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SALT LAKE CITY — Sean Reyes said he intends to continue raising public confidence in the embattled Utah Attorney General's Office after being sworn in Monday as the 21st person to become state's top cop.
It was the second time Reyes has taken an oath for the position, which he stepped into just over a year ago.
"We have spent a year returning trust to the A.G.'s office," Reyes said. "We will continue to make decisions based not on what is politically convenient or personally convenient, but what is right under the law."
Reyes, 43, was appointed to the position after his one-time political opponent, John Swallow, stepped down amid allegations of public corruption. Swallow and his predecessor, Mark Shurtleff, have since been charged with several felony counts ranging from accepting bribes to destroying evidence.
Reyes was elected to fill the final two years of Swallow's term in November, and he faces re-election again in 2016.
During his appointment, Reyes defended Utah's ban on same-sex marriage until the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, upholding lower court rulings that legalized gay marriage in Utah. Since the decision, however, he has encouraged state agencies to follow the new law.
We have spent a year returning trust to the A.G.'s office. We will continue to make decisions based not on what is politically convenient or personally convenient, but what is right under the law.
–Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes
Reyes has responded to criticism of the office by restructuring an internal ethics commission and creating a public corruption unit, emphasizing leadership changes based solely on merit.
At his inauguration ceremony at the state Capitol, Reyes spoke of his father's Spanish and Filipino heritage, as well as his mother's Japanese and native Hawaiian background. He said cultural elements from his family have taught him values that translate into his work — values such as respect, hard work and sacrifice.
But more than anything, integrity.
"I have led my legal teams with this tenet: We must win the right way," he said. "I want to win every time, whether it's a prosecution, civil case or an election, but how we win is more important than if we win."
Reyes' love for music and heritage was apparent during the program, which featured performances by the Ogden Buddhist Taiko and Salt Lake Polynesian drummers, the One Voice Children's Choir, guitarist Michael Lucarelli, and Reyes' father, Norberto "Buddy" Reyes.
Brian Tarbet, retired adjutant general of the Utah National Guard and former acting attorney general, said public perceptions of the attorney general's office have improved "by every measure" since Reyes was appointed.
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"The people of Utah need to know what a gem that office is," Tarbet said, crediting the office's strides in public approval, in part, to Reyes' level of dedication.
"He's tireless," he said. "When he says that he works all night, it's true. There are those of us who need sleep. He apparently doesn't. I'll get emails from him at the oddest hours. He may send them at 3 (a.m.), but I'll answer them at 6 (a.m.)."
Cheers and applause echoed through the Capitol's rotunda as a crowd of political, business and religious leaders met Reyes with standing ovations at the beginning and end of his remarks.
"It is my hope that I can continue to lift the A.G.'s office supported by my parents' example and the gifts of the cultures in my life," Reyes said. "I love this job and I'm energized every day by what we can accomplish for the state and its citizens."
