A minor kerfuffle sprang up over the weekend when news broke that Gov. Andy Beshear would be dismissing Warren Beeler from his position as head of the Governor's Office for Agricultural Policy.
Beeler is well-known in Kentucky agricultural circles. He's said to be a Democrat who has held both merit (career civil service) and non-merit (political appointment) state government positions, including serving as GOAP director under Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.
As a political appointee, he serves at the pleasure of the governor. And Beshear is certainly well within his rights to replace Beeler with someone of his own choosing. While a number of appointees were replaced shortly after Beshear took office in December, a number of others are continuing to serve in their positions. Some served under Beshear's father and continued that service under Bevin.
While many are questioning Beshear's decision to remove Beeler, they're not asking the right question. Instead of wondering why the governor is replacing the GOAP director, they should be asking why the Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy even exists.
The GOAP was created in 1998, during the Paul Patton administration, mainly to distribute proceeds from the tobacco settlement (caution: Wikipedia link, believe what you read there at your own peril). Employees from all across the Executive Branch were temporarily detailed to the project to process claims. I was working for the agency formerly known as the Revenue Cabinet at the time, and my supervisor was sent to an office on the other side of Frankfort for a few months to participate.
Why this task had to be carried out by an entirely new bureaucracy instead of through existing channels is not exactly known. And there definitely was, and is, an agency already established that could very easily handle what the GOAP does.
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is unique in that it's the only department whose commissioner is elected as a statewide constitutional officer instead of being politically appointed by the governor. Commissioners of Local Government, Revenue, Highways, etc. -- all are non-merit employees who are appointed to their positions. But not Agriculture. And unlike most of the other constitutional offices that were part of the old "musical chairs" game that politicians used to play when statewide elected officials were limited to four-year terms and unable to succeed themselves, agriculture commissioners never really used the position as a springboard to higher office. (Notable exceptions are the most recent commissioners, Jamie Comer,
who's now in Congress after a failed run for governor in 2015;
and Richie Farmer, who was David Williams' running mate in their
unsuccessful 2011 gubernatorial bid.) Indeed, a look through the list of past commissioners reveals very few familiar names. Outside of Comer and Farmer, the most recognizable name is Alben Barkley II, grandson of the former vice president for whom the lake in western Kentucky is named.
The agriculture commissioner during Patton's term was Billy Ray Smith. Like Patton, he was a Democrat. There were no reports of friction between Patton and Smith the way there were Barkley and Gov. John Y. Brown. So there's never really been a good explanation of why Kentucky established the GOAP instead of letting the Department of Agriculture handle the tobacco settlement claims and grants.
There is, however, tension between Beshear and current Commissioner Ryan Quarles. Quarles is the plaintiff in a lawsuit that challenges Beshear's Wuhan Chinese virus executive orders as they relate to businesses licensed by the agriculture department, and Quarles is also frequently mentioned as a possible candidate for governor in 2023. That still doesn't explain why Bevin, a Republican like Quarles, kept GOAP intact.
Here lies an opportunity for the state to save some money, particularly if the GOP-controlled General Assembly wants to strike back at Beshear for the way he's handled the virus response. Due to time constraints and uncertain finances, the legislature passed only a one-year budget instead of the normal two-year biennial budget. They're set to address the budget for the upcoming fiscal year when they reconvene this winter. It's being said that due to decreased tax revenues because of Beshear's business shutdowns, substantial cuts will be required. Why shouldn't GOAP be a starting point? As director, Beeler makes $95,000 a year. There are probably lots of other expenditures related to that office as well. Perhaps the legislature should look into dismantling that duplicative office and transferring its duties to the existing Department of Agriculture.
Government has always been inefficiently run. Multiple agencies often have similar roles when the duties could be rolled into one office. Here's a prime chance for something to be done and money saved.
This isn't, and shouldn't be, about Warren Beeler. He's earned praise from agriculture leaders and politicians from both parties. And, as noted, the governor has every right to appoint people of his own choosing to leadership positions. What it should be about is the fact that we have two agencies devoted to agriculture when we could, and should, have only one office, the one that's designated by the state constitution to deal with farming interests.
Don't lament Beeler's dismissal. Instead, lament the fact that for more than two decades, we've wasted money on an office that isn't needed in the first place.
