Capitolwire: Wolf, Senate GOP spar over ousting of Arneson, recall of Corbett’s lame-duck executive nominations.

By Kevin Zwick
Staff Reporter
Capitolwire

HARRISBURG (Jan. 22) – Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf picked his first political fight with the Senate Republicans over the recall of dozens of lame-duck appointments made by former Gov. Tom Corbett, undoing several “eleventh hour” executive nominations and removing new Office of Open Records chief Erik Arneson.

Wolf’s move caused an early rift between the new Democratic governor and the Senate GOP.

The Senate Republicans say they are going ahead with vetting Corbett’s picks that require the chamber’s confirmation despite Wolf’s blanket recall, and called into question Wolf’s legal authority to remove Arneson.

Senate GOP Chief Counsel Drew Crompton told reporters that while traditionally the Senate honors recalls, he doesn’t believe they are required. He said there was minimal conversation between Senate GOP leadership and the Wolf administration about the recalls and no notice about removing Arneson.

“This is partisan politics through and through,” Crompton said. Arneson called the move “a nuclear attack on the independence of the Office of Open Records.”

Jeff Sheridan, spokesman for Wolf, said it was “absurd” to say Wolf is undermining the office. Since being appointed earlier this month, Arneson hired two former political appointees from Corbett’s office of general counsel, Jo Reichard and Delene Lantz-Johnson, and OOR’s general counsel, Charles Rees Brown, has been demoted, Sheridan said.

Arneson said he had a conversation with Reichard about working there, but no job has been offered. He also said Lantz-Johnson would take over as chief counsel and Brown’s current position is acting chief counsel.

Sheridan said Corbett had a poor record under the Right-to-Know law, noting the Associated Press’ request for scheduling information, which Corbett denied. The OOR sided with the AP, and Corbett’s general counsel instead countersued the AP reporter.

Sheridan also said Arneson’s temporary replacement, Nathan Byerly, the deputy executive director since the creation of the office, is a conservative Republican who supported Corbett.

The recalls include posts at some high-profile positions at such places like the Turnpike Commission and the parole board, while some of the names recalled include top Corbett aides and allies in the GOP.

“My top priority as governor of Pennsylvania is to restore public trust in government. I believe that elected leaders should be stewards of democracy and that we should be open, transparent, and accountable to the people of Pennsylvania,” Wolf said in a statement Thursday.

“Prior to being sworn-in as governor, my predecessor put forth several eleventh hour executive nominations, and he named a new executive director of the Office of Open Records. These moves were murky and the process was anything but open and transparent” Wolf said.

Arneson, who was sworn in by a judge earlier this month and was formerly a top aide in the Senate GOP, was fired immediately. Byerly will act as top Open Records official as the Wolf administration conducts a national search for the office, Sheridan said. The executive director of OOR does not require Senate confirmation.

“I will continue my job,” Arneson told reporters Thursday. “He (Wolf) does not have the authority to do this.”

“It is not at the pleasure of the governor, it is a six-year term,” he said, adding the term of the OOR executive director is designed so it doesn’t line up with any one gubernatorial term.

However, Sheridan said the human resources process regarding Arneson’s removal has begun, and that Arneson won’t receive a paycheck as OOR executive director because “he isn’t anymore.”

Arneson said late Thursday an attorney from DCED “illegally” took away his access badge and told him his email would be shut down. However, Arneson said he plans to arrive for work Friday morning.

Wolf’s general counsel believes “he is an at-will employee,” Sheridan said. A letter from Wolf notifying Arneson of his termination, provided to the press by Arneson, asserts that the Office of Open Records falls under the Department of Community and Economic Development, which is under the jurisdiction of the governor.

The former executive director of OOR, Terry Mutchler, on Thursday told The Patriot-News she was hired as an at-will employee, and supplied to the newspaper her June 18, 2008 hiring letter in which it states “you are reminded that an ‘at will’ relationship exists which means the Commonwealth reserves the right to terminate your employment at any time for any reason or no reason except as prohibited by law.”

However, Mutchler told the newspaper she never operated like she could be fired for any reason, and believed her term was six years unless she was removed for cause.

Wolf’s termination letter to Arneson letter was dated Jan. 20, a few days after Arneson started his new job, but Arneson said he was not provided the letter until Thursday.

The Senate Republicans are continuing to vet the dozens of other recalled nominations, most of which are volunteer posts. But they carry some clout in the respective industries as influencers on regulations, policy and legislation, as well as having a hand in approving contracts, or maintaining party power at the courthouse level.

“We don’t see any reason at this point to have these nominations recalled,” said Jennifer Kocher, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre. “And we are going to proceed in our role, which is to advise and consent, and continue with the vetting process.”

“The Senate will perform our due diligence on all cabinet and other nominees – regardless of who submitted their name for consideration,” Corman said in a statement.

Some of the recalled nominations include top Corbett administration officials, like former Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley to the Temple University Board of Trustees and former Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser to the Board of Governors of the State System of Higher Education.

The reappointment of Bill Lieberman to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was also recalled. Lieberman, once a major fund-raiser for Rep. John Perzel, was nominated by Gov. Ed Rendell in 2010 and is currently the Turnpike chairman.

Some other notable nominations recalled by Wolf:

• Thomas Ellis to the State Horse Racing Commission. Ellis is a former Montgomery County Commissioner and the GOP’s 2008 state Treasurer candidate and ally of RNC National Committeeman Bob Asher;

• Andrew Paris to the Board of Probation and Parole. Paris is a former Corbett legislative affairs deputy. He was nominated to replace the late Lloyd White, who died recently.

• Heather Martin also to the parole board. She is the wife of Lancaster County Commissioner Scott Martin, a Republican. She was nominated to replace Randy Feathers, who resigned from the board last year after being named in a porn email scandal.

• John Egan, a reappointment to the Public Employee Retirement Commission. PERC has been the subject of heightened interest due to the ongoing debate over public pension issue.

• Mary Ann Eisenrich to the State Board of Education. She was a former Corbett regional office director. The board influences state education policy.

• James Daley at the Game Commission. He was to succeed Ralph Martone, who was relieved from his position in a move Martone described as “suspicious.”

Wolf also recalled a few of Corbett’s appointments to the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas to fill vacancies of judges who have reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.