Former Kansas Secretary of Labor Karin Brownlee, R-Olathe.
Former Kansas Secretary of Labor Karin Brownlee, R-Olathe, told Associated Press Topeka reporter John Hanna that she was replaced by Gov. Sam Brownback Thursday.
She told the AP that her leaving was not voluntary and that she did not sign a resignation letter.
To read the AP article, click here.
Brownlee abruptly left her office, which was followed by a press release from Gov. Sam Brownback’s office saying that Brownlee had “left” the office and announcing State Rep. Lana Gordon, R-Topeka, as the interim Secretary of Labor.
The release had no praise for Brownlee, which normally is standard when high-level people voluntarily leave office. And that has caused rumors to swirl that Brownlee, who Brownback appointed to the job after he was elected governor in 2010, was fired.
Michael Copeland
Before leaving, Brownlee sent out her own press release announcing that Olathe Mayor and former president of Security Savings Michael Copeland had been appointed deputy secretary of the Kansas Department of Labor, an appointment that Brownback’s office later confirmed.
Copeland officially begins his position Oct. 1.
Gordon, who did not seek re-election for a sixth term this year because of redistricting, chaired the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee and House Education Budget Committee. She is a former small business owner and educator.
She will serve in the interim until a permanent secretary is appointed and approved by the Senate.
Filed under: News Articles Tagged: | Brownback, Brownlee, Chuck Kurtz, Johnson County KS news, kansas, Karin Brownlee, Lana Gordon, Olathe KS news, sam brownback, United States Department of Labor, United States Secretary of Labor
uh-oh,, Copeland’s wife will now run the Dept of Labor. Olathe and that bank wasn’t enough for her.