Governor's news conference for ethnic media well-received

A Spanish-language reporter likely broke new ground Thursday when she asked Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. a question about Mexican President Vicente Fox's planned visit to Utah.

The question was routine but the circumstance was rare, perhaps even a first: A reporter from a Spanish-language newspaper had attended the monthly KUED governor's news conference.

Before answering the question of Ingrid Quiroz, editor and publisher of La Prensaher, the governor welcomed Quiroz to the KUED news conference, then said he hoped the planned visit by Fox would happen in "the next couple of months."

"I think it speaks very well of our state that he has made it one stop of three," Huntsman said. "And clearly the relationship is strong. There are trade and economic links that are important today and will be increasingly important as Mexico is, and will continue to be, one of our most important trading partners."

That first was preceded by another: Before the KUED news conference, the governor held the first of what he said will be a monthly news conference for ethnic news media.

There Huntsman unveiled the new driving privilege card for undocumented immigrants, discussed plans for a task force that will address educational achievement gaps and made it clear to the reporters present that they are "always welcome."

Quiroz said "it took a lot of courage" to attend the KUED news conference, but once she settled in, she was treated just like everyone else.

When asked at the ethnic news conference why the minority media couldn't just attend the regular news conference, Huntsman replied they can but "nobody shows up."

Some topics overlapped the two news conferences: No Child Left Behind and U-PASS, the achievement gap and Amendment 3, which constitutionally bans same-sex marriage in Utah.

Huntsman told reporters that at various meetings with minority community representatives, education "kept coming up over and over."

Huntsman said U-PASS will include "measurable goals. . . . Some are talking about closing the achievement gap by 2014. That's very laudable. Our state needs to embrace some sort of due date."

Quiroz said the invitation from KUED and the ethnic news conference is a sign the governor is reaching out to minorities.

"The governor is creating a sense of trust," she said. "He's opened the doors."

D.C. Lee, editor in chief of the Korean Times of Utah, said it seems like the governor "is really trying to do something. . . . It's a really good start."

Quiroz acknowledged the governor might be doing damage control after decisions early in his tenure that weren't very popular with Hispanics, such as a perception that Huntsman had closed to the community the traditionally open process of choosing directors of the state's ethnic offices.

Quiroz had written an editorial outlining why she thought Leo Gonzalez, the new Hispanic Affairs director, was a political shoo-in, with no experience working with the community.

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com