WHAS picked up on this story today. Mark Hebert, easily one of the best political reporters in Ky. got this story out today. It's interesting though that the woman went to the press about the issue. I guess this a good way to make sure she keeps her job.

Board member alleges she's witnessed merit law violations

06:05 PM EDT on Thursday, August 18, 2005



Ann Aukerman is a member of the Kentucky Personnel Board, the watchdog for the State Employee Merit System that's launched its own investigation of Governor Ernie Fletcher's administration.


Aukerman claims she's got evidence that the state agency she works for, CHFS, has violated the merit system law.



“Governor Fletcher expressed in the news last Thursday that people involved in the process, and I’m understanding that to be the personnel process, should report things if they believe there is a violation of the law. So I reported that to the places you’re supposed to report them to,” she says.


Aukerman has written a four-page letter to her colleagues asking for an investigation. She went to the personnel board after she says her boss in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services failed to investigate and she didn't hear from the attorney general's office after they contacted her three months ago and gave her whistleblower protection.


Here's what Aukerman claims happened in her cabinet's Powell County field office: In September 2004, the supervisor there wanted to hire Amy Elkins for a merit job. Frankfort refused, hiring no one, including two politically-connected women. That's when Aukerman says the phone calls started, to her and the Powell County supervisor.


“He said, ‘I’m John McCarthy, chairman of the Republican Party. What else do I need to do to get this woman in the job?’” she says.


In March of this year, a new round of interviews for the Powell County job were abruptly cancelled when the supervisor was ordered to hire Kathy Hughes, one of the women Aukerman says had connections to Governor Fletcher.


“This supervisor was not allowed to select the person she wanted for the job,” Aukerman says. “I don’t know who in Frankfort told her who she would hire but it was because this woman has political ties of some kind and that’s why she was chosen over the other candidates.”


It's illegal to hire merit employees based on politics.


It's illegal for politics to play any role in state merit job hirings. Aukerman has been a state employee for 21 years, on the personnel board for two.


Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary James Holsinger says they looked into Aukerman's allegations and believe state personnel rules were followed.


The governor's office says Aukerman is going to the right place with her complaint -- the personnel board, not a grand jury. A spokesman says Governor Fletcher trusts Aukerman is a professional who will recuse herself from her complaint and others in which she might now have a conflict of interest.


Former GOP Chairman McCarthy did not return a phone message.

Web story produced by Jay Ditzer.



Response

It will be interesting to see what comes of this, if anything. This is certainly an interesting story and is going on within "the system." The problem with this is that someone will probably have to be fired over this for pressure to be released at all. Fletcher really needs to watch his step.

posted by Stithmeister @ 8:59 PM
 
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