Cabinet Secretary Says He Was Fired For Opposition To Wolf Consolidation Plan
by Tony Romeo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- In a highly unusual move, a cabinet secretary dismissed by Governor Wolf met with reporters to set the record straight about why he was fired.
The alleged reason is a soon-to-be-announced plan to consolidate some state agencies.
Gary Tennis is the now former head of Pennsylvania's Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.
Tennis appeared at a press conference to refute a newspaper article about the alleged role a lobbyist played in the hiring of an employee in his department, and to claim that the story was not why he was let go.
The real reason, Tennis says, is that Governor Wolf wants to reduce the department to the status of a bureau as part of a plan to consolidate state government departments, something Tennis believes will neuter effectiveness.
"I wasn't supposed to share any of this, but I had to work with top staff, and I just said to them, 'I may have to leave this department to save it,'" Tennis said.
A spokesman for Governor Wolf would not discuss the dismissal of Tennis. Consolidation of departments would be the latest of a series of recent moves to address a growing state budget deficit.
