Holden's cronies

While Missourians may differ over the political successes and failures of their current governor, Bob Holden, the fact remains that he has had a solid government career of nearly 30 years. It is this backdrop of public service that makes one of his first acts as a lame-duck governor so puzzling.

Here is a man who, in 1976, entered government service as an assistant to State Treasurer Jim Spainhower, was elected in 1982 to the first of three terms in the Missouri House of Representatives, served as U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt's administrative assistant and was elected in 1992 to the first of two terms as state treasurer before winning the governor's office in 2000.

With a record like that, it's hard to figure why he would make a couple of questionable appointments that will wind up needlessly costing Missourians thousands of dollars.

Creating a pension

A few weeks ago, Holden appointed John Boyd, a lawyer in a Kansas City law firm, to the state labor commission, a three-member panel that rules on disputes involving workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, the crime-victims' compensation fund and prevailing-wage issues. Boyd was appointed as the public's representative on the commission. The other commissioners represent employers and unions. Commissioners receive a $95,000 annual salary.

Whether Holden actually intended for Boyd to serve on the commission is questionable. The effect of his appointment was that Boyd immediately became eligible for a $27,000-a-year pension. Boyd had, years ago, been a state-employed administrative law judge, but he didn't serve long enough to qualify for a state pension under the rules at that time.

Ken Jacob's turn

After losing the Democratic primary to run for re-election, Holden decided to help another loser in the August Democratic primary for lieutenant governor: State Sen. Ken Jacob of Jefferson City, a legislator whose partisan maneuvering in recent sessions amounted to virtually a one-man standoff against the Senate's Republican majority. Holden named Jacob to the public-representative slot on the labor commission, bumping Boyd after just two weeks. Jacob's state salary went from $33,000 as a senator to $95,000 as a labor commissioner. And Jacob's retirement package rose from nearly $29,000 a year to $47,000 -- even though he too may not be there very long.

It is unlikely that either candidate for governor in the general election will want to keep Jacob on the labor commission. Democrat Claire McCaskill has quickly overturned Holden's state party structure, and Republican Matt Blunt surely has other prospects in mind for appointments if he becomes governor.

A good question

So Holden's labor commission appointments -- without adequate explanation to the contrary -- appear to be nothing but a political sham to get sizable pension benefits for a couple of political cronies.

The question Missouri taxpayers are entitled to ask is this: How many more cronies does Holden intend to help before he leaves office?

Missourians are right to be enraged over shenanigans like this. And they can well wonder why Holden would want to tarnish his three decades of government service with such actions.