CARNAHAN DEFENDS SLOW APPOINTMENTS APPROACH

JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Mel Carnahan admits "there is grumbling" in the halls of the Capitol and around the state about the time it is taking him to make cabinet-level appointments in the new administration.

But Carnahan defended his pace and said he was taking time to insure that all candidates are carefully scrutinized, that no qualified people are overlooked, and to insure that women and minorities are given just consideration for appointments.

"I have some outstanding people that have applied for these jobs, but I'm not sure I have the right person," said Carnahan in a discussion with representatives of newspapers around the state Wednesday.

The governor added that a year from now it won't have made any difference that he took some extra time filling jobs.

"I really don't apologize for it," said Carnahan.

The governor is subjecting all finalists to detailed background checks by the highway patrol and has said he will also require strict financial disclosure reports.

Most of the governor's top office staff is in place; however, only three of the 12 department directors he appoints have been named.

Appointed so far have been Dick Hanson, commissioner of the Office of Administration; David Shorr, director of the Department of Natural Resources; and Dora Schriro, director of the Department of Corrections. The three were confirmed by the Missouri Senate Thursday.

Most departments are currently being run by holdovers from the Ashcroft administration.

Carnahan's chief of staff, Marc Farinella, said the governor had over 100 key positions to fill. Besides department directors, the governor also appoints division directors, heads of some agencies, and other high-level administrators.

Farinella explained that Carnahan wanted input from department directors before making the other appointments because it was important that division directors and other administrators be loyal to directors.

Though no one will criticize the governor openly, privately legislators in both parties this week were expressing concern about Carnahan's slow, methodical approach. Several said that by not having directors in place prior to this week they were unable to have any input into the governor's fiscal 1994 budget that was presented to legislators Wednesday.

Others admit, however, that Carnahan's style is to approach decisions cautiously and to follow the plan he has outlined for making those decisions.

Carnahan said Wednesday he expects to have most department positions filled by the end of the month, but declined to commit to a specific timetable.

"On several of the appointments we are very close," said Carnahan.

The governor will be leaving Saturday to attend the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., which makes it unlikely any more positions will be filled until at least the end of next week.

One person rumored to be headed for a cabinet post in Carnahan's administration is state Rep. Joe Driskill. The Poplar Bluff Democrat, who worked for Carnahan when he was state treasurer, is reportedly under serious consideration to head the Department of Economic Development.

Driskill was sworn in for his sixth term in the Missouri House last week and has been tapped by Speaker Bob Griffin to chair the Commerce Committee again.

Driskill was active in Carnahan's campaign last year and has helped with the transition. But on Thursday he declined to speculate on whether he would get the economic development job. Driskill would only say that he had talked with Carnahan about the post.

Normally, Driskill handles a heavy load of legislation in the Missouri House covering a wide range of subjects. But at the start of this week, he had not introduced a single bill.

On Thursday, however, Driskill filed a bill that includes many of the JOBS 2000 economic development initiatives offered by Carnahan during the campaign and in his State of the State address.

Chris Sifford, communications director for the governor, said Thursday he did not know when the economic development post would be filled. But Sifford explained that Carnahan intended to follow through on a campaign promise to appoint a Missouri Business Council to advise him on economic development matters and on a director.

The council will develop a Strategic Economic Development Plan for the state, which Carnahan cited as a priority in his campaign. Another responsibility of the council will be to recommend several people to head the department.

But members of the council have not yet been named, Sifford said. "We have some names under consideration," he said.

In his campaign economic development position paper, Carnahan said he wanted the council to "identify, screen, and recommend to the governor a blue-ribbon list of highly qualified candidates for the DED director's position."

Carnahan said the council would seek input from local economic development leaders, and promised he would choose one of the candidates to head the department.

Besides the paid positions Carnahan needs to appoint to get his administration assembled, he also has several hundred appointments to state boards and commissions that are either vacant or soon will be.

The governor has appointed John Beakley of Rolla to oversee that appointment process.

Unlike his predecessors, Kit Bond and John Ashcroft, Carnahan said he would not have a policy preventing him from re-appointing members to boards who have served full terms. "We will have no such policies in this administration," said Carnahan.

The governor also said he felt Ashcroft had appointed too many people to college regent and curator positions who had strong political backgrounds but knew little about higher education.

"Gov. Ashcroft had a tendency to put some very political people on boards of regents," said Carnahan. "I won't do that."