'Musical chairs' in Utah?

On the heels of a scathing legislative audit detailing an institutionalized "good ol' boys" system within the Utah Department of Corrections, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. announced Thursday the removal of Scott Carver as Corrections executive director.

According to the announcement, Carver will be reassigned within the governor's administration in a musical chairs-type switch among three officials:

• Tom Patterson, the current executive director for the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, was nominated by Huntsman to head Utah's corrections system. His appointment is pending confirmation by the Utah Senate.

• Retired Judge Bob Yeates, who heads the Utah Sentencing Commission, will take Patterson's place as CCJJ executive director, also pending Senate confirmation.

• Carver accepted a position as the new director for the Utah Sentencing Commission, which does not need Senate confirmation because it is considered a governor's staff position.

"I am confident in the skills and abilities of all these public servants. Their individual willingness to serve the great state of Utah deserves our sincere gratitude," Huntsman said in Thursday's statement.

Governor's spokesman Mike Mower acknowledged the move comes after the release of an audit last month that detailed an "underlying culture of unfairness and favoritism," within the department.

"We recognize it was important to make a culture change at the top of Corrections, and the audit highlighted some of the reasons for that change," Mower said.

Department of Corrections spokesman Jack Ford said Carver had no comment.

The report detailed numerous examples of violations of department policy and of the law where internal investigations were thwarted by administration.

The report also noted possible abuse of some 192 "commute vehicles" at a cost of $1.1 million in taxpayer dollars and seriously low morale among Corrections employees. When surveyed in 2003, 76 percent of employees said they believed favoritism was widespread.

Carver did not lead Corrections at that time, but the audit noted little appeared to have changed under his administration. It was also noted that more than 100 corrections officers were behind on their certification training.

It isn't the first time the issue of favoritism has come up. In 1990 another legislative audit pointed out instances of nepotism for job positions and other problems. In 2004, the Governor's Transition Report noted concerns of "favorable treatment of management" and even recommended at the time that Carver be demoted to deputy director and replaced with someone "outside the department."