HARRISBURG – Thirty-three and counting: that’s how many Cabinet level appointees have left the Wolf Administration so far with almost 8 months to go in his final term. No gubernatorial administration has seen this many high-level departures since the 1970’s.
After yesterday’s announcement that Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell is departing the Wolf Administration, Senator David G. Argall (R-29) raised concerns about this consistent turnover.
Argall, the Chairman of the Senate State Government Committee noted, “Is Governor Wolf that difficult to work with? It’s impossible for any state agency to get its job done efficiently when they don’t know who their boss will be the next day. Eight departments are now led by ‘acting secretaries.’ Who knows how long those people will remain in office?”
The two departments with the highest turnover are the Department of Health and the Department of State, both of which have been led by five different Secretaries in the past eight years.
“It’s simply unacceptable that the state agencies responsible for overseeing Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 response AND elections can barely keep a secretary for longer than a year, especially considering the serious mistakes both agencies have made in the course of their duties in recent years,” Argall continued.
Wolf Administration Secretary Turnover Chart
Contact:
Jim Brugger
717.787.2637