Utah remains CIO-less

Utah may be without a chief information officer for a while following Val Oveson's resignation prior to the inauguration of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jan 3.

A replacement for Oveson was not among the appointments Gov. Huntsman announced Wednesday, and a spokeswoman for Huntsman said she had no idea when a new CIO would be appointed.

The position will remain within the governor's office for the time being, she said, but that could change. There's a move under way by the governor to look at how state officials handle information technology, she said, and the state's Congress is due to consider legislation that could affect IT statewide.

Oveson reportedly believes the CIO position could be moved into the Administrative Services Department's IT Services Division.

Oveson was given the CIO's job in January 2003 by former Gov. Mike Leavitt. In previous jobs, he had served as the National Taxpayer Advocate in the Internal Revenue Service and as chairman of the Utah State Tax Commission.

He also served two years as Utah's lieutenant governor, when he also served as executive director of administrative services.

Robinson is a freelance journalist based in Portland, Ore. He can be reached at hullite@mindspring.com.