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
Real Athens
December 10th, 2012
6:04 pm
Newsflash: Hank Huckaby is a Republican.
Figure out what’s going on around you and draw your own conclusions. Start with Kyle’s blog. Google your own name (as you respond to every post) and that might serve to jog your memory regarding Deal’s appointments.
Not that it hasn’t been going on in Georgia since time immemorial, it appears Deal’s blatant cronyism and disregard for the appearance of malfeasance has soared to new heights. I find it hard to believe that the states best and brightest all reside in Hall County (or counties that touch it).
Upon entering the governors race, Nathan Deal filed for bankruptcy. If when he leaves he isn’t a millionaire I’ll eat my hat.
@@
December 10th, 2012
6:24 pm
Maybe that blogger is Dan Quayle…….
Maybe Quayle was the reincarnation of William Wordsworth.
maybe….maybe….maybe
yuzeyurbrane
December 10th, 2012
7:06 pm
tiberius–I am sure you will doublecheck me, which is fine, but it appears that Chip Rogers’ position was designed specifically for him, although I am certain GPB will deny it.
Dusty
December 10th, 2012
7:42 pm
R-A
Nathan Deal filed for bankruptcy after losing most of what he owned to help HIS ;DAUGHTER. Do you remember that? His daughter made a bad business decision and Deal did his best to help her. What money/investments he has now are put in trust. He does not direct his business dealings while he is govenmor.
So it is also important to you what county an appointee is from. Even that is questionable.
What next? You got a certain city in mind?
wa wa wa
December 10th, 2012
7:53 pm
You get em big Dust……………
straighten them out
Real Athens
December 10th, 2012
7:59 pm
Dusty -
Been in the booze?
Where appointees are from is important when nearly 15 percent of the 300 appointees made early in his administration are from one county. Deal’s use of appointments and re-appointments to “independent boards” is an oxymoron. Longtime Republican activist Warren Budd was not reappointed to the state’s Department of Natural Resources board “after he openly complained that the location of reservoirs under the Governor’s plan were too heavily weighted north of Atlanta and served interests of connected developers.” Deal’s Deputy Chief of Staff went so far as to call Budd’s removal a “teachable moment for others who serve at the pleasure of the Governor.”
The Executive Secretary of the State Ethics Commission was removed from her positions as she sought subpoenas in ethics cases against the Governor.
Deal somewhat quietly appointed three close political allies to the board of the Georgia Ports Authority. Ken Cronan of Gainesville, the Governor’s business partner for decades; James Walters of Gainesville, the Governor’s banker, landlord and campaign donor to the tune of $30,000; and Hugh Tarbutton of Sandersville, also a large campaign donor.
Toby Carr, GDOT Planning Director — A political adviser to Gov. Deal, Carr had no previous transportation experience. He replaced Todd Long, a career transportation planner and engineer. His qualification? Former director of the Georgia Republican Party.
State Sen. Jim Butterworth, Adjutant General, Georgia National Guard — Gov. Deal advanced State Sen. Butterworth six ranks to make this appointment. Butterworth had left the Air Guard with the rank of captain — but now wears the uniform of a two-star general.
Patricia Pridemore, Director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development —After appointing his political ally to this post, Gov. Deal increased her budget by 1,339 percent to $73.4 million.
Debbie Dlugolenski Alford, CEO of Georgia Lottery. Alford became the first person to serve in this position with no previous state lottery experience. Alford held several high-profile jobs in state government. She received a 93 percent raise over what she was paid in her last position.
Elizabeth D. Gobeil, State Board of Workers’ Compensation. Her qualification? An attorney for 15 years. Oh, that and the wife of the Deal administration’s Chief Operating Officer.
David Cook, to head the Department of Community Health. A longtime lobbyist and Deal’s chief of staff during the 1990s while he served in the state Senate and Congress.
Chris Cummiskey, to head the Department of Economic Development. Lobbyist for the University of Georgia and a former aide to U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson and House Speaker Glenn Richardson.
Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, named deputy state treasurer, shortly after he successfully led the Senate’s Republican-run political redistricting effort.
It’s Nathan Deal that is questionable.
Real Athens
December 10th, 2012
8:04 pm
Perhaps you’ll listen to another voice of reason:
(Then) “Deal announced he was running for governor. And I found I couldn’t name a single thing he had done while in Washington. Not one.
Come Tuesday, however, this one-time invisible congressman stands to win the most votes for governor. … If he does win, it will happen despite his thin congressional record and thick paper trail of mixing public office and personal business interests in a way that is questionable at best. It will happen even though the most partisan Republicans know deep down that that record and paper trail would, if owned by a Democrat, cause them to howl. … So, start getting used to saying Governor Deal. But don’t forget these questions:
1. In Congress, few of the bills Deal did sponsor went anywhere. How will he fare with a Legislature whose chambers — when they’re not at war with each other — have often been hostile or indifferent to the governor’s agenda?
2. There is little to get excited about in the policies that Deal proposed as a candidate. (Example: He’d flatten, but not lower, individual income-tax rates.) Even the better parts of his plan are not what I’d call ambitious. Does Gov. Deal have a vision that will take him (and us) through years three and four?
3. When news stories first emerged about Deal’s lobbying state officials not to change an auto-salvage program that richly benefited his own business, he defended himself in part by voicing concerns that the change ended the elementary safety checks that went with the title work. But thousands of Georgians buy used cars every year without government-mandated inspections. Why should the state tell consumers to pay a specific company to perform such a basic service? In which cases will Deal trust free markets and personal responsibility, and when will he not?
4. Deal says he favors a limited federal government that doesn’t interfere in state and local affairs. So why was it appropriate for him to travel to Georgia, as a congressman representing a constituent (himself), to meet with county and state officials about local zoning and road-maintenance matters? In which cases will Deal side with local control over federal, and when will he not?
As you can tell, there’s much about Deal that makes me skeptical. But he’s about to get the chance to prove me and the other skeptics wrong. All Georgians better hope that he will.”
6:58 pm October 27, 2010, by Kyle Wingfield
Has he?
http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2011/07/08/the-implications-of-a-routine-appointment-by-nathan-deal/
wa wa wa
December 10th, 2012
8:08 pm
RA
Those are are coincidences, right big Dust?
Dusty
December 10th, 2012
8:14 pm
wa wa wa
Rock-a-bye baby
In the tree top
When the wind blows
The cradle will rock.
When the bough breaks
The cradle will fall
Down will come baby,
Cradle and all.
wa wa wa
wa wa wa
December 10th, 2012
8:14 pm
Big Dust
Don’t let RA get away with this. Set that blogger straight with the facts.
You do know the facts, right big Dust?
Get that blogger with the facts
itpdude
December 10th, 2012
8:26 pm
You forgot to mention the state job Rodgers is going to fill is a still yet to be formally created job.
It makes it worse when the Governor is creating jobs so they can be filled by his buds.
wa wa wa
December 10th, 2012
8:32 pm
RA
Check back later. Dust has the facts and will respond accordingly to the items you posted.
Right Dusty?
Dusty
December 10th, 2012
8:43 pm
R-A
Your list is impressive although it does not give the specific work that many of those people were involved with. So a lady is a lawyer for 15 years but she’s inexperienced? On and on. Where are you going to find an experienced director of a lottery? Deal does appoint people with whom he has confidence and knows their achievements and background. I guess he should suggest “foreigners”.
Kyle is a very fine fellow and an employee of a Cox(D) enterprise. If he sometimes slips off the moderate fence, I don’t hold it against him. Everybody makes mistakes!!
But this great concern over lack of experience is laughable. For president, we elected a lawyer who was a community organizer,partime professor, a short term member of state and national government and his experience could have been put in a thimble. And…. I don’t doubt that you approve every move he makes even as this debt loaded country of ours is bursting at the seams. And…he’s already been in office four failing years!
And… thank you but I don’t drink alcohol except at Christmas with a little Manichevits with the fruitcake.
