This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
EnergySolutions - the company once known as Envirocare - wields a big stick in Tooele County, and two county commissioners say they have the scars to prove it.
Commissioners Matthew Lawrence and Dennis Rockwell were ousted at the Republican County convention last week because, they say, they bucked EnergySolutions' Joyce Hogan and refused to demote community development director Nicole Cline.
"Joyce Hogan told me you're going to have to make changes at the county or you are going down," Lawrence said. "She said Cline had to be taken out of her position, that she couldn't be the face of economic development in Tooele County, that she was an embarrassment."
Cline, who has worked at Tooele County for 15 years, earlier underwent sex-change procedures to become a woman.
Hogan, EnergySolutions' Tooele County liaison and vice chair of the county's Republican Party, refused numerous requests for an interview, but denied the allegations in an e-mail.
"In the recent Tooele County Republican Convention, I did not campaign against Commissioners Lawrence or Rockwell or any other candidate. Furthermore, I have never threatened any candidate to work toward their defeat in an election if they did not take my advice."
Hogan said Lawrence asked her about Cline heading up the county's economic-development program.
"I gave it as my opinion that it is the role of the County Commission to act as the voice of economic development in the county. My comments were about the role of the County Commission, not Ms. Cline, and in no way intended to disparage Ms. Cline."
EnergySolutions' vice president of public relations, Mark Walker, issued a one-sentence response to inquiries from The Salt Lake Tribune: "EnergySolutions would never presume to get into the internal operations of any governmental entity."
Asked if the company denies the commissioners' allegations, Walker said: "The only statement EnergySolutions has is what I just gave you."
Nonetheless, Rockwell said he had a conversation with Hogan six or seven months ago similar to the one described by his commission colleague.
"Joyce Hogan said, 'If you want to continue on as county commissioner, you have to put Nicole in a backroom where she can't be seen,' " Rockwell said.
But, like Lawrence, Rockwell said he wouldn't do it.
"I would never threaten anyone's job or career without cause," Rockwell said.
Cline said she was disappointed after learning of the allegations earlier this week.
She maintains her department has made great strides and said she has no intention of stepping down.
"I'm pretty tough to have done the things I've done," she said. "It's not going to bother me."
Historically, Envirocare - and later EnergySolutions - has enjoyed a cozy relationship with Tooele County officials. The company pays 5 percent of its annual gross receipts to the county - an amount in excess of $5 million. And both Lawrence and Rockwell have been supporters of the radioactive- and hazardous-waste disposal company.
But now, Lawrence fears, the company may have too much influence.
"I don't have a problem with political brokering," he said. "But I don't like the idea of a company buying a county."
Lawrence lost to Jerry Hurst at the GOP county convention, and Rockwell was upended by Bruce Clegg. In addition, Doug Hogan, Joyce Hogan's son, upset incumbent Tooele County Attorney Douglas Ahlstrom and will run unopposed in November.
With her EnergySolutions' credentials, Joyce Hogan packs a lot of clout in Tooele County, Lawrence said. But she went too far when she demanded action against a county employee, he added.
"I wouldn't sell out a person who had a transgender operation," Lawrence said. "And now I'm not a candidate in the fall. That's pretty heavy-handed."
But Tooele County GOP Chairman Greg Copeland said Lawrence and Rockwell simply are angry they lost.
"I had several discussions with Ms. Hogan, and she said she had no contact with any delegates before or after the convention," he said. "I have surveyed about half of the delegates and, so far, they have said they felt no pressure to vote a certain way."