Governor’s picks for boards and commissions

Governor Chet Culver has submitted the names of individuals he wishes to appoint or reappoint to various state boards and commissions.  These nominees must be confirmed in the Iowa Senate.  To be confirmed, one must win the support of 34 senators. (Download Appointee list PDF)

One notable change:  Culver has NOT reappointed Diane Hamilton of Storm Lake to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.  He has appointed Andrea Rivera-Harrison instead. 

Phil Roeder, the governor's deputy chief of staff, just stepped into the statehouse press room to talk with me about the change. "Basically, the governor's taken the appoach that people that are on a board for two or three terms, it's time for a change. Whether it's Racing or Gaming or other commissions, he wants to see some fresh blood, some fresh ideas, some new members of these boards and commissions," Roeder says. "He certainly takes into account whether a person wants to be reappointed or not, but that's not the deciding factor. It's not the individual's decision to make. It's his and this was one commission, as others, that he just felt it was time for a new face, a new voice on that particular commission."

Roeder suggested Culver hopes to make his own "mark" on these boards and commissions, moving away from the folks former Governor Tom Vilsack (also a Democrat) had appointed:  "He wants to have a change and have his own mark on all of these boards."

Roeder noted Riveria-Harrison has served on other state boards in the past.  "She's had some other public service.  She has been involved with labor and to us that's a perspective that ought to have a voice in state government as well and so we just felt that, you know, it was a good move for her to come over to Racing and Gaming and just provide a different perspective on that commission."

The state senator who represents Storm Lake expressed surprise Hamilton had not been reappointed. "She's well thought of and a leader in the community," Senator Steve Kettering, a Republican from Lake View said.  "She and her husband are very active and prominent in the Storm Lake community."

Hamilton and her husband have been donors to Culver's past political campaigns.  Roeder says Culver's decision not to reappoint her to the board shows his "independence."