Following a setback, the Michigan government, Gretchen Whitmer and the state’s former health director, this week agreed to waive a confidentiality clause related to a $ 155,000 severance deal amid the sudden resignation of the official in January.
FOX 2 of Detroit reports that the departure, which Robert Gordon announced on Jan. 22, along with his hefty payout caused concern in the media and state legislators. That led Democrat Whitmer to repeal the clause Thursday “in the interest of greater transparency.”
Gordon resigned the day after issuing an order to allow inside dining to be resumed, reports WDIV-TV in Detroit.
Neither Whitmer nor Gordon gave the reason for his departure, but his successor, Elizabeth Hertel, indicated that Whitmer and Gordon may have had a disagreement over coronavirus orders.
MICHIGAN GOV. WITTER THREATENED WITH SUBSPENA ON SECRET PAYMENT TO HEALTH DIRECTOR
State Republics want to question Gordon about the nature of his departure.
Government Gretchen Whitmer and former state health director Robert Gordon have agreed to waive a confidentiality clause related to the $ 155,000 health director’s separation service amid his sudden resignation in January.
(Getty Images / AP)
“A lot of these decisions are not based on science and data,” Republican State Representative Matt Hall told FOX 2. “It’s based on politics and one way we can achieve that is by asking Robert Gordon more questions about his time at the department and what led to his departure. What kind of disagreement led to that?”
Gordon wrote a one-page letter to the State Committee for Home Review to investigate the resignation, but did not agree to testify.
He said there were ‘healthy’ and ‘robust discussions on policy issues where reasonable people could not agree and did so’, adding that the talks had ‘strong results’ on the coronavirus, namely lowering the mortality rate. the state.
MICHIGAN GOV. WHITMER’S HEALTH DIRECTOR RECEIVES PAYMENT IN THE MUTUAL TERMINATION OF RESOLUTION: REPORT
The governor “deserves a health director with whom she is comfortable. I thank my resignation, and she accepts it,” he wrote.
Republican State Representative Steven Johnson, chairman of the oversight committee, has vowed to issue subpoenas and investigate records related to any separation agreements in the Whitmer government.
Ted Goodman, a Republican State spokesman, said “Michiganders deserve to know why Gordon is leaving and why a confidentiality agreement is required in the first place.”
Republicans in the state also want Whitmer to investigate her handling of deaths in pandemic nursing homes, but State Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, turned down the request Monday.
Nevertheless, Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan, a liberal advocacy group, noted that the state’s Republican lawmaker has had 30 divorce agreements in the last ten years totaling more than $ 630,000 and $ 60,000 in legal agreements, details of which have not been released is not.
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Scott said GOP lawmakers are more interested in “one-way glass than it is in true transparency,” according to WDIV.