Leo Gonzalez, a 37-year-old Republican, officially resigned from his post Friday - after only 14 months on the job. His last day is May 26.

Gonzalez said he is giving up his governor-appointed position to be a "major partner" in "Diversity Talent Services," a new recruiting company. He said his new job means more time with his family and a bigger paycheck. His annual salary with the state was between $50,000 and $55,000.

"The opportunity was too good to pass up," Gonzalez said Tuesday in an interview.

The Community and Culture Department's former director and Gonzalez's boss, Yvette Diaz, resigned March 8 to return to her law career. Diaz, a Republican, was the state's first Latina department head.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. plans to announce Diaz's replacement "soon," and that appointee will pick a new Hispanic affairs director, a Huntsman spokesman said Tuesday. The opening for the Hispanic affairs position will be posted within the next two days, said Luz Robles, the Office of Ethnic Affairs director who oversees the division's four ethnic offices.

Robles said the departures of Diaz and Gonzalez have not and will not hamper implementation of the Office of Ethnic Affairs' strategic plan. She said the ethnic affairs directors have been working together on projects, so the others will take up where Gonzalez left off.

Gonzalo Palza, a former member of the state's Hispanic Advisory Board, said he's not surprised Gonzalez resigned from his position because the Huntsman administration has its own unique management style.

"He hasn't been able to produce what he thought he could do, but I don't blame him," Palza said of Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said some of his top accomplishments as director were informing the Latino community about the implementation of Utah driving privilege cards for mostly undocumented immigrants and organizing the ethnic business conference scheduled for August.

"I feel satisfied with the job I've done and what we've been able to accomplish here," he said.

jsanchez@sltrib.com