This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Gov. Gary Herbert has hired Deseret News editor and publisher Paul Edwards as his new deputy chief of staff in charge of communications and nominated four others to be members of his Cabinet after winning re-election Tuesday.
"If there's one message we might take from [the recent presidential election], it is a lot of people around the country, including here, are frustrated with what is happening with one-size-fits-all solutions at the federal government and they're looking for greater understanding and success with what they might see at the state and local level," Edwards said.
The Deseret News wrote a scathing editorial about then-presidential candidate Donald Trump during the campaign, calling him a huckster, a misogynist, and narcissist and said that an audio of Trump bragging about sexually aggressive behavior toward women that "oozes … evil."
Edwards said Thursday in a news conference that he was not involved in the paper's election coverage. He said he and managers at the paper created firewalls to isolate him from all of the political opinions and coverage since September, when the governor's office contacted him about the position.
He later clarified to The Tribune that that distancing only applied to state political coverage, including the gubernatorial, attorney general, congressional and legislative races — not the presidential election — and acknowledged that he had been actively involved in the decision to write and publish the controversial anti-Trump editorial.
Herbert said Edwards will play a role in developing policy in the office, "but most importantly, making sure that what we do is communicated accurately with the public and with the press."
The Deseret News announced Doug Wilks, news division managing editor for the paper and KSL broadcasting, will take over as editor.
Edwards has served as editor of the state's second-largest newspaper, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, since December 2011, and later was made publisher of the news outlet.
During his tenure, the Deseret News emphasized coverage of faith and family, added a new national edition and, based on that, reported a big jump in Sunday circulation, although its daily circulation declined, along with most newspapers in the country.
He replaces Jon Cox, a former state representative who worked as the governor's communications director until this summer, when he became vice president of government affairs for Rocky Mountain Power.
The governor also nominated Tani Downing, who currently serves as the state's director of risk management, to lead the Department of Administrative Services. He made Jaceson Maughan's role as interim commissioner on the state's Labor Commission permanent, and he appointed Jill Remington Love, a Democrat, former Salt Lake City councilwoman and, later, a member of Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker's administration, as the director of the Utah Department of Heritage and Arts.
Herbert also re-appointed Sal Petilos as director of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Each of the positions, except for Edwards' hiring, is subject to confirmation by the Senate.
Twitter: @RobertGehrke