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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's new Attorney General admits he has a lot on his plate in the wake of the John Swallow scandal and the Amendment 3 appeal.
He hasn't even been sworn in, but newly appointed Attorney General Sean Reyes is busy in his new office, overseeing an appeal on a federal judge's ruling on same-sex marriage.
"I believe all the citizens of the state of Utah are benefitted from a process that will eventually give us clarity and closure from the Supreme Court," Reyes said.
Reyes he ran for the attorney general's office in 2012, but lost to John Swallow in the Republican primary. He said it's a little strange to take the office now.
"This is a unique opportunity to come back and hopefully implement what I would've loved to have started a year ago," Reyes said.
He said he wants to improve morale and efficiency in the office. He wants to do it with the input from many voices — including democrats &mdash by implementing openness and collaboration with state agency heads and stakeholders.
Aside from the Amendment 3 appeal, Reyes said he wants to continue the office's work fighting Internet sex crimes against children, crimes from illegal immigrants and white collar crime.
Reyes also insists he's not politically tied to Governor Herbert who appointed him.
"Many of our principals are aligned, but that does not mean I'm beholden to the governor, and I don't think the governor expects that out of the relationship," Reyes said.
Reyes said he knows he's got a big job ahead of him, and he only has a few months to make headway before he has to start worrying about next year's election to fill the rest of Swallow's regular term.
