A Senate committee voted to initially approve a new State Board of Education member Monday, more than seven months after former Gov. Jon Huntsman first nominated a different man for the job.

The committee voted to recommend the Senate confirm Craig Coleman, a plant sciences professor at BYU, to represent District 3, which covers parts of Utah, Tooele, Salt Lake and Juab counties. Their vote came less than a week after Gov. Gary Herbert chose Coleman for the spot.

The vote, however, came more than seven months after Huntsman first informally appointed Michael Clarke Johnsen, former Tooele School District superintendent, for the seat. The committee never met to vote on Johnsen.

"It has been a little frustrating and disappointing that it has been such a political and lengthy process," said Debra Roberts, chairwoman of the State Board of Education. "The part that made me really feel bad was that whole section of the state was not represented in some really vital decisions over the past few months, but the past is the past and you move on from here."

She said Johnsen was "a victim of the process" and "that's too bad because he is a very impressive gentleman."

When Huntsman first informally named Johnsen for the seat in March, several lawmakers and Richard Moss, who held the seat before moving out of state in April, responded with concerns that Huntsman didn't open the nomination process wide enough.

Senate Education Confirmation

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Committee chairman Sen. Curtis Bramble, however, said the committee never met to vote on Johnsen's nomination because it had trouble finding a date when all the members could meet. Johnsen was formally nominated May 5. Then when Huntsman resigned as governor in August, legal counsel told committee members that meant his nomination had expired, Bramble said. Herbert was then urged to submit his own nomination, Bramble said.

Angie Welling, a spokeswoman for Herbert, said the governor decided to re-start the selection process from scratch "given the amount of time the seat had been open, as well as the lapse in time from when Governor Huntsman first submitted a name for the seat."

Herbert re-opened the selection process in October. Coleman said he decided to apply for the seat after his state senator, Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Lehi, urged him to. Four people expressed interest in the seat, including Johnsen. Coleman and Johnsen both interviewed with the governor, but Herbert chose Coleman.

"The governor ultimately felt Mister Coleman's proven strengths in math and science would bring a great benefit to the board," Welling said.

Herbert submitted Coleman's name to the Senate late last week. And the five-member committee met and voted Monday even though only three members were present.

Bramble said the committee met this time with only a few members because he didn't know until this weekend that one member wouldn't be able to make it. When asked if the committee delayed voting on a nominee for political reasons, Bramble answered, "We discharged our duty as a confirmation committee today with the name Governor Herbert submitted."

Coleman said he was unaware of the controversy surrounding Johnsen's nomination. He said once the Senate confirms his nomination later this month, he will serve out the rest of the term. He said he's undecided about whether he'll run to keep the seat when the term is up. He said he hopes to help improve science instruction in Utah.

Johnsen said he was hoping to serve but is glad the area will at least be represented again.

"I realize a process takes a long time, but this seemed an inordinate amount of time," Johnsen said. "People have gone unrepresented for too long."