A departing state school board member is so distressed about the "secret" process Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. used in picking his replacement that he wants the Senate to reject the nominee.
And some key state senators share his concerns.
Richard Moss, who is leaving the board at month's end to move to Arizona, says he doesn't question the qualifications of former Tooele School Superintendent Michael Clarke Johnsen to replace him, but he doubts other interested candidates were given a fair shot.
"I'd like this to be an open process now and in the future, because there were some people I know who wanted to apply," said Moss, whose District 3 covered Tooele, Tintic and Nebo school districts along with the south end of Salt Lake County. "I was just asking the governor that this be open and allow people to submit their names."
Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, said members of the committee who will review Johnsen's selection owe the governor the courtesy of a hearing.
"That doesn't mean we rubber-stamp any picks," he said, noting that the Senate plays an advise-and-consent role. Huntsman "obviously left us out of the advise portion of it. He's just asked for the consent part of it. I guess based on those grounds alone we could have the basis to reject him."
Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, chairman of the education appropriations committee, said he found out Moss was leaving when he read that Huntsman had named a replacement.
"We've heard a lot about transparency in government and the need to choose representatives of the people in an open process," he said, "and this didn't appear to be open."
Stephenson said the governor should at least consider withdrawing Johnsen's selection.
The lawmaker said he has the "utmost respect" for Johnsen and added that the former Tooele school chief knows as much about education as anybody in Utah. "But still the question is: Would there have been someone else chosen had individuals in the district been able to apply for consideration?"
Huntsman's spokeswoman, Lisa Roskelley, said other candidates were considered by the governor's education director, Christine Kearl. But Johnsen brought experience with education issues and a geographic diversity to the board.
"The governor was primarily concerned that the person selected was someone who was steeped in education issues so there wasn't a learning curve that was unproductive," she said. "Michael Johnsen is a qualified individual and would have a résumé that would stand up to scrutiny."
Huntsman appointed Johnsen on March 24, fewer than two weeks after Moss submitted his resignation. If Johnsen is confirmed by the Senate, he would fill the remainder of Moss's term, and voters would pick a board member for the district in November 2010.
The Senate will not meet again until mid-May and could not confirm him until then. A hearing could come any time after the governor formally sends the Senate the nomination.
In a letter to Huntsman, Moss said he had "grave concerns about the process for naming my replacement" and urged the governor to pull back the appointment. If not, he said he hoped the Senate would block it.
"I expect secrecy like this in an authoritarian regime," he wrote, "not from the state of Utah."
