Two new members are expected to be added the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee board, some eight months after advocates for Utah's poor and minority communities demanded representation.
Before the members can be named, the additional positions must be approved by the Olympic committee's board of trustees, which meets Thursday. Gov. Mike Leavitt and Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini have already agreed to the change. No opposition is anticipated, and Leavitt has offered assurances that the members selected will satisfy the concerns raised by the advocates as well as the Salt Lake City Council.But a spokesman for the Community Coalition on the Impact of the 2002 Olympics said even if both appointments go to representatives of disadvantaged communities, that won't be enough.
"That's two out of 30, and that's not quite good enough," Glenn Bailey of the Crossroads Urban Center said. "We'll be closely watching the reappointments . . . and asking for more representation."
Bailey said that while expanding the board is "a good sign," too many members will still be among the state's richest and most powerful - and mostly white males. There are two women and one black man among the 28 trustees.
The Olympic committee, which is responsible for staging the 2002 Winter Games at a cost of some $1 billion, welcomes new members, said general counsel Jim Jardine.
"You get the benefit of new perspectives anytime you add a new board member," Jardine said. "It's always been the aim of the Olympic committee to reach out as far as possible."
The push for more diversity among Olympic trustees launched a legislative fight between the governor and the City Council, which attempted to force the appointment of community activist Maria Garciaz last November.
Garciaz, head of the Salt Lake Neighborhood Housing Services and active in a number of community organizations, was recommended by the mayor. Garciaz was also the choice of the coalition.
The governor, who said there wasn't room on the Olympic board for Garciaz, won the battle by persuading lawmakers to take away the City Council's appointment power over Olympic trustees.
But Leavitt also agreed that the number of members on the Olympic board should be increased from 28 to 30. That way, no current members would have to be replaced to make room for new appointments.
Six trustees are up for reappointment to the Olympic board, including the head of Utah Power, the chairman of Geneva Steel, an attorney, and other business and community leaders.
Currently, the Olympic board's bylaws give the governor and the mayor one appointment each to the board. Together, the governor and the mayor also appoint 16 Utahns.
Other members are the two International Olympic Committee members to the United States, as well as the president and executive director of the U.S. Olympic Committee. At least six members must also be athletes.
The change in the bylaws would increase the number of members who the governor and the mayor appoint jointly, from 16 to 18. It would also set the number of athlete appointments at six.
The governor's spokeswoman, Vicki Varela, said the governor and the mayor hope to announce the two new appointments before the Olympic trustees next meeting Thursday.
Garciaz is apparently still a candidate for one of the new positions. "She is still under consideration as are many other people," Varela said.
Garciaz said Tuesday that she was last interviewed by the governor's office several months ago and has not been contacted since then. "I haven't heard from anyone," she said.