Some Georgia Republicans’ newfound fondness for state jobs
A bunch of small-government Republicans sure are learning to love life in the public sector.
Chip Rogers, the recently deposed Senate majority leader, last week became the latest GOP lawmaker to leave the Gold Dome for a job at a state agency. Rogers resigned his seat to accept Gov. Nathan Deal’s offer to work for Georgia Public Broadcasting.
One guesses he won’t use his new perch to take up Mitt Romney’s crusade against government subsidies for Big Bird.
If Deal ever holds an all-agencies employee picnic, Rogers won’t lack for familiar faces. He’s the seventh Republican legislator in the past two years to take a job with the state.
There are former representatives Timothy Bearden, now head of the Georgia Law Enforcement Training Center; James Mills, now a member of the Board of Pardons and Paroles; Hank Huckaby, now chancellor of the University System of Georgia; and Mark Williams, now head of the Department of Natural Resources.
Then there are ex-senators Mitch Seabaugh, now deputy state treasurer, and Jim Butterworth, now adjutant general of the Georgia National Guard.
Normally, when good-government advocates bemoan the “revolving door,” they mean legislators, regulators and their aides moving on to jobs working or lobbying for the companies they used to oversee – not people leaving the Legislature for the full-time state payroll.
There also are, of course, a number of GOP legislators-turned-lobbyists. Nor should we ignore that, as with lobbyists for private companies, these ex-legislators’ experience and relationships in the General Assembly are coveted by the agencies that hire them.
And it’s true certain state jobs are appointed by the governor, and it’s true the governor has the right to fill them as he sees fit. That includes appointing legislators to them.
And perhaps we shouldn’t read anything into the fact that, by my count, these seven appointees represent more Legislature-to-bureaucracy career moves in two years than we saw in eight years under Gov. Sonny Perdue. (Technically, Perdue recommended Williams for the DNR job, in consultation with then-Gov.-elect Deal.)
But if there is concern about these moves among Georgians, particularly those who consider themselves small-government conservatives, there are at least two justifications for it.
First, there’s the obvious worry that legislators will spend their time angling for state jobs rather than doing the jobs they were elected to do – particularly when the sluggish economy is still making it tough to make a living in the private sector. But we might wave off this notion as overblown: We are talking about seven legislators in two years, and there are 236 members of the General Assembly. It’s a trend, but not yet a stampede.
The second concern may be less obvious but more pernicious: A big problem with chumminess among lawmakers and lobbyists is it’s harder to say no to one’s friends. It’s no different when those friends work for state agencies, with their annual budget requests.
That’s bound to enlarge government. And how many legislators would vote to close an obscure board, knowing it might one day hire them at a six-figure salary?
It would be nice to think the effect might be reversed, that these former GOP legislators might be just the ones we need to filter into the bureaucracy with their conservative principles in tow. It seems we’re due for an object lesson in whether you change the Leviathan, or it changes you.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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126 comments Add your comment
clem
December 10th, 2012
1:38 pm
what a load about putting repubs as agency heads. what do you folks think has been going on since perdue came in? most agency heads replaced by folks compatible with conservative thinking. ga has always been fiscally conservative, look at their bond ratings.
HDB
December 10th, 2012
1:41 pm
Interesting……conservatives rail against government jobs when it can get many in the populace back to work….but QUICKLY get government jobs to eliminate their own personal recession……..
Sister Sarah
December 10th, 2012
2:02 pm
It would be nice to think that, now wouldn’t it Kyle? It’s all a farce with most of these politicians anyway, especially those always criticizing “big government”. Funny how they devote their ENTIRE LIVES to being a part of “goverment”, all while selling their minions the silly idea that they are for “small” government. Ha!! I say make me a believer. LEAVE GOVERNMENT and make it in the private sector like most of the rest of us!!! It’s like the dopefiend parent who tells their kid, “You better not EVER use this —t!” All the while, they slam a shot of heroin into ther veins. The joke’s on you “small government” lovers.
Grasshopper
December 10th, 2012
2:03 pm
What a demotion Rogers got.
From leader of the state senate to leader of the Barney/Antiques Roadshow/Celtic Thunder channel – you know, the channel no one watches.
How much is he making?
td
December 10th, 2012
2:04 pm
mbtc
December 10th, 2012
1:33 pm
“Next step is to get about 200 or so Conservatives at the State DOE and in the University system to start writing Conservative curriculum. ”
You would have fit sooo well in the Third Reich’s propaganda machine, TD. Don’t give our youth an education, tell them what we want them to know.
The socialist left has now been writing the curriculum and spreading their ideology as fact for the past 30 years, so please get off your high horse about propaganda. It is time for Conservatives to wake up and doing what the left has been doing for decades.
yeah baby
December 10th, 2012
2:08 pm
“It is time for Conservatives to wake up and doing what the left has been doing for decades.”
