These scandals started some months ago as the AG's office took up the case of hiring questions in the Fletcher administration. The AG office charges Fletcher broke all kinds of rules hiring a lot of people he did, there were lots of political appointments, more than there should've been. Particularly since a number of the jobs required testing and other formalities for employees to get hired. Then he fire people to replace them with his and they weren't supposed to be able to be fired.

The AG's office indicted several,, the administration pardoned them without a trial and then the AG's office reindicted them. One of the names caught up in that scandal was Bill Nighbert.

A good editorial this morning in the Herald-Leader had a good criticism of the administration and how Fletcher continues to improve the fortunes of those who've already been indicted. Things like this not only make one continue to question the ethics of the administration but also the sanity.

If example is the essence of leadership, we're not sure what Gov. Ernie Fletcher is hoping to convey by promoting Bill Nighbert from acting to permanent secretary of the Transportation Cabinet.

The message that comes through is that Fletcher couldn't get anyone better.

Nighbert, who has been acting transportation secretary since March, is under indictment for violating the state's Whistleblower Act for allegedly threatening and retaliating against a female employee who testified to the grand jury that's investigating administration hiring practices. Nighbert earlier was among the indicted covered by Fletcher's blanket pardon.

As head of transportation, Nighbert will be responsible for a huge bureaucracy with a long tradition of lax ethics, outright corruption and abuse of contracting programs for minority- and women-owned businesses.

Almost all of the alleged hiring violations have been in Transportation, and under Fletcher, the cabinet has a dismal record for hiring minorities and women. Nighbert once explained this by saying the hiring goals were "just pipe dreams we put on paper."

posted by Stithmeister @ 11:58 AM
 
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