Regents chosen for merit or money?

As Gov. Kathleen Sebelius ponders how to fill three seats on the Kansas Board of Regents, the state’s governing board for higher education, the Lawrence Journal-World notes that 17 of 19 regents over the past decade contributed to the campaigns of the governors who appointed them; the donations involved range from $50 to $6,000. These positions seemingly entail too much hassle, travel and work to be considered political perks. And one regent, Sebelius appointee Frank Gaines of Hamilton, rightly suggested that governors naturally want to appoint people they know and trust. But it is a prestigious item for a resume, and any appearance of quid pro quo is nothing to applaud.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

4 Comments

  1. Joe Williams
    Posted July 29, 2005 at 5:42 am | Permalink

    Let me guess. None of the Board members are from Wichita and they are not going to pick one from here to replace the open seat either.

  2. Antares
    Posted July 29, 2005 at 11:32 am | Permalink

    Another close examination of a POTENTIAL speck in the Democratic govenor’s eye while ignoring the logs falling on the heads of the constitutents of our so-called Republican Senators and Congressmen.

    Real nice . . .

  3. Zoom
    Posted July 29, 2005 at 8:48 pm | Permalink

    Let’s not forget that political appointments are political. Contributing to a political candidate does not cause one to lose their abilities.

  4. Kansas Meadowlark
    Posted July 29, 2005 at 10:23 pm | Permalink

    Giving political money is not in itself bad, but shouldn’t there be public dislosure of any contributions at the time of the appointment so they public can decide for themselves? For example, why didn’t someone (perhaps the press?) tell the public that soon-to-be Kansas Supreme Court Justice Rosen’s wife gave NINE contributions to Sebelius at the time Judge Rosen was deciding if Sebelius’ closed meetings were legal ( see http://www.kansasmeadowlark.com/2003/11-01.htm )? How did the press miss that story as Rosen became the fifth Democrat, against two Republicans, on the Kansas Suprme Court when Kansas only has 27% Democrats ( http://www.kansasmeadowlark.com/2005/07-22.htm )?