If you notice any DHS employees coasting around in roller skates asking welfare recipients if they want extra ketchup, napkins or peppermints, I guess this will help explain why.
Over the weekend, The Oklahoman reported that Kevin Stitt plans to name John Budd, an executive from Sonic, as his new C.O.O.
Here are the details via NewsOK.com:
Gov.-elect Kevin Stitt plans to hire a Sonic Corp. executive as his chief operating officer, a new position he has created to oversee agency accountability reforms that will be central to his agenda.
John Budd, the chief development and strategy officer at the Oklahoma City-based fast food company, has accepted the position, according to multiple sources.
Stitt's office is expected to announce Budd's hire this week.
Stitt ran as an outsider, and said he was going to turn to the private sector to bring "fresh ideas" to state government. Plus, the guy is a huge fan of footlong coneys and nugget ice, so you can't fault him for sticking to his tater tots on this.
That being said, is hiring an executive from Sonic really the best we can do??? I know it's good he didn't dip into the oil industry like most politicians, but fast food isn't really the first industry that comes to mind when I think of reliability or accountability. If Stitt really wants to run Oklahoma like a business, he would have done what other successful Oklahoma businesses do and hired a more qualified candidate from out-of-state!
Here's more:
Stitt, who takes office Jan. 14, said he wanted to hire someone from the private sector for the COO position.
"All the people I am interviewing for that COO role are saying 'Kevin, I don't know anything about government,' and I say, 'Exactly, that's why I want you here,'" Stitt told The Oklahoman last month.
Stitt has promised to run state government more like a business, drawing from his own experience leading a nationwide mortgage company.
Yeah, that makes total sense. Stitt isn't contradicting himself at all. He wants to run government like a business, so he does this by, uhm, hiring people who don't know anything about government. I'm sure those are the very same principles and hiring practices he followed while CEO of Gateway Mortgage.
"Let's see here. According to your resume, you've spent the last eight years working at the Taco Bueno corporate office and have no experience working in the mortgage or banking industry. Why should we hire you to be our Vice President of Mortgage Lending?
"Because I don't know anything about mortgage banking."
"Exactly, that's why I want you here! You're hired!"
