Who’ part of ‘what’ in jobs

What is one sentiment that Abraham Lincoln and Adolph Hitler shared?

Both leaders complained that much of their time was taken in dealing with people seeking work in their governments.

Supporters seeking offices have long vexed the lives of government officials. And opponents of those officials usually criticize those selections.

E.L. “Bubba” Henry, the insurance company lobbyist, said former Gov. Edwin W. Edwards once told him: “It would not be fair to his friends to do things for those who didn’t support him,” according to Edwards’ authorized biography.

In most speeches over the past decade, Gov. Bobby Jindal usually includes a riff about the need to base hiring decisions on merit. For instance, Jindal told Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio talk-show host, shortly after Jindal’s election in 2007: “I’ve said that if we’re going to move Louisiana to the top of the good list. ‘Who you know’ can’t be more important than ‘what you know.’ ”

That’s an important stance, because about 30 percent — roughly 26,000 of 80,000 — of state government employees are “unclassified,” meaning they can be hired and fired at will.

For instance, the state Department of Transportation and Development last week announced the hiring of 26-year-old Melissa Henderson Mann. Roy Quezaire, the 60-year-old former chairman of the House Transportation committee she replaced, said he only knew Mann as the woman who followed Timmy Teepell around the State Capitol.

Teepell, Jindal’s former chief of staff and now a political consultant, said Mann was qualified and quickly mastered tracking bills, counting votes and other necessary skills. Sherri LeBas, secretary of DOTD, agreed, saying Mann has a “really good” working relationship with legislators.

Mann’s salary rate has increased nearly ten-fold — $7,956 to $84,000 — during her three and a half years in state government.

She joined state government in May 2008 as a student worker in the state Department of Health and Hospitals, according to her Civil Service records. She moved to the governor’s staff six months later as an administrative assistant and worked there in various capacities until July when she joined Jindal’s re-election campaign.

Since Thanksgiving, Jindal hired two other campaign workers.

Matt Parker, who headed Jindal’s 2011 re-election effort, was hired as the governor’s intergovernmental affairs director. Parker is Teepell’s brother-in-law.

Jindal also hired Taylor Teepell, Timmy’s brother, as his deputy legislative affairs director. He was a director of the Victory Fund of the Republican Party of Louisiana, which raised and spent about $1.4 million on behalf of candidates for the Louisiana Legislature.

Former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who during her day also found jobs for her closest supporters, said in an interview last week that governors need to be able to hire staff on whose loyalty they can depend.

“I don’t think there’s an ethical problem to hire for loyalty. But they have to have prerequisites to do the job or you’re not doing yourself any favors,” Blanco said.

The Louisiana Legislature vies with campaigns as a source for political appointments to government office. “I’ve seen some governors either move legislators out of or into cushy jobs for various reasons,” Blanco said. Sometimes the job is a reward, sometimes it’s a punishment, sometimes it’s a way to neutralize a troublesome voice, she said.

The latest legislative appointee to an executive branch post was state Rep. Jane Smith, R-Bossier City, whom the Department of Revenue named as deputy secretary. The former educator and floor leader for Jindal, who lost her election last fall, will help Revenue Secretary Cynthia Bridges with administrative and legislative matters at $107,500 a year.

Blanco said she accepts the need for appointing a person and paying a six-figure salary to free up an agency head to focus on her primary duties. On another level, however, she questioned the need because dealing with legislators, until recently, was the part of the job description of an agency head.

“It’s like adding to the top levels, the highest-paying jobs, while at the same time you’re reducing the numbers of the (state government) workforce,” Blanco said. “It just doesn’t seem right.”

Mark Ballard is editor of The Advocate’s Capitol news bureau. His email address is [e-mail].