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California
Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) Editor’s Note: The LWDA has the following agencies under its jurisdiction: a) Agricultural Labor Relations Board; b) California Workforce Investment Board; c) Department of Industrial Relations; d) Employment Development Department About a year ago Governor Gray Davis appointed Stephen Smith, the former Director of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), as Acting Secretary of the then newly-created Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA). It should be noted that Mr. Smith, who has worked for many years as a campaigner for Gray Davis, had been appointed as Director of DIR also by Davis. About three months ago Mr. Smith took a leave of absence from his position as Acting Secretary of LWDA in order to help in the Gray Davis’ anti-recall campaign. One would think that the position of an Agency Secretary is important and that the high remuneration of the position signifies that the person entrusted with the position has to perform vital functions. If that is the case, then the recruitment of Mr. Smith for the governor’s anti-recall campaign is going to hurt LWDA. If that is not the case, then this means that Mr. Smith doesn’t offer valuable contribution to LWDA, in which case he should have not been appointed there in the first place. It is very likely that Mr. Smith’s skills are more suited for running political campaigns than running an agency. In that case his leave of absence from LWDA should be rescinded and Mr. Smith should decide: he can either resume his duties as Acting Secretary of the agency or he should resign and help the governor in his campaign. What is not acceptable is for the politicians to use the State agencies as holding places for their campaigners and other staff between elections and political campaigns at the expense of the taxpayers. |