New DOH Cabinet Secretary Allen Comes With Red Flag Attached; Troubled Oregon Tenure Follows Him Here, Plus: New MLG Chief Of Staff Named--Kinda

Patrick Allen

MLG's newest cabinet secretary comes with a red flag attached to his name. 59 year old Patrick Allen takes over the NM Department of Health after a long career in health services, but he was bounced from his most recent gig. All three Oregon gubernatorial candidates agreed he should be ousted as head of the Oregon Health Authority. Tina Kotek is now Governor-elect and Allen is out of the Beaver State but ensconced nicely in our enchanted land thanks to MLG's appointment. He starts today.

The problem?: 

The director of the Oregon Health Authority, Patrick Allen, has submitted his resignation, effective Jan. 9. He did not give a reason for stepping down. On the campaign trail, Governor-elect Kotek said she’d fire him over the health authority’s failure to provide Oregonians adequate access to health care for mental illness and treatment for addiction. Allen, who is 59, suffered a serious medical emergency in January, when he fell and required hospitalization. He has been working while officially retired and drawing his pension, according to The Lund Report. Allen has led the Oregon Health Authority for the past five years. Gov. Kate Brown tapped him for the agency’s top job in 2017 after a series of high-profile scandals rocked the agency.

As happened in New Mexico Orgeon Gov. Kate Brown (term limited) and health leader Allen both suffered in popularity because of strict Covid lockdowns. Oregon also ranks low in student learning in the post-pandemic era as does our state.  

Allen defended himself in his resignation letter pointing to Oregon's high vaccination rate and a lower Covid death rate than most other states. MLG's office said of the appointment:

Allen significantly improved access to affordable and equitable health care for Oregonians, achieving health insurance coverage for over 95% of residents. He also led the state’s health department throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with Oregon ultimately seeing the second lowest rate of infection in the country.  

But the three Guv candidates didn't think much of his record. NM's Dem Governor apparently saw something that trio of experienced politicos did not. It will be up to Allen to show that Oregon had it wrong or else we could have another Brian Blalock our hands. He was picked out of California to head the troubled CYFD but forced to quit after a wide range of transgressions were exposed. 

Unlike Oregon, Allen will not be in charge of a sprawling health care complex that includes the state Medicaid program. The NM DOH duties:

The department provides wide-ranging duties that formulate a statewide public health system. It achieves its mission and vision by promoting health and preventing disease, collecting, analyzing and disseminating data, licensing and certifying health facilities, and providing clinical testing services. The department also operates health care facilities that serve veterans, persons with developmental disabilities, those with behavioral health issues, and those with rehabilitation needs. The state Medical Cannabis Program is also housed within the Department of Health as is the federally funded Women, Infants and Children's (WIC) program.

The NM Human Services Department, a multi-billion agency that receives major federal funding, handles Medicaid here. It is headed by Dr. Martin Scrase who had been acting director of NMDOH. Before leaving, Scrase requested an 11 percent bump in the DOH budget from the legislature, citing widespread vacancies (up to 30 percent of positions) and a need for better IT. The total DOH state budget is $350 million with additional federal funding.

Allen is in the job this week but the state senate still has to confirm him. Expect to hear more about his Oregon political pain when those hearings are held and also the state of his personal health from that medical emergency he endured.

SORTA, KINDA NEW

Schlegel

Meanwhile, there is a new Chief of Staff at the Guv's office. Well, sorta, kinda:

Gov. Lujan Grisham has hired a new chief of staff, Daniel Schlegel, 34, to lead her office and oversee policy development and legislative initiatives. Schlegel has served in the Lujan Grisham administration since she took office in 2019. He also worked for Lujan Grisham for about a year when she served in Congress. 

But then there's this:

The governor’s chief operations officer, Teresa Casados, will remain in her position, serving as a co-equal of sorts to the chief of staff. Her duties have included working with Cabinet secretaries and overseeing constituent services. 

Okay. On Tuesdays and Thursdays Casados is the top "co-equal chief of staff" and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday Schlegel is the top "co-equal." So everybody get to work. . . and watch your backs.  

Which is to say, there's really only one chief of staff on the Fourth Floor. 

(Hint: she wears colorful cowboy boots.)

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023