DHEC chief says his hiring was no backroom deal. Defeated candidate disagrees

Recently appointed state environmental director Rick Toomey says his hiring was no backroom deal, even though he served on the board that discounted more than 100 applicants before settling on him.

But one finalist for the Department of Health and Environmental Control job said he was uncomfortable with the hiring process, calling it “highly unusual’’ and saying it appeared to favor Toomey.

Thomas Carrato, a health care consultant and former assistant U.S. Surgeon General, said board member Toomey interviewed him for the job in September, then applied for the job at a later date.

The DHEC board reopened the hiring process Nov. 27 after a 13-month search. It chose Toomey, a former hospital administrator, as director less than a month later, prompting questions from state lawmakers. Others questioned the secrecy of the process.

““I’ve never seen anything, particularly in a government selection process, where the person that’s ultimately selected participated in the entire screening (and) interviews,’’ Carrato said, noting that Toomey had the benefit of knowing Carrato’s plan for the agency before applying for the job.

Carrato said he thought it was a conflict of interest that Toomey interviewed him.

The State reached Carrato on Friday after talking with Toomey the day before. The State asked Friday to again interview Toomey as well as DHEC board chairman Mark Elam. The agency responded with a statement from Elam saying the board stands behind Toomey’s selection.

“We are pleased with Rick Toomey’s confirmation and look forward to his leadership of the department,’’ the statement said.

DHEC is one of South Carolina’s largest agencies. It oversees both environmental protection and public health, issuing everything from permits to discharge air pollution to those governing hospital expansions.

The DHEC board chose Toomey over Carrato and four other finalists: former SC legislator Michael Easterday, now a health care consultant; Matthew Cobb, a Virginia attorney; Jeff Borowy, chief operating officer at the Charleston County School District; and Stacy Taylor, a Columbia environmental lawyer.

Taylor, with the Burr Forman McNair law firm (formerly the McNair Law Firm), said Toomey did not sit in on his interview for the position. The others were not available for comment.

An Isle of Palms resident, Carrato formerly served as regional health administrator for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in addition to assistant Surgeon General.

In the Thursday interview with The State, Toomey said he took pains to avoid conflicts of interest once he decided to apply for the position formerly held by Catherine Heigel. He said he asked Elam, the board chairman, if it would be proper to seek the job after the board decided to reopen the posting for the director’s position, and Elam said yes.

“I called the chairman and said to Mark, ‘Is there any issues with me submitting my application?” Toomey said. “He said he did not see any issue, that it was an open position for people that might be interested in (it). So he did not say not to. I took it from there, submitted my application, completed all the paperwork, as did any of the other applicants.’’

Toomey, a former chief executive officer at Beaufort Memorial Hospital and a health care consultant, said DHEC’s second search for candidates “absolutely was not reopened for my purpose.’’ He has been praised by those who know him as well-qualified for the DHEC post.

“No one knew I was interested — I didn’t know I was interested until (after) the decision being made to reopen it,’’ Toomey told The State. “When I reflected on it, with my knowledge of DHEC and the role that it plays in the state, it piqued my interest for my philosophical belief in service to the state.’’

He said he became interested in the job because he wanted a challenge. Toomey had been retired for two years. A Greenville native, Toomey was appointed to the DHEC board, a part-time position, by Gov. Henry McMaster in March 2018.

Toomey said he remained on the board for one meeting after applying for the post, but he did not participate in a Dec. 13 DHEC discussion of candidates. He signed a statement Dec. 10 that he would not participate in the discussions because he was an applicant. Toomey later resigned the position, he said.

Chairman Elam told The State earlier this year that the board picked Toomey because of his South Carolina ties. Elam said the board was having trouble finding candidates that it could afford. The salary range for the DHEC director’s job was $168,043-$213,524. Toomey took the job at a salary of $178,000.

But Carrato said a high salary wasn’t the reason he sought the DHEC director’s job. He was interested in getting back to public service. After the experience he went through, Carrato said it’s just as well that he did not get the director’s position. He said DHEC officials had said other candidates were not qualified, but he clearly was.

“It was disappointing,’’ he said. “I would have taken it if they offered it (at the time), but if they offered it now, no way. I just wouldn’t work for a board that operates in that fashion.’’

He said he wishes Toomey luck as director.

John Crangle, a State House watchdog who tracks ethics issues, said he can understand why Carrato has concerns about the hiring process.

“It does present a somewhat awkward situation when you have a board member applying for a job that is going to be filled by a board decision,’’ Crangle said. “It is unusual, no question about that.’’

This story was originally published March 29, 2019 at 7:18 PM.