Colyer gives Brownback budget director new role: chief operating officer

Gov. Jeff Colyer on Friday named a leading lawmaker on school funding as budget director and gave the old director a new role.

Colyer made several staffing changes on his second full day as governor as he seeks to signal a shift in tone.

He selected Rep. Larry Campbell, R-Olathe, to replace current budget director Shawn Sullivan. Sullivan will become chief operating officer.

“I’m really looking forward to it. I love a challenge,” Campbell told reporters.

He added a short time later: “I’m hoping that I can make a difference.”

Campbell told the Associated Press that he plans to start in the job on Monday.

Campbell has been a legislator for 14 years. He currently chairs the House K-12 Budget committee, which played a key role in developing a school funding formula last year.

Lawmakers and the Colyer administration will have to once again examine school finance this year. They must respond to a Kansas Supreme Court decision that found school funding inadequate.

As chief operating officer, Sullivan will work on “complex issues that touch multiple agencies,” such as Medicaid eligibility, the governor’s office said.

The use of chief operating officers in governor’s offices is on the rise, according to Governing Magazine. A handful of states have them.

Democrats expressed skepticism over the personnel chanages.

“I think Larry Campbell’s appointment is a political ploy on Jeff Colyer’s part to put a new face to the budget director. I still believe Shawn Sullivan will have regular influence over the budget process, given his new title,” Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said.

Colyer on Friday also announced the departure of Nick Jordan as interim secretary of the Department of Commerce. Jordan had been previously set to leave, but delayed his resignation when former Gov. Sam Brownback’s federal confirmation took longer than expected.

This story was originally published February 2, 2018 at 10:02 AM with the headline "Colyer gives Brownback budget director new role: chief operating officer."