Board appointments

Editor:

One of the duties and privileges of a new governor is to make board appointments. To the general tax-paying and voting public, this is a rather trivial part of the governor's job. What the taxpayers need to understand is these people have the power to change the way business is done in the capital or they can just endorse the status quo.

Gov. Stan Stephens and Gov. Marc Rosicot did their appointments themselves and found candidates that would work for the good of the people and try to improve the function of the boards they were appointed.

Not every appointee the governors call is to the liking of the serving board or the administrators of the departments. This is good because that means positive changes are on the way, and the "Good Old Boy" network is going to be shaken up.

On the other hand Gov. Judy Martz and Gov. Brian Schweitzer have handed off the candidate recommendation to their staffers and the department heads of the agency's that have oversight by an appointed board, and in many cases, board members themselves. The governors need to study the problems of the agency and look closely at the budget allotments and see if they are being run efficiently. These boards cost the taxpayer money While individually it looks like a small amount when compared to the total budget, it amounts to a sizeable amount when they are added up. It isn't just the cost of the board it is the wasted taxes they allow to be misspent.

When Gov. Stephens appointed me to the State Board of Veterans Affairs, I was clearly not someone the administrator wanted to deal with, or the rest of the board for that matter, and it wasn't because of my dynamics but because I wasn't one of the "gang."

In five years, we made monumental changes and progress in the board, activity. But by the time I had 10 years in, the department was fast moving toward the function that put them in question 10 years earlier. After 13 years, the move was cemented back in place when Gov. Martz delegated the appointments to an aide in her office. I submitted my resignation with the hope she would ask why, so we could correct the direction, but the aide simply told her she should sign it.

When these boards get so far out of focus the public demands correction, we will only have to look at the last two governors to see why.

Ruben J. McKinney

Havre