UPDATE: He quit, slacker-style, by not showing up to the old gig. The Wisconsin State Journal (h/t Shannyn Moore via Twitter):
A spokesman for Gov. Scott Walker confirmed Thursday that Brian Deschane resigned after the governor took away his $81,500-a-year job with the Department of Commerce.That didn't take long. Probably needed more time with his (ahem) family.
Deschane, 27, was officially sent back to his old job Wednesday with the Department of Regulation and Licensing, which carries a salary of $64,728 a year. DRL officials said he never showed up.
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This is a follow-up to our earlier post about Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's hiring of an inexperienced son of a prominent lobbyist, a mid-twenties high school graduate with two drunk-driving convictions, to a cozy little $81,500 per year job.
The story of Brian Deshane's promotion broke on April 7 and shocked a lot of people. As state representative Brett Hulsey succinctly put it, "It doesn't look like he's ever had a real job."
It now seems the Governor didn't like the sunshine this story attracted. The kid is now demoted. Daniel Bice at the Journal Sentinel (h/t reader Dale via email, my emphasis throughout):
Brian Deschane - the 27-year-old son of a prominent lobbyist - was demoted on Tuesday following a public uproar over his appointment to a cushy job earning $81,500 per year working in Gov. Scott Walker's administration. ...So here's the timeline. Governor Walker's administration:
On Tuesday, Walker abruptly reversed course and bumped Deschane from his appointed position overseeing dozens of employees at the Department of Commerce. The move comes one day after the Journal Sentinel disclosed details of the appointment. ...
Starting Wednesday, the younger Deschane will return to his job as a bureau director at the state Department of Regulation and Licensing, a post he took in mid-January at an annual salary of $64,728. His promotion led to a 26% increase in his pay.
▪ Appointed young Mr. Deshane in January to a $64,700 job as a bureau director at the Dept. of Regulation and Licensing.
▪ Promoted him to an $81,500 job "overseeing dozens of employees at the Department of Commerce."
▪ Demoted him back to his original $64,700 job one day after the story of his promotion broke.
Really? He's a 27-year-old high school grad with no college degree, two DUIs and almost no management experience. Why isn't he fired, some might ask? One of those asking is Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca:
"If he is going back to that job, I want to make sure he was properly hired for that job in the first place," Barca said. "I am concerned about whether he was hired properly under the civil service system."The article provides additional information about the job young Deshane was promoted to — head of environmental and regulatory affairs in the state Department of Commerce.
It gets better. To get that job, Deshane had to beat out two other guys: a "former state cabinet secretary under Republican Gov. Scott McCallum with a doctoral degree and eight years' experience overseeing the cleanup of petroleum-contaminated sites"; and "a professional engineer who served since 2003 in the post to which Deschane was appointed."
Neither of these guys was even interviewed. Must have been a no-brainer. After all, as the writer points out, Deshane's father "represents a trade group that gave more than $121,000 to Walker and his running mate."
This is actually just part of a larger and more general problem in Wisconsin. According to Bice's earlier article on the same subject: State Rep. Brett Hulsey called Deschane's appointment another case of the new administration using state jobs to repay various industries. ...The plan was (and presumably still is) to convert the state Dept. of Commerce into a "public-private hybrid" in charge of attracting businesses to the state. The environmental and regulatory functions would be handled elsewhere.
Hulsey noted that the recently approved law that made collective bargaining changes converts 37 top agency attorneys, communications officials and legislative liaisons from civil service positions to jobs appointed by the governor.
"This is an example of the quality of candidates you're going to get," said Hulsey, owner of the consulting firm Better Environmental Services.
The Republican reach these days is stunning. If these governors get even a third of what they want, the victory will be significant and could take decades to undo.
Please, continue to give if you can to help recall the Wisconsin Republican 8. There needs to be a price for trying this stuff. Click the link on the right, and as always, thanks.
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