In the wake of the scandals that helped propel him to office, Peter Corroon is going for new blood with regard to his top administrative appointments.

The Salt Lake County mayor-elect Monday chose Karen Suzuki-Okabe as his deputy mayor and Doug Willmore as his chief administrative officer, neither of whom have been affiliated with county government before.

"It wasn't the deciding factor, but yeah, it was an influence," Corroon said of the two appointees' outsider status.

The current deputy mayor is Alan Dayton, who has long indicated his desire to get out of county government but who will stay on as a consultant to Corroon through the 2005 legislative session. Corroon passed over current chief administrative officer David Marshall in favor of Willmore.

By general consensus, Marshall, who has been in county government for many years, is the government's institutional memory personified.

"Dave has a lot of knowledge there, and we're going to try to utilize that in any way that we can," Willmore said.

Willmore and Suzuki-Okabe will assist Corroon in the selection of department heads and a public information officer, among other choices to be made. Both appointees were on the incoming mayor's transition team.

Suzuki-Okabe has extensive experience in human resources, working for Salt Lake City and, for 10 years under then-Gov. Mike Leavitt, as executive director of the state Department of Human Resource Management. She said she was "stunned" by the appointment, but "I quickly realized that it was too great of an opportunity to make a difference to pass it up."

Willmore, while holding bachelor's and master's degrees in public administration, has gained most of his experience in the private sector, most notably consulting with financially troubled or bankrupt companies to help turn them around. The parallels with the county's recent troubles were not lost on Corroon.

"I thought it would be a good inspirational fit for Salt Lake County, getting people working together and getting the county back on track," Corroon said.

Corroon said he plans to have all his major administrative appointments made by Wednesday.

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