AUGUSTA, Maine — Amid increasing scrutiny of Maine State Housing Authority spending, a legislative committee is taking up a bill aimed at making the agency’s director more accountable to its board and the governor.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Jon Courtney’s bill is up for a hearing Tuesday before the Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development.
The bill removes the director’s four-year term of office and says the director must serve at the pleasure of the authority’s commissioners. The current director, Dale McCormick, a holdover appointment by former Gov. John Baldacci, has a term that expires in February 2014.
It comes up as the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee orders an expedited review of housing authority spending for sponsorships, contributions, memberships, travel and meal expenses. A broader, separate review by the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability is already under way.
The housing authority says it can defend its spending.
Another witch hunt. Another drum the republicans and laplague can pound on to distract from the fact that they have done NOTHING to help the good people of Maine. Nothing but create hate and discontent as they push the ALEC and MHPC agenda.
The Turnpike Authority had complete autonomy and look where that got us. No part of non-policy making government should be beyond complete public scrutiny. Obfuscation and “confidentiality” are ruses to hide injudicious behavior. How many scandals have to be uncovered before taxpayers realize they are being taken for a free ride?
Hope you’re including the ride the governor and his cronies are taking us on as we speak.
Strange that until LePew and his cronies came along, half the State Gov’t agencies were fine.
Can’t wait ’til Herr LePage finds himself on the receiving end.
The State Gov’t agencies were fine because past administrations were not auditing them.
Now we have an administration that is holding them accountable. Dont blame this one because the Dems. did a lousy job of watching where our tax dollars were being spent
this is a reasonable thing to do.
I can think of one that needs firing now…
Go after all of them Governor.
I think that this would be a lot better if the tea party republicans just told us the truth ( I know that is asking for a lot). They want all of the appointments for all of the various commissioners, boards and authorities to be blessed by the Grand Wizard and his clan of highly paid political operatives at the Maine Heritage Policy Center.
True, but they aren’t bright enough to see that the very people they support are the same ones that are pulling out all the stops to grind them into the ground. Where I come from, that is called dumb, just plain dumb.
Atta boy Courtney! You’re doing your job as ringmaster and chief errand boy. For a while it seemed as if the carnival had slowed a bit, but it just took a while to get warmed up.
I find it strange how they can put a bill under an emergency to kiss Penguin’s butt, but yet indefinately postpone a bill for a recall means of the governor, a tool that is used by many, many states to allow the voter’s to have accountability for their Executive.
I also find it interesting how, once again, the Governor has created a crisis, and hence an emergency on an issue that prior to his administration, has never been an issue!
What good is it to have the Governor appoint a Director to MSHA when they serve at the pleasure of a commission and not the Governor? What good is the Commission if the Director serves at the pleasure of the governor? The whole idea is not to let the Governor have influence over federal housing money, it’s too susceptible to political influence. The idea is to have an independent commission monitor the money along with the Director, who’s only appointed by the governor.
This is a bad, not well thought out bill and is entirely political and radical. More thought than a couple of months needs to be had. The only reason McCormick is there is because Mitchell resigned to run against LePage.
I think it’s time that the Appropriation’s Committee tell the Governor to back off, or else the Democrats will sit out any votes, hence no quorum for a vote, hence no vote. If the Legislative majority cannot stand up to him, someone has got to.