Oveson and others leaving top posts

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who was sworn into office Monday, plans on announcing new Cabinet members Wednesday.

Several top state executives have already resigned, knowing Huntsman wasn't going to keep them.

Another who is leaving is Val Oveson, the current CIO or chief information officer and former lieutenant governor and tax commissioner.

Oveson said Monday he's not staying on, even though he offered to do so for Huntsman.

One who won't be joining Huntsman is Salt Lake County Sheriff Aaron Kennard. As part of state government reorganization, it's been rumored for weeks that Huntsman could propose joining the Department of Corrections with the Department of Public Safety and placing Kennard at the head of the combined operations.

Kennard said Monday he's staying on as county sheriff, an elective post. Kennard was not up for election in 2004; his next re-election is 2006.

Oveson said Huntsman is looking to reorganize parts of state government and the current CIO position, now a member of the governor's immediate staff, could be moved over into the Division of Information Technology Services in the Department of Administrative Services.

Oveson was former Gov. Norm Bangerter's lieutenant governor. After Bangerter left office in 1993, Oveson served as a state tax commissioner and with the federal Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C., before joining former Gov. Mike Leavitt's administration as CIO.

Oveson helped clean up a mess in the state's information services after charges were made that Leavitt hired top ITS people from the private sector, who in turn hired former private-sector colleagues without going through proper state hiring procedures.