Three of the five members of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission are being replaced by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who has advocated relaxing Utah's liquor laws.
Among the list of appointees released by the governor's office Wednesday were replacements for three commissioners whose terms end on June 30 — Nicholas Hales, Frank Budd and Larry Lunt.
The new commissioners named by Huntsman are Bobbie Bicknell Coray, who retired a year ago as president and CEO of the Cache Chamber of Commerce; Gordon Strachan, a Park City lawyer; and Sam Granato, owner of the Frank Granato Importing Co. in Salt Lake City.
They must still be confirmed by the state Senate.
In 2005, Huntsman first acknowledged he wanted to let private clubs become bars and do away with memberships. But he has yet to ask lawmakers to take up what will no doubt be a controversial issue because of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' traditional opposition to liquor by the drink.
And the governor won't pursue it during the upcoming legislative session, his spokesman, Mike Mower, said. The 2008 Legislature will be the final general session before Huntsman is up for re-election in November 2008.
"We have enough in the way of other priorities for the 2008 session, including health care, education and improving the quality of the air we breathe," Mower said.
Mower said new appointments were made to replace members who had already served two terms, not to further liquor law changes.
However, one of the new commission appointees, Strachan, served on the governor's transition team as part of a group assigned to look at the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Among the group's recommendations was doing away with private clubs and allowing wine to be sold in supermarkets. Strachan did not return a telephone call for comment on Wednesday.
"Gordon was a key person in the transition overseeing this department and will bring his knowledge and his expertise to his new position as a commissioner," Mower said. But, he said, none of the new appointees have been "asked to help forward any legislation."
It's not clear whether the sole self-professed drinker on the board, Mary Ann Mantes, will have any company. Both Coray and Granato said they do not drink, but both also said they are familiar with the business of serving alcoholic beverages.
"I think I'm open-minded. I know the value of having restaurants that have alcohol available to the tourist industry, and I understand also the feelings of the people ... who don't want their communities to change," Coray said.
Granato said a lot of his Italian food importing company's wholesale business is done with restaurants and clubs that have liquor licenses, and "they seem to do a pretty brisk business with laws the way they are. I think it is a pretty easy state to get a drink in."
The department's operations director, Dennis Kellen, said it's not an issue whether or not a commissioner drinks. "I don't think that a commissioner needs to have a drinking background in order to an effective commissioner, " he said.
Kellen said the new commissioners all have experience with the industry and that makes them "very sensitive to changes that are presented to them and the questions that might arise about our liquor laws."
Other appointments include adding Tom Hatch, a former GOP state senator from Panguitch, to the Wildlife Board. Hatch was investigated by the Division of Wildlife Resources along with his brother for poaching a trophy elk in 2004, a charge to which his brother pleaded no contest.
In addition, Huntsman also appointed former state Rep. Stuart Adams to serve as chairman of the Utah Transportation Commission. The appointment was confirmed on Tuesday by the governor's office. Adams, who worked closely with Huntsman on a settlement of the Legacy Parkway lawsuit, replaces chairman Glen Brown, a former speaker of the House.
Brown, who is in the middle of a term on the commission, did not return repeated calls for comment. He also did not attend commission meetings on Tuesday or Wednesday in Brigham City. Brown was an opponent of the Legacy Parkway settlement and had clashed with Huntsman about the deal.
The Transportation Commission is a powerful seven-member board that decides what state road projects receive funding — and when.
Contributing: Nicole Warburton
E-mail: lisa@desnews.com