Are you unemployed and looking for a job? In the State of Nebraska, if your résumé contains the line “Chairman of the Republican Party” you’re almost guaranteed a job.
In July, Governor Dave Heineman appointed Kerry Winterer the CEO of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Kerry Winterer served as chairman of the Douglas County Republican Party from 1996-2001. Heineman not only gave the job to Winterer, whose qualifications are extremely questionable, but also gave Winterer an 18% raise over the previous CEO. Winterer started The Benefit Group – a third party administrator of health insurance plans, and when he sold the company it had roughly 50 employees. He now takes over a department with over 5,500 employees and a $2.9 billion budget – and it’s a department in crisis. Winterer has no health care administration experience; Winterer has experience in insurance administration not health care administration – there is a huge difference. Maybe Winterer has a family member with health care experience.
After the Governor made the announcement, he struggled to explain Winterer’s qualifications. Here’s an excerpt from the Lincoln Journal-Star article covering the announcement.
He [Governor Heineman] found in Winterer a CEO with good leadership and decision-making and communication skills, he said, and someone who understands the value of collaboration and who can improve and increase public-private partnerships with providers, advocacy groups and others.
Not a single mention of his qualifications.
Winterer’s appointment opened up a seat on the state Board of Education; ironically, Winterer was appointed to that seat two years ago by Heineman.
A few days ago, Heineman appointed Mark Quandahl to fill the vacant seat. Guess what appears on Quandahl’s resume? He served as chairman of the Nebraska Republican Party from 2005 to 2009.
Cronyism is alive and well in the governor’s office.
If that doesn’t work, we recommend Plan B. We’ll call it the “Friendly Hire“.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
So at the state level it is ok to give huge rasises during an economic crisis, but at the Omaha city level it is enough to have the work recall thrown about and the World Herald in a hissy? Or maybe it's ok for republicans to shell out the raises and not the democrats. Either way, any individual in Omaha upset with Mayor Suttle's staff wages should be equally if not more outraged at those of Governor Heineman.
Nice article by Robert Nelson in this morning's Fox newspaper, I mean OWH. Ovaltine, it looks like you're already having some influence over the local media here in the big O.
You know, my grandfather liked to read on the toilet a lot (a lot!). Maybe that makes me qualified to head up Omaha's $1 billion sewer separation project?
OW-H's Robert Nelson must read this blog. See his column in today's paper. Nails it.