Gov.-elect Peter Shumlin’s transition team has a number of key positions in state government left to fill, and rumors are running rampant about who is up for what.
Big Monday announcements have been the norm over the last four weeks, and Dec. 6 will likely be no different.
Another telltale pattern that has emerged is the Shumlin team’s masterful control of leaks to the press. So far, members of the media have been kept in the dark, right up until the last-minute pressers.
Who will be the head of Agency of Natural Resources, one of the state’s largest governmental organizations? Knowledgeable people in the environmental community have confirmed Green Mountain Daily’s assertion (made last Wednesday) — that Shumlin’s former rival Deb Markowitz is likely a strong candidate for the post, though one source held out the possibility that another contender could take the top slot. If the Secretary of State is tapped, she would be the third member of the team of rivals, which already includes Sens. Susan Bartlett and Doug Racine. The only member of the Democratic primary quintet who apparently isn’t bucking for a place on the team is Google exec Matt Dunne.
Sources in the know say David Mears, an associate professor at Vermont Law School, could be a likely candidate for deputy secretary or the commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation. Mears, according to the VLS Web site, “specializes in environmental law and environmental litigation.” His expertise spans across a gamut of legal issues with regard to pollution and water resources.
Other names have surfaced in the last few days. The veteran representative and former Speaker of the House Michael Obuchowski, D-Rockingham, could be a strong contender for State Treasurer, according to several insiders.
Shumlin has at least a dozen commissioners to name, plus one secretary. Not to mention two, possibly three, legislative appointments to make. Plus members of boards and commissions.
The governor-elect has said he wants departments and agencies to work together on his main objective — job creation. He drove this idea home at his first presser where he introduced the secretaries of the agencies of agriculture and commerce and community development along with the commissioner of the Department of Labor as a team. He made a point of talking about how those three arms of state government are interrelated, and he has pushed the idea of breaking down “silos” between agencies. That said, Shumlin hasn’t taken that interdisciplinary approach to the point of reorganizing or merging departments.
Download the Douglas administration’s2010 Organizational Chart.
Here is a listing of departments still in need of commissioners.
Under the Agency of Natural Resources, commissioners are being sought for the following departments: Environmental Conservation, Fish and Wildlife, and Forests, Parks and Recreation.
At the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, a commissioner is needed in the Department of Economic, Housing and Community Development.
Under the Agency of Human Services, the transition team needs to fill commissioner positions in the departments of Health, Mental Health, Corrections, Vermont Health Access and Aging and Independent Living.
Under the Agency of Administration, commissioners are needed in the departments of Human Resources, Information and Innovation, Taxes, Libraries, and Buildings and General Services.
Under the Agency of Transportation, the commissioner for the Department of Motor Vehicles slot will have to be filled.
The following standalone departments are also looking for leaders: the Department of Public Service; the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration.