So you are advocating propaganda, but from the right?
You did say that “The socialist left has now been writing the curriculum and spreading their ideology as fact for the past 30 years”
md
December 10th, 2012
2:10 pm
“Unemployment is not the same thing as Economy.”
Try telling that to the unemployed. They are one in the same when one does not have a job as the reason they do not have a job is because of the economy.
clem
December 10th, 2012
2:11 pm
good gosh, repubs have had a republican in as state superintendent since 2003…cathy cox until now. before that they had linda shrenko before her problems. this is 2012.
yeah baby
December 10th, 2012
2:11 pm
td
Can’t wait for that combined religious and science class…..
Lesson 1: Jesus, the disciples and their brontosaurus burger feast
md
December 10th, 2012
2:13 pm
And you are making a huge mistake assuming most corps are sitting on huge piles of cash, as most corps are not. The mom and pops are still struggling to keep their doors open. The bigger ones have more cash because they cut expenses……..people.
Jerry Eads
December 10th, 2012
2:14 pm
With some regularity you actually speak from a conservative view, rather than knee-jerking for the radical right-wingers who have the gall to label themselves Republicans. More actual conservatism, please. Most appreciated.
td
December 10th, 2012
2:15 pm
yeah baby
December 10th, 2012
2:08 pm
I am advocating teaching the Conservative philosophy of the free market, hard work and depending on your own hard work and not what the government can give you. If you want to call this propaganda the so be it.
td
December 10th, 2012
2:17 pm
clem
December 10th, 2012
2:11 pm
good gosh, repubs have had a republican in as state superintendent since 2003…cathy cox until now. before that they had linda shrenko before her problems. this is 2012.
Nice to see you are so well informed about who the current Superintendent is. Dr. John Barge. BTW: I would not classify Cathy or Linda as a Conservative.
yeah baby
December 10th, 2012
2:18 pm
td
It was your own words, not mine.
You said “doing what the left has been doing” and to that you said “spreading their ideology as fact”.
Clarify your post, but no need to get upset with me.
@@
December 10th, 2012
2:20 pm
Government workers (politicians) unwilling/unable to function in the real world?
Why am I not surprised.
clem
December 10th, 2012
2:21 pm
td, you moron. i know who super is. i said from cathy cox unti now. try reading slower.
mbtc
December 10th, 2012
2:26 pm
“The socialist left has now been writing the curriculum and spreading their ideology as fact for the past 30 years….”
Gotta sting that facts have a liberal bias. Ouch.
td
December 10th, 2012
2:27 pm
yeah baby
December 10th, 2012
2:18 pm
So you believe the left has been in charge of the education establishment and has been spreading their propaganda for 30 years?
yeah baby
December 10th, 2012
2:30 pm
td
You said that, not me. I was only pointing out exactly what you said. Again, clarify it or you can move on. Problem is that you do not want to clarify it because you said exactly what you want done: propaganda pushed to meet your ideology, facts be damned.
That is fine if that is what you believe, but do not twist and turn your words against me because I called you out for your words.
But keep flailing if it makes you feel good.
mbtc
December 10th, 2012
2:32 pm
“I am advocating teaching the Conservative philosophy of the free market, hard work and depending on your own hard work and not what the government can give you.”
That’s your curriculum? LOL Sounds like a kindergarten “values” class gone amuck with our Lord the Free Market replacing the Golden Rule. Ever had a thought of you own, td, you know, that wasn’t a direct quote from Hannity?
yeah baby
December 10th, 2012
2:36 pm
td
Lesson 2: Isaiah and his pet T Rex……… How he domesticated a few and raised them to sell to other families.
mbtc
December 10th, 2012
2:40 pm
” How he domesticated a few and raised them to sell to other families.”
Those little nestlings are so cute!
Cutty
December 10th, 2012
2:52 pm
But if there is concern about these moves among Georgians, particularly those who consider themselves small-government conservatives, there are at least two justifications for it.’
And then you found some ironic way to justify also. As much as you talk about the current President’s czars and such, you would think a similar instance occurring a lot closer to home would draw more of a rebuke from you. Guess not.
yuzeyurbrane
December 10th, 2012
2:52 pm
Why the shock? Deal has always been a spoils system politician, no matter which party he has been in.
JF McNamara
December 10th, 2012
3:03 pm
@md,
I feel bad for the unemployed, but you are simply wrong. The economy and unemployment are not the same thing. Like I tried to explain to your before, the biggest factor driving up unemployment is outsourcing.
