Wednesday, January 05, 2005

Salt Lake City, Utah – Utah Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., today announced his new cabinet members. The announcement follows an intense 40-day evaluation by the transition committees. Governor Huntsman created a transition team of more than 110 people, divided into 18 working groups, which conducted the evaluations. Transition Team Director Greg Hopkins says the teams followed a very definite process. "There was great consistency in the process. The teams focused their evaluations in three key areas: personnel, priorities, and efficiencies." The recommendations were submitted to Governor Huntsman, who made the final cabinet decisions. "I have great confidence in the process. The teams put in long hours to complete their work. Their recommendations were sound and the information was sufficient for me to build a strong team on." Cabinet Members Administrative Services Executive Director D’Arcy Dixon Pignanelli Replacing Camille Anthony Agriculture Commissioner Leonard Blackham Replacing Cary Peterson Commerce Executive Director Russell Skousen Replacing Klarice Bachman Community and Economic Development Executive Director Sylvia Haro (Community & Arts) Replacing David Harmer Corrections Executive Director Scott Carver Previous Interim Director Environmental Quality Executive Director Dianne Nielson Continuing Financial Institutions Commissioner Edward Leary Continuing Health Executive Director Dr. Sundwall Replacing Dr. Scott Williams  Human Resources Executive Director Jeff Herring Previous Interim Director Human Services Acting Executive Director Ron Stromberg Replacing Robin Williams Insurance Commissioner Kent Michie Replacing Merwin Stewart National Guard General Tarbet Continuing  Natural Resources Executive Director Mike Styler Replacing Robert Morgan Public Safety Commissioner Robert Flowers Continuing Transportation Executive Director Jon Njord Continuing Workforce Services Acting Executive Director John Nixon Replacing Raylene Ireland 6:42:29 PM