Gov. Mike Leavitt and Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini are close to naming a new chairman of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee board of trustees, the group responsible for putting on the 2002 Winter Games.
Leavitt said Thursday during his monthly press conference on KUED that he anticipates a decision "within a matter of a day or two." The governor also said he'll make another Olympic-related announcement soon.He declined to elaborate but suggested the announcement would alleviate public concern about the Olympics and clarify the state's oversight role "in a way that would make everyone feel comfortable."
The governor is looking for a new state Olympic coordinator, after Bountiful city manager Tom Hardy accepted and then declined the newly created post. Hardy blamed "hostility toward anyone who questions what's going on."
The governor and mayor are choosing a replacement for Frank Joklik, who stayed on as chairman after taking over this summer as the organizing committee's president and chief executive officer from Tom Welch.
It's taken a month - so far - because the governor and mayor have to make the appointment jointly. And they started with very different ideas about who should do one of the two top Olympic jobs.
The governor wanted Nolan Karras, an investment adviser and former Utah House speaker, who represents him on the Olympic board. The mayor wanted another member of the board, Spence Eccles, the head of First Security Bank.
But now the governor and the mayor appear to have come up with a short list of candidates they both are willing to consider. Among the candidates on that list are:
- Bob Garff, another former speaker of the Utah House and an automobile dealership owner. Garff is chairman of the SLOC Board of Ethics, a panel empowered to investigate complaints about trustees.
- David Gardner, who was president of the University of Utah from 1973 to 1983 before going on to head the University of California system. Gardner is now president of an education foundation in Menlo Park, Calif.
- Chase Peterson, another former U. president. Peterson teaches at the university's medical school and is married to an Olympic trustee, Grethe Peterson.
- Stan Parrish, president of the Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. Parrish ran the Utah Department of Community and Economic Development and was chair-man of the state Republican Party.
- Jake Garn, former U.S. senator, now vice chairman of Huntsman Chemical. Garn reportedly took himself out of the running for the Olympic post. He could not be reached for comment.
Garff, Peterson and Parrish each said they had not been formally approached about the job. Gardner is in Europe on vacation and unavailable for comment.
The governor and mayor are down to "a handful of names that are the most prominent in their discussions," according to Leavitt's spokeswoman, Vicki Varela.
"That's not to say the gates have been closed for either one of them to bring up other names," Varela said.
The governor has talked with potential candidates, and conferred with leaders of the U.S. Olympic Committee and members of the International Olympic Committee about the appointment, she said.
The mayor is attending a seminar in San Francisco and did not return telephone calls about the appointment. An aide said she will not take action until next week. That would be in time for the next meeting of the trustees, scheduled for Oct. 9.
The board has yet to set a salary for Joklik, who was unpaid as chairman. Welch earned more than $300,000 annually as president and CEO.
Joklik said he has not been involved in the search. "For one thing, I've got work to do. And that's their responsibility," he said. "We've got to be patient with the governor and the mayor."
He said he knows and respects the four people whose names are being circulated as candidates for chairman. "These are all friends of mine, but I have a lot of other friends in this community, too," Joklik said.