ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 28, 1996 TAG: 9602280095
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
The state's Secretary of Natural Resources yielded no ground Tuesday to Democratic lawmakers who accused her of inappropriate meddling in personnel matters.
Becky Norton Dunlop said critics were ``outrageous'' to suggest she rigged hiring decisions to favor pre-selected candidates at the Department of Environmental Quality.
She also said there was nothing wrong with seeing that job applicants were asked to recite her ``Five Guiding Principles'' on the environment.
``I think being involved and exerting authority are two different things,'' she told the all-Democrat Appropriations Subcommittee on Natural Resources.
Dunlop has emerged as the lightning rod for Gov. George Allen's business-first approach to environmental policy. Earlier this session, Del. George Grayson, D-Williamsburg, sponsored a bill that would have eliminated Dunlop's job for the duration of the Allen administration. The bill failed to advance.
Tuesday, Democrats were armed with a bipartisan study that said Department of Environmental Quality employees suffer from low morale and fear their jobs would be in jeopardy if they made lawful decisions that upset polluting industries.
Del. Clifton ``Chip'' Woodrum, D-Roanoke, reminded Dunlop that Cabinet secretaries do not have the authority to participate in competitive hiring decisions at the agency level. State law separates the governor and Cabinet secretaries from those decisions to make sure that the positions are filled on the basis of merit, Woodrum said.
``The secretary is regarded as the extension of the governor's office,'' he said. ``When somebody from her office sits on a hiring panel, that sends a very bad message.''
Dunlop said she had done nothing wrong. One of her assistants sat in on interviews with some department job applicants, but did not try to control the process, she said.
Del. William Robinson, D-Norfolk, said the process appeared rigged because most applicants would not be familiar with Dunlop's ``Five Principles.''
``This was nothing more than a charade to justify the decision that was going to be made,'' he said.
``I really find that to be outrageous to come to that conclusion,'' Dunlop shot back.
She added that any job applicant who had done his or her homework would have learned about her conservative ideals, which include the belief that economic growth is necessary for environmental protection.
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB