One has to wonder. The Economic Development executive board, of which Beshear is a member, has gotten rid of a Fletcher era hire in a key post and replaced him with the governor's right hand man, Secretary of the Cabinet, Larry Hayes. So now the governor has one of his top political guys in the top economic development job which is supposed to be a non-political post. In theory, it will allow Beshear to take Kentucky's economic development efforts back to the old days when governors would pick sites for projects and jobs based on which politically allied county judge or mayor needed a boost before election day. Best I could tell, Hindman was doing a pretty good job though it was clear to this reporter that he wasn't working as closely with Beshear as he had with Fletcher. I wonder if the state is going to load Hindman up with work to earn his $200K+ consulting fee? Here's the governor's office release on Hindman's resignation as well as a scathing release from the press secretary for Senate President David Williams:

Economic Development Secretary Resigns; Will Continue Work for State, Resume Consulting

Cabinet Secretary Larry Hayes Assumes Acting Secretary Duties

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Sept. 2, 2008) - Expressing his desire to continue to help the state move forward while returning to private life, Economic Development Secretary John Hindman today announced his resignation,.

Hindman, who has been secretary since June 2007, will continue on for one year with the state as a consultant to concentrate on large projects already underway such as the expansion of Ford and Kentucky's efforts to land a spin-off of General Electric.

Gov. Steve Beshear thanked Hindman for his service to the state and his accomplishments and also announced that Larry Hayes would assume the duties of Acting Secretary for Economic Development in addition to continuing as Secretary of the Governor's Cabinet.

"I want to thank John for his commitment to Kentucky and his important, productive efforts on behalf of economic development in the Commonwealth. I am very pleased that he will continue to work with us over the next year as we bring some large projects already underway to fruition," Gov. Beshear said.

"At the same time, I'm excited that we have someone in place in Larry Hayes who can assume these critical duties at a pivotal juncture in our state's economic development. We will not miss a step. In fact, I believe we can take this transition period to evaluate where we are and find important ways to improve and refine our efforts so that our state can grow the kinds of jobs and businesses we need to compete successfully in a global economy."

Hindman cited work to improve external communications in negotiations of projects such as the Ford expansion among the accomplishments of his tenure in Economic Development. He also said he was proud of his efforts to more publicly link economic development progress with advancement in education.

"For our state to be successful and competitive in the 21st century, we must attract high-wage, high-skill jobs, while also developing a more entrepreneurial economy," Hindman said. "Central to our efforts must be the development of a more educated and skilled workforce."

Hayes has a long and diverse background in public service, economic development and private business. In public life, he has served recently as Deputy Mayor for Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson. He also was Secretary of the Cabinet and Budget Director for Gov. Martha Layne Collins. Hayes played a central role in landing the Toyota Manufacturing facility located in Georgetown, Ky.

With that development as a catalyst, Kentucky is now home to more than 150 Japanese-related businesses, employing nearly 40,000 people. In addition, Hayes helped create and was the first president of the organization that is now Greater Louisville Inc., the highly successful public-private partnership that guides economic development efforts in the Louisville Metro area.

Beshear said there is no specific timetable for a permanent replacement, pointing out that transitions "offer a good time in which to evaluate where progress has been made and where more is needed."

"The governor believes - and I agree - that we should take some time to evaluate all the good things we are doing in economic development, while also assessing areas where we can improve as we seek to build a stronger, more sustainable economy for Kentucky's future," Hayes said. "I look forward to hopefully building on the good efforts that already have been made under John's leadership as we compete for jobs and developments in what are clearly challenging times. With the governor's leadership and vision, I'm confident we will continue to make progress."

Hayes will not receive any additional compensation for his role as Acting Secretary. Hindman will operate under a one-year contract, which was approved this week by the executive committee of the Economic Development Partnership Board, and be paid his current salary.

REACTION FROM SEN. WILLIAMS' SPOKESPERSON:

The purpose of KRS 154.10-040 was to insulate the cabinet secretary from political winds. Just as he interfered with the CPE, the Commisioner of Education, and his questionable reorganization of the Horse Racing Commission, the Governor continues to ignore the spirit if not the letter of the law by tearing down the firewalls that are intended to protect economic development from partisan political influence. Rather than supporting an independent search for a cabinet secretary, the Governor indicates that he intends to allow the position to be occupied indefinitely by someone whose primary job is still Executive Secretary of the Cabinet and whose office is in the Governor's inner sanctum. Once again, the Governor can't help himself but be political with every breath he takes.

Lourdes Baez-Schrader
Communications Director, Senate President's Office