Here are the unemployment stats by education level?
http://www.deptofnumbers.com/unemployment/demographics/
Which level jobs have been outsourced? Who has the highest unemployment rate here? The economy is fine. The problem is that many of the jobs that low skilled workers did are no longer here. Couple that with the fact that businesses really got lean over the recession, and it’s going to keep unemployment high for a while.
As a super Republican, I would think that you would agree with me. Those who took the initiative to get educated have jobs. Isn’t that what you preach? Those who worked the hardest are being rewarded. That’s the Republican ethos. Winners get rewarded.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
December 10th, 2012
3:05 pm
I’m sorry, but were any of these positions created specifically for these former pols?
Not that I can see.
So for all this faux poutrage from the left about Republicans and small government, they are simply filling existing jobs – NOT creating new government sending.
But if you’re all so hot to get rid of government on your own terms, then let’s just kill GPB completely so that Rogers (and anyone else) no longer has a job.
Otherwise, quit whining, even if you do it so darned well.
wa wa wa
December 10th, 2012
3:09 pm
ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
CBS Atlanta News has learned Gov. Nathan Deal may have played a bigger role in the selection of former state Sen. Chip Rogers of Cherokee County for a new position with Georgia Public Broadcasting than his office acknowledged.
Through an open records request, CBS Atlanta obtained an email showing Deal called a meeting to discuss his plans for a new GPB economic development programming initiative. The meeting was held at the Capitol in early November with then Senate Majority Leader Rogers, Teya Ryan, president of GPB, and three of Deal’s top staffers.
According to a GPB spokeswoman, this meeting was the first time Ryan learned of the governor’s initiative.
Records don’t reveal what was said in that meeting, but it clearly led to a new job for Rogers who suddenly stepped down from the Senate earlier this week to pursue the GPB position.
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/20286969/gov-deal-called-meeting-to-discuss-former-senators-new-gpb-job
JF McNamara
December 10th, 2012
3:10 pm
@md,
“The bigger ones have more cash because they cut expenses……..people.”
Indeed, and they sent the work overseas where it could be done cheaper.
“The mom and pops are still struggling to keep their doors open. ”
This is nothing new. Here is the success rates of small business from back in 2008 before the crash. It’s just hard to do business.
http://blog.globalbx.com/2008/10/06/small-business-statistics-and-failure-rates/
“And you are making a huge mistake assuming most corps are sitting on huge piles of cash, as most corps are not.”
Not true, they are. If businesses were performing poorly, their Wall Street Earnings would reflect it and their stock prices would fall. They have the money to hire and just aren’t.
Kyle Wingfield
December 10th, 2012
3:16 pm
Cutty @ 2:52: Those are justifications for the concern, not the moves. Thus, “justifications for it,” not “for them.”
Kyle Wingfield
December 10th, 2012
3:18 pm
JF: I pushed your 3:10 through. Not sure why it got hung up.
Kyle Wingfield
December 10th, 2012
3:20 pm
Also, Cutty: Thus I refer to “First…the obvious worry” and “The second concern.”
Georgia
December 10th, 2012
3:20 pm
Potatoe
1961_Xer
December 10th, 2012
3:23 pm
My questions:
What does Timothy Bearden know about the Georgia Law Enforcement Training Center?
What does James Mills know about the Board of Pardons and Paroles?
What does Hank Huckaby know about being chancellor of the University System of Georgia?
What does Mark Williams, know about the Department of Natural Resources?
What does Mitch Seabaugh know about being deputy state treasurer?
What does Jim Butterworth know about being adjutant general of the Georgia National Guard?
My guess is that none of these folks knew anything about the work and daily routine of these jobs. They got these jobs, not through merit, but through political connections. How very USSR of them. All in All, this looks like the perfect method to build inept bureaucracies at the very highest levels of state government. Shouldn’t these jobs have been filled with people QUALIFIED to do them?
nathan's political arsonist
December 10th, 2012
3:29 pm
all totally inept appointees with no credentials or expertise. deal will soon be exposed, once a crook, always a crook
nathan's political arsonist
December 10th, 2012
3:32 pm
butterworth wasn’t even qualified with his low military rank and had to seek an exception, williams hunts deer, bearden was a street patrol officer for one year. experts with national expertise were removed so these folks could land 6 figure jobs in tough ecomomic times
td
December 10th, 2012
3:36 pm
1961_Xer
December 10th, 2012
3:23 pm
What does all those College professors and community organizers know about the economy and creating jobs that Obama has appointed to key positions in his administration?
wa wa wa
December 10th, 2012
3:37 pm
td
Name the appointee and their background………….
@@
December 10th, 2012
3:40 pm
Potatoe. 19th century spelling.
We got lazy and cut off the “e”.
wa wa wa
December 10th, 2012
3:41 pm
@@
Maybe that blogger is Dan Quayle…….
