BATON ROUGE (AP) — Gov. Bobby Jindal was tight-lipped on details when asked about the abrupt resignation of his transportation secretary, William Ankner, who quit last week.
"I appreciate Bill's service to the state of Louisiana. I think he worked very hard. We accepted his resignation on Friday," Jindal said. He declined further comment, when questioned about Ankner's job performance, saying he doesn't talk about personnel decisions.
Ankner submitted a brief, two-sentence letter of resignation Friday that was effective the day it was signed. Reached by phone, Ankner would provide no additional information. Asked if Jindal had asked him to quit, Ankner repeatedly said, "Simply, I have resigned."
Ankner, a Missouri transportation consultant with a long list of experience in managing transportation agencies, was hired by the Jindal administration as secretary as the governor took office two years ago.
But his department had prompted criticism for the Jindal administration in recent months, most recently on the handling of an interstate widening contract.
The governor said he will make a decision on Ankner's replacement after the legislative session ends in June. Ankner's deputy secretary, Sherri LeBas, is working as interim secretary until a permanent replacement is found.
Comments
Posted by vmumphrey on February 10, 2010 at 9:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I just pray that Gov. Jindal replaces Ankner with a person that is a long time employee & engineer with the Louisiana Dept. of Transportation. It takes someone who is familar with the way Louisiana runs its transportation department to understand the inner workings of that department. There are many engineers who have dedicated their lives to the DOTD that deserve a chance to hold that position and prove to the people of LA that the transportation deptartment can be a Top Notch organization!
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