was promoting himself Thursday on national, liberal Web sites. His office posted a copy of his speech on Daily Kos.
The mayor previously has said his outspoken, progressive views help dispel negative stereotypes about the state. He didn't respond directly to Lyle's plea.
In June, Anderson attended the Rotary's international convention in Sweden to urge members to come to Salt Lake City.
"Rotary International provides an incredibly critical service to millions of people around the world," said mayoral spokesman Patrick Thronson. "We welcome and are excited for them to come in 2007."
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Tribune reporter Matt Canham contributed to this story.