Nearly 100 seek DHEC director post

COLUMBIA, SC -- S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control board members have begun reviewing applications for the vacant director’s job as they seek to find a new chief this spring.

The agency says 99 people had applied for the job when the application period closed April 3.

Cassandra Harris, a spokeswoman for the agency, said finalists will be brought before the board, with the expectation that a candidate will be forwarded to the governor before the General Assembly ends its session. The session wraps up in less than two months. The Senate must confirm the DHEC director.

The DHEC board’s decision to seek candidates for the post is in stark contrast to how it initially looked for a replacement to succeed Catherine Templeton, a former state labor chief who quit in January after saying she had put in her service to state government.

Eleanor Kitzman, the board’s choice and a friend of Gov. Nikki Haley, was nominated by the board to replace Templeton without any other applications being sought. Kitzman pulled her name from consideration after a fierce confirmation hearing in the state Senate.

Afterward, the board agreed to seek applications for the position. The agency has not revealed who any of the applicants are, but former first lady Jenny Sanford told The State last month that she was among those seeking the position.

“It is the intent of the board to submit a selected candidate to the governor’s office for consultation and approval in a timeframe consistent with the current legislative session,’’ Harris said in an email this week.​

The DHEC director’s job is considered by many to be one of the most important in state government. The director oversees one of the biggest departments in South Carolina with more than 3,000 employees. The agency is both an environmental protection department and a public health department. Its many duties include issuing pollution permits, checking water and and air quality, licensing hospitals and nursing homes, and overseeing tattoo parlors. The director’s job is expected to pay in the $150,000 range.

This story was originally published April 9, 2015 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Nearly 100 seek DHEC director post."