Corbett's newly appointed PA. education secretary resigns abruptly!

[Divernan]

Corbett strikes out again - obviously whatever "vetting" the governor's crack staff did, they missed a BIG problem/scandal - can't wait to find out what it was!

William Harner, the Pennsylvania's acting secretary of education, has resigned before even being confirmed by the state Senate.

No reason was given for the abrupt resignation today in a statement from the Corbett administration that said Gov. Tom Corbett asked for and received Mr. Harner's resignation.

He had been acting secretary since June 1, previously serving as superintendent of the Cumberland Valley School District in Mechanicsburg.

He will be replaced by Carolyn Dumaresq, the department's current executive deputy secretary, effective immediately, according to an administration statement.

Kate Giammarise: [e-mail], 717-787-4254 and on Twitt

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/politics-state/william-harner-acting-pennsylvania-education-secretary-resigns-abruptly-700825/#ixzz2d7j2zHft

[Curmudgeoness]

1. Unnamed sources say the reason

for throwing his ass out:

According to three sources familiar with the matter, however, Harner's nomination was being pulled because further inquiry exposed a complaint lodged against him during his time running the Cumberland Valley School district just outside of Harrisburg, his most recent position.

Those sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the matter involved an e-mail Harner sent to a male school administration employee earlier this year, allegedly asking him how he looked in a Speedo bathing suit. The employee was on vacation at the time, and later filed a complaint.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20130827_Pa__education_secretary_ousted_over__quot_unflattering_quot__behavior.html#hPofrHEJyWw3XBfA.99



It gets better and better, doesn't it? Corbett couldn't do something right if his life was on the line!

[Divernan]

4. Hi. We posted simultaneously!

But that's OK, cause this is a tale which just gets better with repetition!

[Curmudgeoness]

5. Of course,

the first thing that came to my mind when I read the OP was "I wonder what that issue is".....and a quickie search gave me more than I could have hoped for. This is priceless.

Just how stupid is Corbett? Or is it really just incompetence?

[Divernan]

2. Turns out he was pulling an Anthony Weiner type email re how he looked in a Speedo!

Well, here's the scoop from PennLive re why Harner's previous school district employer voted not to renew his contract:
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/08/acting_education_secretary_wil.html#incart_m-rpt-2

"The school board's decision to not retain Harner was a dramatic turn of events from January, when the board voted 8-0 to affirm its intention to offer him a three- to five-year contract extension pending negotiations on an employment agreement.
The district official said a male administrative staff member, while vacationing in January or February, received an email from Harner inquiring how he looked in a Speedo. The comment led to a complaint being made to the district’s human resources office, the official said.
The human resources office conducted an internal investigation. The board then hired a law firm to conduct a separate investigation, the official said.
This outside probe brought out 15 to 18 other allegations from district staff that the official described as “awkward comments.”

[Freddie]

3. I hear that something turned up in his background check

I work for a PA school district and trust me, those things are done *before you are hired.* And he was a Superintendent of Schools??!! Something smells mighty fishy in Corbett-land. Another day, another scandal. Nov. 2014 can't come too soon.

[Divernan]

6. Video at 11? Product placement for Speedo?

If they paid Corbett enough, he'd pose in a Speedo - stretched out on a beach towel by a fracking waste pond!

[freshwest]

7. Uh, well, at least it wasn't this guy:

Candidate for San Diego Mayor Has Alleged Sex Issues

Carl DeMaio (R), a potential candidate to succeed disgraced San Diego mayor Bob Filner (D), has been caught openly masturbating in restrooms on multiple occasions, according to Voice of OC.

"In the months before last November's mayoral election, Ben Hueso, the City Council's president in 2009, acknowledged to this reporter that he witnessed DeMaio engaging in the practice twice. Hueso, now a Democratic state senator, and others suspected DeMaio's alleged inappropriate activity was more frequent."

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2013/08/25/candidate_for_san_diego_mayor_has_alleged_sex_issues.html

[Marie Marie]

8. Yes but DeMaio is a Republican so it doesn't count.

We throw our pervs out (rightfully so) while the Republicans just ignore theirs. Regardless of party affiliation - what is wrong with these guys? Yeech.

[freshwest]

9. Because 'they're forgiven' no matter how many times they mess up. Yup, that's honor for them...

They do have a point. Just not a speck of regard for anyone else. That's the problem.

I can 'thump' with the best of 'em, too.

[Divernan]

10. Harner active in Boy Scouts - Has Corbett got another Sandusky situation?

It's well known that pedophiles choose careers/activities giving them access to children. Harner's long-time involvement
in scouting is a red flag, particularly since he's never had kids of his own in the organization . According to the Project Vote Smart bio on Harner, he has been very active in Boy Scouts.

http://votesmart.org/candidate/biography/144649/william-harner#.UhxazX9ASSo

Fellow, Urban Superintendents Academy, Broad Foundation, 2005
Member, Boy Scouts of America, present
Member, Network for Dropout Prevention, Pennsylvania, present
Member, United States Army Heritage & Education Center Foundation, present
Member, Board of Directors, West Shore Chamber of Commerce, present
Member, World Affairs Council, Harrisburg, present
Former Board Member, Blue Ridge Council, South Carolina
Former Member, New Birth of Freedom Council, Pennsylvania

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Council, Boy Scouts of America. We provide Scouting programs to youth in the Upstate of South Carolina. Our Council serves 8 counties in the Upstate (Abbeville, Anderson, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens). Here you can find out about Scouting in your area and all the things going on in the council.
http://www.blueridgecouncil.org/brcn/

The New Birth of Freedom Council is a council of the Boy Scouts of America serving South-Central Pennsylvania. The council was formed by a merger of York-Adams Area Council and Keystone Area Council on April 1, 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Birth_of_Freedom_Council

[JPZenger]

11. Corbett wants a school superintendent to try to heal his biggest negative

Corbett's biggest negative among the public is that he screwed over public schools repeatedly. Corbett is desperate to find a person with experience in public schools to try to reduce these negatives. However, his latest appointment is a woman who was very controversial as the Superintendent for the Central Dauphin School District. In the mid-1990s, I remember every day her name was in the Harrisburg paper for some type of controversy.

[JPZenger]

12. So... just wondering... how does everyone on this website look in a Speedo?

[Divernan]

13. Love to see a cartoon of Tubby Tommy in a speedo!