Transportation Commission chairman urges Gov. Haley to hire Hall to lead agency
Gov. Nikki Haley should appoint interim Transportation Secretary Christy Hall as the head of the state Transportation Department, the chairman of the commission that oversees that agency said Thursday.
Hall has been acting secretary since Janet Oakley resigned in June.
Haley did not offer a timetable Thursday for choosing a new transportation chief, but she called it a priority. Haley also said Hall is “fantastic.”
"Every time we've asked her to step up and lead, she has led and she has led well whether it's through a winter storm or whether it's day-to-day things," Haley said.
Meanwhile, commission members said they plan to work out their differences with the agency’s chief internal auditor, which surfaced last week at a S.C. House committee.
“We intend to work together and try to work out the concerns that we have,” said commission chairman Jim Rozier, adding the commission did not plan to fire auditor Paul Townes.
Townes said the commission likely did not have grounds to fire him. “Being honest is not grounds for getting rid of somebody.”
Reach Cope at (8030 771-8657. Staff Writer Andrew Shain contributed.
This story was originally published August 20, 2015 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Transportation Commission chairman urges Gov. Haley to hire Hall to lead agency."