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Friday, November 19, 2004

Indiana Law - Top Kernan staffers are asked to resign

The Indianapolis Star has a story this morning headlined "Top Kernan staffers are asked to resign." Some quotes:

Nearly 150 top members of the outgoing administration of Gov. Joe Kernan have been asked for their resignations as state government prepares for the new Republican team. * * *

Jonathan Swain, press secretary for Kernan, said the request for the letters of resignation -- including his own -- did not come as any surprise.

"We always have known we serve at the will of the governor."

In addition to the 146 people directly appointed by the governor and lieutenant governor who were asked to submit letters of resignation, there are many more people who do not hold merit positions and who thus can expect to be asked to resign at some point before or after Daniels takes office.

Swain said he did not know how many employees that included but said it could be several hundred of the 35,000 state employees. Most state employees, however, cannot be fired simply for political reasons.

Whitt said it is "fairly standard" for resignations to be submitted in any changeover from one administration to another.

"Mitch has said from the beginning that he's going to bring in a new crew," she said.

The story is accompanied by a sidebar titled "Some of those who were asked to resign," listing appointees of the current governor making more than $100,000 annually:
• Indiana Public Finance Director Mark S. Moore -- $148,783.96
• State Office Building Commission Executive Director Susan Williams -- $128,401
• Hoosier Lottery Director John M. Ross -- $117,936
• Indiana State Police Superintendent Melvin J. Carraway -- $117,650
• Teachers Retirement Fund Director William Christopher -- $110,884
• Indiana Gaming Commission Executive Director Glenn R. Lawrence -- $109,122
• Chief of Staff Mary K. Downes -- $108,088
• Secretary of Family and Social Services Administration Cheryl L. Sullivan -- $107,991
• State Budget Director Marilyn F. Schultz -- $102,784
• Indiana National Guard Adjutant Gen. Roy Martin Umbarger -- $102,024
• Commissioner of the Department of Correction Evelyn Ridley-Turner -- $100,132
• White River State Park Commission Executive Director Margaret Boehm -- $100,121
What I failed to notice, until a reader pointed it out, is that the Star also links to a 5-page pdf file, with this introduction:
The top department heads and others appointed by Gov. Joe Kernan and Lt. Gov. Kathy Davis have been asked to submit their resignations, effective anytime between now and Jan. 10, in preparation for the incoming administration of Republican Mitch Daniels. The names of Bruce C. Lemmon, Jeffrey J. Webber and Brett Marsh should not have been included on the list, the governor's office said. Those positions and their salaries are: ...
The reader notes that:
"Some on the list have a fixed term of office (e.g. IURC members IC 8-1-1-2(e)) , others (e.g., again, IURC members, IC 8-1-1-2(c)) may be removed by the governor 'for cause'."
I looked closely at the list and see that, rather than a list of "top Kernan staffers," it is more correctly characterized as a list of individuals directly appointed by the governor, including top Kernan staffers and others. For instance, all five members of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission are on the list. The governor does make these appointments, from a list of names submitted by a nominating committee (just as he makes many court appointments). But the IURC is required by law to be politically balanced and the appointments are for fixed terms, as I recall, with removal by the governor only "for cause." I also see other Republican names I recogize -- on the state parole board for instance -- presumably that law also requres bipartisan membership.

This does not mean, of course, that the new governor may not ask that all these individuals tender their resignations, some of which he may elect not to accept. The question is, what about refusals? There is a whole body of interesting law on this, which I may explore in future posts.

Finally, as noted in the Star story, "there are many more people who do not hold merit positions and who thus can expect to be asked to resign at some point before or after Daniels takes office." For instance, I'm told that there may be as many as 40 such non-merit positions at the Department of Environmental Management. These are in addition to the IDEM commissioner, who is directly appointed by the govenor and is on the pdf list.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 19, 2004 05:35 PM
Posted to Indiana Law