After just a few days in office, Gov. Tom Wolf (D) is blocking more than two dozen appointments by his predecessor Tom Corbett (R). One of his most notable decisions was to fire Erik Arneson as the executive director of the Office of Open Records. "I have no ID badge, I have no parking pass, I have no keys. They were taken away," said Arneson.
Nevertheless Arneson showed up for work Friday morning.
"He's welcome to sit in there. I don't know what he's doing, but he's not acting as the executive director. He's not getting paid," said Jeff Sheridan, Wolf's press secretary. Sheridan said the head of the office of open records is an at-will position, meaning the governor has the right to fire him at any time, but Arneson doesn't agree.
"It's absolute nonsense to think that the director of an independent office is an at-will employee," said Arneson.
The office's former executive director, Terry Mutchler, who was appointed by Governor Rendell and served for six years, said she was an at-will employee. She left when it became clear Corbett would not reinstate her. Mutchler said that this dispute will "more than likely take legal action to resolve and my concern is that it will distract from the real issue, which is complete transparency in the office of open records."
In the meantime, the governor has said he will conduct a national search to find a new executive director, and that the office's deputy director Nathan Byerly will serve as the interim director until they can find a permanent replacement.