This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday he supports John Njord, although he criticized the state transportation boss over the way the high-profile reinstatement of a fired employee has been handled.
"He already knows my displeasure," Herbert said during his monthly KUED TV news conference, referring to a meeting he had Wednesday with the Utah Department of Transportation director.
Njord fired employee Denice Graham more than a year ago, accusing her of leaking information about a $1.1 billion contract to rebuild Interstate 15 through Utah County. A judge ordered her reinstated earlier this year, but Graham's attorneys and UDOT have been at odds over her back wages.
Earlier this month, UDOT said it would pay Graham $67,000 in back pay if she would write a letter to the Democratic Party asking it to stop publicizing her case — a request Graham refused.
Herbert said when his aides became aware of the request, they told Njord it "was not appropriate" and UDOT withdrew the request.
The group Alliance for a Better Utah, which has Democratic ties, has called on the Republican governor to fire Njord. But Herbert said he has confidence in the UDOT leader and accused the alliance of playing politics.
"He, in fact, made a mistake in injecting politics," Herbert said. "He wanted to depoliticize it; that was his intent. All he did was politicize it more, so it was wrong and I don't defend the indefensible here. But it's being politicized by others. I know it and you know it."
Herbert said Njord is "an extraordinary individual. Probably one of the best in America when it comes to building roads."
Maryann Martindale, of Alliance for a Better Utah, continued to call for a full-blown probe of UDOT and the Attorney General's Office.
The group "is disappointed to see Governor Herbert once again dodging responsibility with John Njord and UDOT. The Governor's responsibility as a leader is to publicly investigate when mistakes are made and hold those responsible accountable. Mr. Njord has demonstrated a continued lack of judgment over one of Utah's most powerful agencies."
Graham was the civil rights manager at UDOT and part of the bid team on the I-15 CORE project, the largest road undertaking in Utah history. She was accused by Njord of leaking confidential information about the bid to a contractor, although the Career Service Review Office deemed she hadn't and, even if she had, that the firing was unwarranted.
UDOT ultimately paid $13 million to the losing bidder to avoid litigation, a settlement the governor has said he knew nothing about. An audit of the I-15 CORE contract found that the process was badly flawed.
Graham said that, since she has returned to UDOT, she has been stuck in an engineering office doing "entry-level" work.
Negotiations over her back wages have broken down. Graham and UDOT are returning to the Career Service Review Office for a decision on what, if anything, she is owed.
Graham is also seeking $50,000 in attorney fees, although the office doesn't have the authority to require UDOT to pay those.