Bob Garff is the new chairman of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee board of trustees - even though he wasn't the first choice of either Gov. Mike Leavitt or Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini.
Some sources are concerned that Garff, a former speaker of the Utah House who now manages his family's automobile dealerships, is a compromise candidate who'll have little control over Olympic organizers.Those sources are also saying the governor missed an opportunity to put a tough watchdog in place over the board responsible for staging the 2002 Winter Games at a cost of more than $1 billion.
Even sources who believe Garff will do fine as chairman suggest that Leavitt lost power in his handling of the appointment - possibly to the Legislature, which seems to want more say in the Olympics.
The smiles and calls for unity at the press conference Wednesday announcing Garff's appointment masked a great deal of bitterness, infighting and political one-upmanship that occurred over the past several weeks.
What happened?
The Deseret News contacted a number of Olympic sources in the private and public sectors to find out. Most were willing to speak only on the condition that their comments not be directly attributed to them.
Their concerns about the process come at a time when support for the Olympics appears to be at an all-time low. A new Deseret News poll shows just 53 percent of Utahns favor Salt Lake City hosting the Games.
That's down from 62 percent in July in a poll taken just after Tom Welch resigned as SLOC president. And below the previous low of 56 percent in November 1994, before the Winter Games were awarded to Salt Lake City.
The latest Dan Jones poll also shows that only 36 percent of Utahns are confident that the organizing committee can successfully stage the Olympics without leaving behind a debt for Utah taxpayers.
And just 19 percent of those polled agreed Welch should be paid a severance package worth more than $1 million, including a $10,000-a-month consulting fee. Seventy-seven percent disagreed - 58 percent strongly.
The poll of 404 Utahns was conducted Sept. 27-30 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent. The results surprised pollster Dan Jones.
"They've got their work cut out for them," Jones said of Olympic organizers.
Their latest public relations problem, the fight over the chairmanship, appears to be part of a larger, ongoing battle between those who want stronger government oversight of the Olympics and those who don't.
Some suggest those who don't are the state's business elite, the so-called Main Street crowd who believe they know best when it comes to running a major enterprise.
Leavitt initially wanted another former Utah House speaker, Nolan Karras, to take the job. Karras, a financial consultant, already represents the governor on the board and has a reputation for keeping an eye on Olympic spending.
But he can't make the appointment alone. The mayor has equal say, and Corradini wanted Spence Eccles, the head of First Security Corp. and also a member of the board.
Eccles also had the support of SLOC Chief Executive Officer Frank Joklik. Joklik, the retired head of Kennecott Copper, was chairman when he was tapped to take over from Welch earlier this year without a promised national search.
"Mike (the governor) got rolled on this one by Deedee. On every count, he lost," a legislative leader said. "He not only didn't get the president and CEO he wanted, he didn't even get a search for a new president. He didn't get the chairman he wanted. In fact, Bob Garff came off a list that Deedee gave Mike of people who were acceptable to her."
Another source said it wasn't fair to characterize the governor that way.
"Deedee was quicker on her feet. She outfoxed Mike because she called up five guys, telling each one he was her pick for chairman, and then gave the list to Mike and Garff was on the list.
"So it looks like it's her choice. But he was always acceptable to the governor. So if you end up with someone you're comfortable with, how is that bad?"
That list also reportedly included former University of Utah presidents David Gardner and Chase Peterson, former Utah Senator Jake Garn and Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce President Stan Parrish.
Leavitt downplayed his push for Karras. "Nolan really didn't want to do it," he said. "There are many people in this community who could do it. . . . It became evident Bob Garff was the best choice."
However, other sources said Karras did want the job and that Leavitt left him "twisting in the wind."
Corradini said she wanted a chairman who, No. 1, understood the local culture, preferably a native son or daughter, and, No. 2, had experience in the public sector.
Not all within city government agree that Corradini was strongly pushing for someone who would push for public accountability. Some say she wanted the Olympics to be run more like a business than a government.
"The mayor wanted less government oversight," said one source.
Various sources within the city said Corradini was opposed to Karras from the start as being too close to the governor and thus not responsive to city concerns.
Karras has also been criticized for seeking the position to further his political career. At one time, he considered running for governor but deferred to Leavitt, a fellow Republican.
A source who wanted to see Eccles as chairman said the state wants to run the Olympics and described the governor's effort to appoint Karras as an attempted take-over.
The source said Eccles deserved the job because of his long association with the Olympics. That included financial support of the multimillion-dollar bids for the 1998 and 2002 Winter Games.
"If there was a deficit at the end of the Games and it was $50 million, do you think for one minute he wouldn't write a check to cover that?" the source said, adding Eccles wouldn't "feel he has the same responsibility" as a board member.
The board of trustees has the responsibility of approving the budget for the organizing committee, which is relying on corporate sponsors, television networks and other private sources for much of its $1 billion-plus budget.
Utah taxpayers, though, have spent $59 million building a bob-sled and luge track and other Olympic facilities that the organizing committee has agreed to buy in 1999.
And the state has agreed to indemnify Salt Lake City against any debts left behind by the organizing committee. It's the city, not the state, that signed a contract to host the Games with the International Olympic Committee.
That means legislators are keeping a close eye on the organizing committee, fearing they'll be the ones who have to raise taxes if there is indeed a debt left after the Games are over.
They've already made their presence known to the organizing committee. At one point, Joklik seemed to want to stay on as chairman even after accepting the job as president and chief executive officer.
But legislative leaders and others pointed out that the chairman of the board needed to be able to provide oversight to the organizing committee, particularly on budget matters.
Legislative sources said it's still too early to tell how lawmakers will react to the fight over control of the organizing committee and the board of trustees.
"Certainly, there are a number of legislators who are disappointed in the governor's office over this chairmanship fight. I think the next couple of months will be a defining period for the Olympics management here.
"If they don't come up with a reasonable budget, if they don't watch expenses, if they ask the state for a bunch of new money, then, yes, you will see action (to get more state control of the Olympics)," a source said.
Another legislative leader, however, said lawmakers "should not be throwing up roadblocks" to a successful Olympics. "I don't see any reason whatsoever for the 1998 Legislature to act on any of this.
"Don't people remember that the state didn't want any liability? We said, `We'll give you $59 million, but that's it.' Now some (legislators) want to have more state control? No. The state simply can't run the Olympics."
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Deseret News Poll
Do you favor or oppose Salt Lake City hosting the 2002 Winter Olympics?
Strongly favor 23%
Somewhat favor 30%
Somewhat oppose 15%
Strongly oppose 18%
Don't know 14%
How confident are you that Frank Joklik and the management of the committee can successfully stage the Games without leaving behind debt that Utah taxpayers would have to pay?
Very confident 7%
Somewhat confident 29%
Not very confident 31%
Not at all confident 24%
Don't know 10%
Tom Welch will be paid $10,000 a month as a consultant until the Games are put onand receive about a $500,000 retirement benefit; a total package of about $1 million for his work. Do you agree or disagree with that amount of compensation?
Stongly agree 7%
Somewhat agree 12%
Somewhat disagree 19%
Strongly disagree 58%
Don't know 4%
This poll of 404 Utah residents was conducted by Dan Jones & Associates Sept. 27-30, 1997. It has a margin of error of +/-5 percent.