Having just won another term as Governor of Utah, Gary Herbert announced new appointments to his cabinet and senior staff on Thursday.
Gov. Herbert has tapped Deseret News editor and publisher Paul Edwards to serve as his deputy chief of staff over communications and policy.
“He’ll have a significant role in our senior staff administration helping us develop policy,” Herbert said at a press conference on Thursday. “But most importantly, making sure that what we do is communicated accurately with the public [and] with the press.”
Edwards said Thursday that when he was first approached by the governor in September, he and other managers at the Deseret News immediately separated him from coverage and editorials related to the gubernatorial race and Utah politics in general.
“We took this conflict of interest very seriously and I’ve been recused from all that coverage over the last month,” he said.
Edwards will step into the position later this month. The Deseret News announced Thursday that its news division managing editor Doug Wilks will take over as editor.
Herbert’s other appointments include Tani Downing, who will serve as executive director of the Department of Administrative Services, Jaceson Maughn as commissioner of the Utah Labor Commission, and former Salt Lake City Councilwoman Jill Remington Love, who will serve as executive director of the Department of Heritage and Arts. Sal Petilos will be reappointed as head of the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Those positions are subject to confirmation by the Utah Senate.
