Baldacci pulls nominees to workers’ comp board Panel liked 5 of 6, but governor wanted all or none

AUGUSTA – In a move that stunned some lawmakers in both parties Thursday, Gov. John E. Baldacci pulled his entire slate of nominees to the Maine Workers’ Compensation Board after a legislative policy committee refused to endorse one of the candidates.

“Sounds like a hissy fit to me,” said Senate Republican leader Paul Davis of Sangerville. “Our government is built on a system of checks and balances and the governor needs to learn that.”

Baldacci withdrew all six nominees to the board after it became clear majority Democrats on the Labor Committee would not support incumbent John Cooney of Bath for another term on the board. Cooney was one of the governor’s three management nominees that balance three other nominees endorsed by organized labor. The board’s seventh voting member, Executive Director Paul Dionne, already has received a nod from the legislative committee.

Sen. Ethan Strimling, D-Portland, and Rep. Bill Smith, D-Van Buren, are the co-chairmen of the Labor Committee, which is composed of eight Democrats and five Republicans. Labor and business lobbyists supported all six of the governor’s nominees and none of the candidates encountered opposition when they appeared before the Labor Committee during individual nomination hearings.

The committee was scheduled to vote on whether the nominees should be recommended to the Maine Senate for confirmation when it became clear Cooney would be rejected. Strimling said the Democratic committee members ultimately decided they were dissatisfied with Cooney’s response during his confirmation hearing to a specific question related to whether he would enforce the state’s labor laws.

Strimling said he was concerned that Cooney would not administer the Maine Workers’ Comp Act as it pertains to using periodic federal recommendations on extending unemployment benefits. Strimling said that rather than enforce that law, Cooney said he would prefer to see state statutes revised on that specific issue.

“This is always a very contentious point and we wanted to make sure that members of the board will extend out these benefits if the federal government says that is what should be done,” Strimling said.

Strimling and Smith said they were “disappointed” with the governor’s decision to withdraw all of the nominees and defended their right to question the qualifications of the candidates.

“It feels to us like just because we weren’t willing to recommend one of the nominees, the governor’s going to pull them all,” Strimling said. “We appreciate that the nominees have been approved by the labor and business groups, but none of us on this committee are beholden to either organized labor or the Maine Chamber of Commerce. Our job is to look at the nominees and decide if they are appropriate and we decided that one of them was not.”

In a letter explaining his decision to Senate President Beth Edmonds, Gov. Baldacci wrote, “My clear goal by this action is to retain the recent year’s bipartisan successes and improved working relationships that are helping us improve Maine’s Workers’ Compensation system.”

Alan Stearns, a legislative staffer for Baldacci, said the governor felt it was necessary to withdraw all of the nominees because they were offered as specially selected members of a team that had to be carefully balanced.

“We felt that pulling just one nominee would create an imbalance which would have very real repercussions to workers and employers as we sought to keep the system functioning,” Stearns said.

Smith said in a prepared statement it was “unfortunate” Baldacci was prepared to deny the board the confirmation of “five excellent members” simply because the majority of the committee was not prepared to accept Cooney.

“We are very disappointed that the names of five very good people who could serve this board well are not moving forward,” Smith said. “We encourage the governor to send back these five names, and a replacement for Mr. Cooney.”

The committee has given the administration a month to identify replacement candidates for the Workers’ Compensation Board, which will continue to operate in its current configuration. Stearns said the administration would be working with the Maine Chamber of Commerce and organized labor to develop a second slate of nominees that will meet the committee’s expectations.

“I can’t say at this point whether 30 days is a realistic target,” Stearns said.

Peter Gore, a lobbyist for the Maine Chamber of Commerce, said the governor’s decision to withdraw all of the nominees was a successful effort to prevent the political polarization of the board selection process.

“There’s certainly work to be done about where we go from here,” Gore said. “I know they’d like a list of new nominees within 30 days and I think it will be impossible for me to comply with that.”