Sister Sarah
December 10th, 2012
3:49 pm
I despise “government”.
Now can I get a GOVERNMENT JOB?
With GOVERNMENT PERKS?
and GOVERNMENT HEALTHCARE??
and GOVERNMENT PENSION??
Gee thanks!
HEY MINIONS, GOVERNMENT IS BAD!! Keep it small (but keep ME in!). I got your back (yeah… waaaayyy back)
Suckers!
Sister Sarah
December 10th, 2012
3:58 pm
td
December 10th, 2012
3:36 pm
NAME THEM!!’ or is this just one of those “hyperbole much?” situations?
1961_Xer
December 10th, 2012
4:03 pm
1961_Xer
December 10th, 2012
3:23 pm
What does all those College professors and community organizers know about the economy and creating jobs that Obama has appointed to key positions in his administration?
Not sure why that was aimed at me… I am a conservative. I AGREE that Obama (nor any member of his administration) knows the first thing about the economy or creating jobs.
What we are seeing is inept government at virtually every level … any you liberals want to give government (yes, that means Obama at the national level and Deal at the state level) control over your healthcare?
I suppose that if you can’t afford it, government health insurance is better than no health insurance. For everyone else though, this is bureaucracy building at the very worst.
Real Athens
December 10th, 2012
4:08 pm
“I am advocating teaching the Conservative philosophy of the free market, hard work and depending on your own hard work and not what the government can give you. If you want to call this propaganda the so be it.”
Just like Chip Rogers? Or maybe Nathan Deal who has been on a government payroll (including all the unpaid as-of-yet benefits) since 1980.
Real conservatism. LOL.
Dusty
December 10th, 2012
4:11 pm
Hey, seems to me you folks are not studying these developments with an open mind. Tiberius came up with a good point. Were these jobs not already set up and had to be filled? None were recently designed as far as I can tell.
Who else besides the governor would be leading a discussion about applicants and requirements for a new leadership position that is available?
Also, would someone who has been active in the governmental activities of the state know more about governmental requirements and other info that a newcomer?
Many of you are following the same old mindset that every governor and every governmental employee is crooked or interested only in his own welfare. I don’t think that is true of Deal and many others. Deal is governor of GEORGIA and that is where he looks primarily for workers.
That is not true for our educational system at universities. Professors are chosen for their expertise and study in a particular field.Tthis talk about dinosaurs is as backwards as are the times of dinosaurs. Only a few isolated schools in the USA ever thought of that age in nonscientific ways. To think so is only the prolific use of ignorant judgmental propaganda.
Dusty
December 10th, 2012
4:47 pm
Just for a moment, did everyone have a good time like I did driving home in the pouring rain? Now, no rain, lotsa clouds and cold air drifting in with icy fingers.
I bet Hillbilly is shivering up there in the chilly mountains. Throw another log on the fire, Hillbilly..
Real Athens
December 10th, 2012
4:49 pm
1961_Xer @ 3:23 pm:
In the 1960s and 1970s, Hank Huckaby taught at Georgia Perimeter (then Dekalb) College and Emory University. He worked as an administrator at Gordon College and Georgia State University. He worked as senior vice president for finance and administration (Comptroller) at UGA until 2006. He serves on the Young Harris College Board of Trustees.
He spent years as a trusted confidant/advisor to Zell Miller.
http://www.usg.edu/chancellor/bio
He is arguably the only qualified appointment Nathan Deal has made in his short tenure.
Real Athens
December 10th, 2012
4:54 pm
“The socialist left has now been writing the curriculum and spreading their ideology as fact for the past 30 years, so please get off your high horse about propaganda. It is time for Conservatives to wake up and doing what the left has been doing for decades.”
The poster obviously hasn’t been on a Georgia university or college campus in a very, very long time (if ever).
Dusty
December 10th, 2012
5:00 pm
Real Athens.
I haven’t heard of any others that Deal recommended that failed to pass the test. Rogers has not started yet so he can’t be judged on his new job.
Who did you have in mind that has failed miserably?
Real Athens
December 10th, 2012
5:28 pm
D -
Trying to pick a fight are ye? Who mentioned “failing miserably”? Um, you. Need to work on those retention skills.
I said: “He is arguably the only qualified appointment Nathan Deal has made in his short tenure.” Qualified as in, qualified for his position. Deal’s other appointments? Not so much.
Go play in the rain.
Dusty
December 10th, 2012
5:47 pm
R A-
Pick a fight with a pleasant fellow like you? Why nol I’d rather ;play in the rain.
Perhaps you would not mind telling me who are the unqualifed people appointed by Deal. that you implied? Obviousy you have someone in mind or was it just any ol’ Republican?.