"Do you see where we might have a little lack of faith in that comment?" Hansen retorted, questioning whether the resignation process followed state law and saying that Christensen and Frey were "imposed" on the board without consultation.

"I think what I want to drive home is that you have a very committed group of people, but there's an arrogance of power that needs to be corrected," Hansen said. "We are very much committed to economic development, but it feels like we're not in a political administration. We're in a regime that feels they can do whatever they like, contrary to the law."

"If this administration is willing to work under the rule of law, we will be very supportive. But if we're going to be a political toy to gain credence . . . I know you've got a problem here, but to simply say, 'Please roll over and play dead for the new regime,' I don't think that's what some of us will do."

A few board members characterized the changes as happening without a strategy, especially after Roybal said that, in some cases, the administration needs to decide the state's role and mission, then figure out staffing to accomplish those plans and determine what public and private players could help.

"What I keep hearing is that there's not really a plan, that we came in and decimated the entire department without having a real plan in place to replace them," board member Joel Bradford said. "It would be one thing if we came in and said, 'All right, we're going to decimate the department, but here's our plan, step by step, to come in and rebuild it,' but that's not what I'm hearing."

"Well, I'm sorry you don't hear it that way," Roybal replied. "We're not going to have our entire strategic plan in place the second week that we're operating."

Bradford also criticized the EDCU's role in recruitment, a move that nearly happened six years ago. "Now, what it looks like is . . . a coup by the EDCU to come in and take over the board," he said.

Roybal said the EDCU, which he called "a partner colleague of the state of Utah," will handle client matters for the time being and that the governor will be "looking at areas of duplication of services, being more efficient and leveraging our resources."

"There's been no contract offered to the Economic Development Corp. of Utah, but clearly we would hope that this board would look at that situation and others where we could leverage resources, eliminate duplication and have accountability for the services that are offered," Roybal said.