State Agricultural Commissioner Shawn Jasper faced sharp questions during a public hearing Thursday, where executive councilors considered his reappointment to another five-year term.
It’s rare for the Executive Council to force top officials to endure confirmation hearings when they are being reappointed. But councilors told Jasper -- who had previously served as a Republican state lawmaker, including a stint as House Speaker -- that he has lots of critics.
“And some of them don’t want to have their names even mentioned,” Republican Councilor Joe Kenney said. “Because they have fear.”
Jasper, whose agricultural background is limited compared to his recent predecessors, admitted he’d once hung up on a dairy farmer when a discussion became heated, but cited his 40 years in public life as proof of his ability to deal with people.
“I don’t think I have ever been accused of being unfair in the long run,” Jasper told the councilors. “Intimidating? Yes, and I’m not sure there is a lot I can do about that, but I am aware of that and I do try. But depending on the level of stress, I don’t have as good a control over it as I’d like.”
Kenney told Jasper that to win his support for another term, Jasper would have to promise, in writing, to serve with a smile on his face.
Councilor Cinde Warmington, the council’s lone Democrat, meanwhile, noted that in his five years on the job Jasper had never bothered to consult with a state agricultural advisory board.
“That is a regret,” Jasper said. “However, first of all it’s not my duty to call, if you read the statute.”
“I think you have to acknowledge that as Commissioner of Agriculture you could have assisted and facilitated that process,” Warmignton replied..
“You’re right, and that was probably not the best response,” Jasper acknowledged.
How the Executive Council acts on Jasper’s renomination is the real question. Councilors say the lobbying around his reappointment – for and against – has become intense.
Right now, It would take the votes of three councilors to even consider Jasper’s renomination. Absent a vote by the council to keep Jasper on, his term would expire at the end of the month.
