State executive official irregular office changes, 2012
Throughout the course of a year, state officials leave their position for a variety of reasons. Some of them resign for other jobs, some of them resign due to scandal. Still others are appointed to higher positions which then create vacancies in their prior posts. This page will compile a list of the various office changes in 2012 in state executive offices covered by Ballotpedia staff.
We define an irregular office change to be when an elected or appointed official does not complete the full term of office. Some appointed officials serve an indefinite term where they are either not subject to reappointment or "serve at the pleasure of the governor." Term end dates for these positions are listed as N/A in the chart below.
Breakdown of irregular changes
In 2012, 15 irregular office changes took place in 11 states. Texas, with three, had the most. There were two irregular changes in top ballot offices and 14 in down ballot offices.
The reasons for state executive official changes in 2012 were as follows:
| Political - 6 | |
| Professional - 4 | |
| Personal - 5 |
The partisan breakdown for vacancies created in 2012 was as follows:
Democratic positions - 1
Republican positions - 4
Independent/Nonpartisan positions - 10
Notable changes
- Stan Heffner resigned as Ohio Superintendent of Public Instruction effective August 10, 2012, amid revelations that he had committed several ethics violations regarding a job offer he received from Educational Testing Services.[1]
- Donna M. Jones (R), was first elected as Idaho Controller in 2006. In May 2012 she suffered serious injuries in a car accident, ultimately leading to her resignation on October 15, 2012.[2]
- Joseph Meyer (R) was elected as Wyoming Treasurer in 2006 and re-elected in 2010. He served until his death on October 7, 2012.[3]
Full table of resignations
The highlighted cells in the table below indicate which category the irregular office change falls into: political, professional and personal. N/A indicates a change that does not conform to any of the three categories or the reasons were never specified.
- Note: This list may be incomplete. If you know of any irregular office changes which have not been included here, please email us.
See also
- State executive official irregular office changes
- State executive official irregular office changes, 2013
Footnotes
- ↑ NPR Ohio, "Ohio state superintendent Stan Heffner resigns amid ethics charges, attendance rigging investigation," August 4, 2012
- ↑ Idaho Press, "Idaho controller resigns, Woolf appointed," October 15, 2012
- ↑ Wyoming News, "State treasurer, longtime state official Joe Meyer dies," accessed October 8, 2012
