STATE JOBS: CARNAHAN WILL NAME THOUSANDS

After months on the campaign trail, Lt. Gov. Mel Carnahan has not had much time to savor his victory in the Nov. 3 governor's race. The victory only shifted Carnahan's hectic pace from wooing voters to organizing a government that will take over on Jan. 11.

Not only does the governor-elect have several hundred staff positions, department head and division director posts to fill, but sometime over the next four years he will have to appoint hundreds of Missouri citizens to state commissions and advisory boards.

Some of the jobs pay salaries, many are voluntary, and some carry considerably more prestige than others. But in nearly all cases, the governor-elect will have more qualified candidates to choose from than he could ever appoint.

Chris Sifford, communications director for the Carnahan transition team, said there are about 2,200 advisory board and commission appointments to be filled over the next term, in addition to the 200-plus paid positions the governor fills.

For those paid positions, Sifford said Carnahan's transition office already has received about 800 resumes, and resumes are also coming in for some board and commission positions. Most of the board and commission positions will not have to be filled for a while, but there are some that will need quick action by the new governor.

"We estimate there are 200 spots on boards and commissions that are open right now or that will be open in the very near future," said Sifford.

State law provides for people to continue serving even after terms expire, if no one has been named to replace them. Many of the appointments require confirmation by the Missouri Senate. Only a handful of vacancies have been filled since the end of the last legislative session in May.

Republican Gov. John Ashcroft had a policy during his eight-year administration of not reappointing any members who had served full terms. Ashcroft contended that there were plenty of qualified citizens in the state to hold the jobs and new blood was good for state government.

Sifford said Carnahan has not established any kind of policy on re-appointments. "He hasn't discussed it," said Sifford. "I don't know if he would lean that way or not, but it hasn't come up yet."

Two of the most prestigious appointments coming up in Southeast Missouri will be six-year terms on the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents. The board has six members - three Democrats and three Republicans.

On Jan. 1 the terms of two Democratic members - Carl Ben Bidewell of Poplar Bluff and Daniel Williams Jr. of St. Louis will expire. Both were appointed initially by Ashcroft.

Also up for consideration to a state board is Rebecca Cook, a Cape Girardeau resident who was named by Ashcroft to an unexpired term on the State Board of Education as a Democratic member. Her term expired on July 1, but she has continued to serve.

Another position Carnahan has waiting on him is the 8th Congressional District position of the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education. Dave Haggard of Kennett, a Republican, serves on the board now but his term expired June 27.

Three of the most prestigious non-salaried boards that Carnahan will be able to appoint members to are the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission, the Missouri Conservation Commission, and the University of Missouri Board of Curators.

Each board has a representative from Southeast Missouri; however, their terms will not expire until 1995. John L. Oliver Jr. of Cape Girardeau has a term on the highway commission until Oct. 13, 1995; Jerry Paul Combs of Kennett has a seat on the conservation commission until July 1, 1995; and John Lichtenegger of Jackson holds the 8th Congressional District seat on the Board of Curators until Jan. 1, 1995

Oliver and Combs were appointed as Democrats; Lichtenegger as a Republican.

Some of the other appointments involving southeast Missourians Carnahan has waiting on him will be: Johnny Conklin of Cape Girardeau, a Democrat whose term expired Oct. 13 on the Air Conservation Commission; Gerald E. Nesbit of Farmington, whose term expired June 28 on the Missouri Mental Health Commission; Ivan L. Ervin of Cape Girardeau, whose term on the Missouri Real Estate Commission expired in October; and Howard Bollinger of Sikeston, whose term on the Missouri State Board of Cosmetology expired July 1.

Many appointments to boards and commissions, especially the more prestigious ones, go to individuals who have been strong supporters and contributors to campaigns of governors. At the very least, people named to the higher profile boards need the endorsement of people who have been strong supporters of the governor.

Sifford said that through the entire appointments process the new governor will be looking for the best qualified people he can appoint.

"He's going to be very open about these boards and commissions as well as other jobs," said Sifford. "He wants to find the best people. Certainly politics is part of the process but he is not driven by that."

Appointments that require confirmation by the Senate traditionally have to be cleared through the senator from the district in which the person resides.