Kentucky governor (R) feeling the heat on bias in hiring

[alfredo]

Governor Ernie Fletcher, Republican neo con made a big mistake, he allowed a Democrat to win the last election for Attn. General. Ernie is known for filling posts with relatives and political supporters. I guess the AG waited until he had a good case before bitch-slapping the Fletcher administration.

first the original investigation.
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/11673161.htm

FRANKFORT - Attorney general's investigators, armed with search warrants, confiscated boxes of documents from the Capitol offices of two key aides to Gov. Ernie Fletcher yesterday as part of a widening investigation of Transportation Cabinet hiring practices.

The team of investigators targeted Richard Murgatroyd, Fletcher's deputy chief of staff who last year served as second in command of the Transportation Cabinet, and Dave Disponett, the governor's unpaid political adviser and treasurer of the state Republican Party.

Both of their names are repeatedly referenced in documents filed with the attorney general's office and state Personnel Board as part of a cabinet whistle blower's complaint that Fletcher's administration used political criteria to hire rank-and-file state workers. Personnel laws require so-called "merit" employees to be judged solely on qualifications.


Now the heat is being put on from above.
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/11673124.htm

FRANKFORT - The U.S. government is threatening to freeze $600 million in funds for Kentucky roads because the state Transportation Cabinet violated its own affirmative-action plan by hiring almost no minorities in 2004, according to documents related to an investigation of personnel practices at the cabinet.

The cabinet hired 317 merit employees in 2004, of whom 98 percent were white. The seven minorities hired -- five black men and two Asian-American women -- tended to land low-level jobs as clerks and maintenance workers, while high-level professional and supervisory jobs went mostly to white men.

The Federal Highway Administration warned the cabinet in a May 9 letter that it has failed to meet the objectives of its federally mandated diversity plan. That letter was one of hundreds of documents a whistle blower filed with the state Personnel Board. Attorney General Greg Stumbo released the documents Monday.


Ernie ran on a moral leadership platform.

[fob]

1. It seems like the investigation was/is justified so I hope you're not

implying it came about simply because the AG is a Dem and the Gov is a repuke. That weakens the entire argument IMO. In fact, that's Toxic Tom DeLay's basic defense in his scandals, let's not push repuke propaganda.

/offhighhorse

[alfredo]

3. I was implying that if the AG was an Republican, he would have

looked the other way. Our current AG is a equal opportunity AG. He doesn't give a shit what party you belong to. If you break the law, your ass is in a sling. He helped take down our last Governor, a Democrat.

[fob]

6. Thanks for the clarification

[alfredo]

7. The Republicans are very clubby. They will not call one of their own

to task. That's why the Dems are at a disadvantage. We play fair.

[Imagine My Surprise]

2. Can Fletcher be recalled or impeached by this?

[alfredo]

4. Not sure.

he'd be out of there if we could. His numbers are rather anemic.

[onenote]

5. interesting -- same thing may have occurred in Maryland

There have been claims that repug gov Ehrlich had loyalists involved in making hiring/promotion decisions based on political criteria. There is supposed to be an investigation. Wonder it there is a "playbook" for this sort of thing...

onenote

[alfredo]

8. 10 whistle blowers and 50 informants have come forward today.

The illegal acts go well beyond the transportation cabinet.

[ridgerunner]

9. Here Are The Results of SurveyUSA News Poll #5575

Geography Surveyed: Kentucky
Data Collected: 05/06/2005 - 05/08/2005
Release Date: 05/10/2005 10:13 AM ET
Sponsoring News Organization: SurveyUSA

Do you approve or disapprove of the job Ernie Fletcher is doing as governor?

36% Approve
50% Disapprove
14% Not Sure

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReportEmail.aspx?g=ad8961a9-67e8-4973-8ef6-d9e3db069841