Huntsman adviser already in hot seat

"We're developing strategy and a new program and restructuring first." Roybal, the former head of the nonprofit Economic Development Corporation of Utah, said. "Then we'll look at hiring where we need it."

He said the department was intended to be made up of "private-sector professionals bringing their experience to the table and acting as temporary custodians of those appointed spots."

Roybal said he was — and wasn't — surprised at the reaction to the changes in the department. "On the one hand, yes. Obviously they all knew they were appointed. And maybe no from the standpoint there wasn't much transition in the last 12 years."

The turnover will benefit economic development, he said. Letting the department stagnate was not healthy, Roybal said. "It doesn't mean we aren't going to utilize some of the talent there. . . . There are certainly people with expertise who have been kept."

Among those, he said, is Dick Bradford, who served as the department's deputy director and acting director of the travel division and will stay on in the No. 2 spot. The former head of the department, David Harmer, stepped down earlier this week and won't be replaced.

Roybal said the changes were the result of an analysis of the state's economic development effort that began more than a year ago. Roybal was one of the advisers on Huntsman's campaign, helping to put together his economic development plan.

"There's been some careful planning. There's been some significant input by the business community," Roybal said. "This isn't something we made a hurried decision on in a couple of days.

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