Methinks thee are the drinker of “spirits”!
md
December 10th, 2012
9:02 pm
“Like I tried to explain to your before, the biggest factor driving up unemployment is outsourcing. ”
And why are we having to outsource? Buying habits and labor costs.
“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.”
Stock prices reflect the balance sheet and income statements and an overcorretion in 2008. Corps didn’t just go bad overnight, the initial drop was based on emotion, not financials. As for the doing poorly part, they cut expenses (people/benefits) which boosted cash reserves and make the balance sheet look nice and tidy to an investor. And they are sitting on that cash because they have no guarantee they will stay in business if they spend it.
md
December 10th, 2012
9:08 pm
Debating appointments? It’s been that way forever on all levels of gov’t. To the victor goes the spoils.
Even the President does that. Why do some of you think people volunteer to work on campaigns for next to nothing?
Numbers-R-US
December 10th, 2012
9:42 pm
Could Kyle finally be seeing the real Republicans. They are not nor have they ever truly been for small government. They simply want a vey small amount of government going to others so there’s more for them.
Hillbilly D
December 10th, 2012
9:45 pm
This is pretty much the same as it’s been for the last 150 years and it’s not likely to change in the next 150.
I will say this though, if you’re from Gainesville/Hall County and Nathan hasn’t taken care of you yet, face it, you’re a nobody.
Hillbilly D
December 10th, 2012
9:50 pm
But thousands of Georgians buy used cars every year without government-mandated inspections.
True but a car that has been totaled (i.e. has a salvage title) does have to be inspected, to be resold as road worthy. The inspection site has to be state certified. The conflict of interest (Deal and Ken being in the business together) is where the rub comes in for me.
Lil' Barry Bailout -OBAMAPHONE!!!
December 10th, 2012
10:26 pm
Politicians being politicians. Yawn. It doesn’t tell us anything more about conservative principles than Obozo’s dealings with Tony Rezko tell us about progressive ones.
wa wa wa
December 10th, 2012
10:57 pm
Dusty
You had the D by Cox Communication’s name. While the family themselves have been huge Democrats for years, Con Enterprises loves to spread the wealth around, but you knew that didn’t you Dust? You always bring the facts to the table……….. hahahahahaha
//www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00477653&cycle=2012
wa wa wa
December 10th, 2012
10:58 pm
Cox Ent. not Con…….
Real Athens
December 11th, 2012
12:33 am
Hillbilly,
As I said, it’s been going on for time immemorial, that doesn’t mean it has to. The electorate holds power over those elected: they put them there.
Real Athens
December 11th, 2012
12:37 am
Dusty -
I thought we were talking about Nathan Deal. I don’t understand what President Obama has to do with the governors appointments.
Don’t let that get in the way of intelligent discourse or a free and open exchange of ideas.
Real Athens
December 11th, 2012
12:48 am
“Politicians being politicians. Yawn. It doesn’t tell us anything more about conservative principles than Obozo’s dealings with Tony Rezko tell us about progressive ones.”
Doofus, exactly my point. There is nothing conservative about Nathan Deal. Nothing connects him historically to the Republican party of the 20th Century. He has more in common with Murphy and the Talmadge family.
Oh, I forgot. He was first elected as (and several times thereafter) as a Democrat. He switched parties when it became essential to continue suckling at the taxpayer teat.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
December 11th, 2012
7:31 am
Gotta love it when liberals like Real Athens complain about anyone else suckling at the taxpayer teat.
We know they want it all for themselves.
Real Athens
December 11th, 2012
10:57 am
And the sheet wearing, Forsyth County, racist appears:
Not to add anything to the discussion regarding Nathan Deal’s appointments or Kyle’s assertion that many State GOP folks aren’t the small government conservatives they say they are; nor to debunk any of the assertions made by bloggers in support or denial of the claims.
No, the ninnyhammer appears to spew invective and cast un lauded aspersions; still haunted by the last election and the two years of daily predictions of its outcome that he was so clearly wrong about.
What a sad professor.