Kentucky legislative leaders have narrowed the field of candidates to be the next director of the Legislative Research Commission, which has been under interim leadership since Robert Sherman resigned in October 2013 amid a scandal.
Ten candidates remain in contention for the director job, out of about 30 applicants, said House Speaker Greg Stumbo, a Prestonsburg Democrat.
The new director will be tasked with implementing reforms in the state agency that runs much of the administration in the Capitol and provides staff for Kentucky's part-time legislators.
A performance audit of the LRC commissioned in December 2013 detailed workplace issues, such as communication problems, lack of pay equity, opaque hiring practices and unclear career paths for young employees.
The search for a new director of the Legislative Research Commission hit a political snag this week when House Minority Leader Jeff Hoover accused Stumbo of keeping the hiring process in the dark.
“The LRC director search committee … has yet to see any of the applications to be our next director, meaning we had no say in which applications were picked to be among the 10 that the Speaker mentioned to the press,” said Hoover, a Jamestown Republican.
Senate President Robert Stivers, a Manchester Republican, confirmed that he and Stumbo had come up with the short-list.
“The Speaker and I had a long conversation going through them one by one,” Stivers said. He said the shortened list will be sent to a search firm.
Senate Minority Leader Ray Jones, a Democrat from Pikeville, accused Hoover of politicizing the hiring process in a statement released after Wednesday’s meeting.
“If he thought it was so important that he should criticize Speaker Stumbo in the media, he should have also criticized Senate President Stivers since they both made the decision,” Jones said.
