Youngkin Largely Opts for Stability in State Government Management
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26 responses to “Youngkin Largely Opts for Stability in State Government Management”
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Often the question is, does the incoming Governor have somebody else in mind or some supporter asking for a particular appointment? Somebody that they need to consider? In that case the incumbent might get a hard look for possible replacement. But in general, I agree, there is stability in those jobs (and sometimes even at the cabinet level) and that serves the state well.
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I had no idea that George Mason’s Gunston Hall reported directly to the Governor. I would love to know the back story to that.
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Here is some of the back story from Wikipedia:
The mansion stayed in the Mason family until 1867.[17] From 1868 to 1891, it was owned by Edward Daniels, a Virginia newspaper publisher and Reconstruction Era politician, who was a former Union cavalry officer and ardent abolitionist. In 1912, it was bought by retired Marshall Field & Company executive, Louis Hertle, whose second wife, Eleanor Daughaday, was a member of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America.[18]
They set about restoring the mansion to its original plan and hostedmany prominent guests. In 1949, Hertle in his will gave the property to the Commonwealth of Virginia as a museum to be run by The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America.
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Is flipping 40+% of agency heads really considered stability? Does this line up historically? I have no idea how to judge that figure…
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The human uses 10% of the brain. So, wiping out 4% probably ain’t all that bad… a night of drunken debauchery, so to speak.
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It is a good question. Northam is not a good comparision because the Governor’s Mansion did not change parties. A better point of comparison would be McAuliffe, a Democrat succeed a Republican. In looking at those numbers, I was surprised at the turnover. Of 43 agency head appointments, 24 were new. Therefore, so far, Youngkin has been less likely to replace agency heads than McAuliffe was. In the end, this shows that most Virginia agencies are led by professionals, rather than political ideologues.
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I found a “Blue Virginia” article dated 12/19/2017 in which seven appointments (three of them reappointments) by gov-elect Northam were announced.
https://bluevirginia.us/2017/12/governor-elect-ralph-northam-announces-administration-appointments
I found a second “Blue Virginia” article dated 12/22/2017 which announced 16 more appointments (ten of them reappointments).
https://bluevirginia.us/2017/12/gov-elect-northam-announces-16-more-administration-appointments
That’s a total of 23 appointees with 13 reappointments and 10 new faces (a little more than 43% ‘turnover’) .
Those are obviously not all the appointments Mr. Northam made, but it’s a pretty good sample. It’s also the limits of the time I’m willing to spend on the issue.
If you want to delve deeper or find data on other past governors feel free to do your own research.I’m going to trust Mr. Hall -Sizemore when he says our new governor is on track to maintain the tradition of stability in state government.
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Thanks – that answers my question and I think it supports your conclusions.
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Institutional Memory — A terrible thing to waste.
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It depends on which institution you were in…
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Marriage is a fine institution, if you don’t mind living in an institution.
Loss of institutional memory results in 2nd marriages.
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I don’t see the Virginia Employment Commission. Why? I really don’t know, thought you might?
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You are correct and my face is flushed with embarassment. It was on my list and I overlooked it when I was writing the article. So, that is 35 agencies; 20 incumbents and 15 newbies.
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But again, to your point, some of the “newbies” have plenty of prior state service, often in the same agency. Some of those who departed took the transition as a time to retire.
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AUCTION! AUCTION! AUCTION!
C’mon down to Crazy Zelenshyy’s and drive away with a lightly used Russian-made truck!
Rubles on the penny! Plenty to choose from.
Bring your own gas.
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Do you think he could set me up with a lightly used AK-12?
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Alas, no. That’s how he gets the trucks.
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You left the Virginia Marine Resource Commission out of your article. The previous Commissioner, who did an excellent job, retired. Any insights on his potential replacement?
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I left out those agencies for which an appointment has not been announced–there are several.
No, I am in no position to speculate on who may be appointed to head VMRC. That is an agency totally out of my experience, although I did know a former commissioner, Bill Pruitt. I see that Justin Worrell has been appointed acting commissioner. I did not realize that or I would have included it in the article.
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Given that Virginia (in its infinite wisdom) is the only state where the governor can’t run for a second consecutive term I’d say that maintaining stability inside the state government is a good idea.
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I like Virginia’s one term rule Mr. DJ. I can’t think of one governor in my lifetime that was worthy of a second term. I would consider 1 term for 6 years. That is enough time for one executive to move the needle.
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Limited to one four-year term is a bad idea. A governor really does not have enough time to get his agenda established. He only gets to prepare one budget himself and he doesn’t even get to see it through, for example. His senior staff and Cabinet members start bailing out after about 3 1/2 years. Warner and Kaine would have been good to have around for second terms.
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To me this is a good example of limiting the executive branch on purpose. Never liked Warner, Kaine, Allen, Gilmore, or any of them for more than 4 years.
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I didnt see the Virginia Marine Resource Commission listed. The previous commissioner retired. There was no mention in your article. Any insights?
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The Health Commissioner is a big job with a very important Department to lead and manage. I, like you, do not know if the Acting Commissioner is meant as a full time replacement for the weak predecessor. We’ll see.
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Several of those Agency heads on the reappointed list are there only through 120 days temporary reappointment. I think you will see more changes post GA
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