Joseph A. Cannon

Who is Joseph A. Cannon?

Joseph Angus "Joe" Cannon was Chairman of the Utah Republican Party from 2002 to 2006 and is currently the CEO of Fuel Freedom Foundation. Cannon was a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1992 and served as an assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1983 - 1985. He was named editor of the Deseret Morning News on December 8, 2006.

Cannon served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ireland, and also for a time served on the Isle of Man, the ancestral homeland of the Cannons. Cannon received a degree in political science and, in 1977, a law degree from Brigham Young University.

Cannon played a pivotal role in the purchase of Geneva Steel from U.S. Steel in 1987. After that transaction, he became Chairman of Geneva Steel. The company has twice filed for bankruptcy, most recently in 2002, and the Geneva Steel site will require up to $42 million in environmental remediation efforts, as the soil and water of the site are heavily polluted.