Leo Gonzalez, a 36-year-old Republican, was named director of the Office of Hispanic Affairs. The Office of Pacific Islander Affairs will be led by 39-year-old Fotu Osaiasi Katoa, a Republican. Michael Styles, a 42-year-old Democrat, was named director of the Office of Black Affairs.
In their former jobs, the new directors have had solid experience in supervising people, implementing programs and delivering good results, said Yvette Donosso Diaz, who was appointed department executive director by the Republican governor and started work Jan. 31.
"They were chosen for their strong management and leadership skills," Diaz told a crowd of about 50 people at a news conference. "They are all very result-driven."
The governor, Diaz said, is dedicated to working on strong diversity in government and businesses employment, so that one day "the need for an ethnic office will become obsolete."
During the news conference, Gonzalez was asked about his involvement in the Latino community.
"I've been involved well enough to know the issues that are affecting our community," he said.
Later, Gonzalez said he wants to work with the state agencies to make sure they are reaching out to Latinos. But some Latino community leaders said they have never heard of Gonzalez.
Robert Gallegos, a Latino activist for more than 30 years, said he is not aware of any community efforts that Gonzalez has been involved in.
"He hasn't paid his dues to the community," said Gallegos, Raz Political Action Committee president, in a phone interview. "They need someone in that position that has worked in the community and knows what the problems are."
Archie Archuleta, a Latino community activist in the state since the 1950s, said he hasn't heard about Gonzalez, but that "it's too early to put the 'thumbs down' on him."
"The only thing we can say now is - give him a chance and see if he does represent community issues," said Archuleta, chairman of the state Hispanic Democratic Caucus and Utah Coalition of La Raza.
Gonzalez said he is a former manager at Discover Financial Services, where he worked for five years. He moved from Colombia to Salt Lake City in 1991.
Katoa, who grew up in Salt Lake City, worked as the retail processing coordinator at the Layton Deseret Industries, a nonprofit group that teaches work skills to people and gets them jobs.
Styles, a Utah native already working in the office, is trading in his job as coordinator of the Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission.
On Friday, Diaz also announced the governor's appointment of Luz Maria Robles as the office's research analyst and Andrea Sainz as the community outreach coordinator.
The team will join the director of the Office of Asian Affairs, Edith Mitko, who remained on the job after Huntsman took office.
The annual salary for directors is between $50,000 and $55,000, said Tracie Cayford, the spokeswoman for the ethnic offices. The annual salary for the analyst or outreach coordinator is between $32,000 and $37,000, she said.
The ethnic offices used to report to the Department of Community and Economic Development, but after restructuring during the Legislature, they will be under Community and Culture, Diaz said.
The annual budget for the ethnic offices for the past few years has been about $500,000 a year, Diaz said. The Legislature appropriated an additional $227,000 this year, she said.
jsanchez@sltrib.com
